Book Review [149] : Vengeance

I have seen Steven Spielberg 'Munich' about half a dozen times and never got bored. Eric Bana has simply immortalized the role of Mossad agent Avner in this flick. This movie is based on true story of Operation 'Wrath of God' launched by Israel ( and documented by George Jonas in his book Vengeance) to avenge the death of 11 Israeli athletes brutally killed by Black September terrorists during Munich Olympics of 1972. I was looking for this book 'Vengeance' for a long time but could not buy it because its pretty expensive about 900 bucks on Amazon. I got fortunate this year and i found it in the Police academy and i finished it in 3 days without a break.

The book starts with the story of Avner (changed name) and his training. He was a Sabra (i.e. born in Israel to Jewish parents) and son of a Mossad agent. He was chosen by Mossad chief Zvi Zamir and Major General Ariel Sharon to lead a 4 member strong team to kill 11 terrorists responsible for Munich massacre. He was asked to take the operation by Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir herself. The book goes almost on same line as the movie and varies only in dramatization of certain killings. The team had 5 members - Carl the cleaner, Steve the driver, Hans the forger, Robert the explosive expert and Avner the leader. The team was given complete freedom and full financial resources but the team had to break off all the associations with the Mossad and legally it was on its own so that Israel can deny any responsibility in case of any mishap. 

The team was able to kill 8 terrorists out of 11 names given to them though they could not kill Ali Hasan Salameh - the master mind behind Munich massacre, Abu Daoud and Dr Wadi Haddad. Carl, Robert and Hans were killed in this 3 year long operation and the mission was called off in January 1975.

The book records in detail the psychological impact the mission had on its members and also underscores the fissure between Yekke Jews and Galician Jews. The Yekke Jews were mainly from the western Europe and were rich and sophisticated while the Galician Jews came from Eastern Europe and were tough and accustomed to the ghetto life. The top echelons of Mossad and Israel Army were dominated by the Galician Jews and they did not consider Yekke Jews martial material. Avner had a Germanic ancestry and hence a Yekke though Sabra and in the end he was given rather very poor treatment by the Mossad despite of his brilliant leadership.

I really like the definition of terrorism given by the writer. "Terrorism is not defined by the political aims but by the means to achieve it".

Highly Recommended (10/10)

Book Review [148] : Ancient Bundelkhand

I am a Bundelkhandi by heart and in deep love with its people, culture and history. In my childhood i read brave and chivalrous stories of Alha, Udal, Pithora (Prithvi Raj Chauhan), Sarandha, Champatrai and Chhatrashal and they still make a significant part of yours truly.
This book 'Ancient Bundelkhand' by K K Shah is a nice work on the religious and social history of Bundelkhand specially on a subject which has very few takers. Bundelkhand is a historic land in central India bounded by Yamuna in North, Chambal in West, Narmada in South (And like all definitions this is also disputed one). It consists of following districts - Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur and Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh; Datia, Tikamgarh, Panna, Chhatarpur, Sagar and Damoh in Madhya Pradesh. Its population density is about 350 which is less than half of the population density of Uttar Pradesh and perhaps because of this the Uttar Pradesh part of Bundelkhand is very much a neglected region.
Bundelkhand is named after Bundela clan of Rajputs who were ruling this region when Britishers came. According to bardic tradition the founder of Bundela clan sacrificed his blood to Vindhyavasini Devi. From one of his drops (Bund) a child came into being with the blessing of the Goddess. The Goddess asked him to found the Bundela Kingdom. This region is also known as Jejakabhukti and its Brahmans and Baniyas call themselves as Jujhotiyas.
Many Historians including writer K K Shah believe that this region was a heavily forested region ruled by tribals - Shabaras, Pulindas and Gonds during pre Mauryan period. The only Ashokan edict that is found in this region is located at Gujara near Jhansi. After Mauryas this region came under Guptas and they built some great temples at Eran, Deogarh etc.
Bundelkhand is unique in many aspects. The Varahaavtara of Vishnu is a unique gift of this region. So many temples have been found dedicated to Varahaavtar. The Gupta temple of
Deogarh is the earliest example of Panchayatana style of temple architecture. According to traditions Sage Ved Vyas was from Kalpi (Jalaun district) and he composed Mahabharat here only. Eran has many inscriptions dedicated to Satee worship. The trident, the most characteristic weaspon of Lord Shiva, finds depiction in the pre-historic rocks paintings of Bundelkhand. The cult of Kapalikas was also prevalent in the region as recorded in Prabodh Chandrodaya by Sri Krishna Mishra in Chandellas court.
Guptas were succeeded by Rashtrakutas and Gurjara Praiharas and by 9th century Chandellas came into power. Under the reign of Chandellas this region flourished in all aspects. The Chandellas were great fighters and temple builders. They also built big tanks to moderate the drought prone condition of this region. The great temples of Khajuraho were built by Chandellas. The Chandella power was weakened by invasions from north and it came under Delhi Sultanate in 14th century though this control was weak. But Mughal period saw Bundelkhand losing its independence rapidly. In late 17th century, Chhatrashal rebelled against the Mughal Emperor and Bundelkhand again became an Independent state after "serfdom" of past 300 years. People of Bundelkhand are gentle but freedom loving and are proud of its history and traditions.
Bundelkhand has been a drought prone region since earlier days. In recent times crops failed in 1867, 1869, 1872 etc. In 1893 it saw heavy flood. Population declined by 11% between 1891 to 1901.The situation is more or less the same and people prefer to work outside this region as agriculture is a gamble here.
Recommended (7/10)