NEW DELHI, May 30: In an odd reversal of the military principle of forward movement, a leading Indian general had to suddenly retreat when a telephone call from Army Head Quarters (HQ) intercepted him from speaking at a scheduled meeting with the press today.

Major General Arjun Ray, General officer Commanding of an armoured division on the Western front and author of a recently-released book on Kashmir, was due to talk about his book at the Foreign Correspondents' Club at 11 am. The meeting had been set up and cleared by defence authorities several days ago and the Foreign Correspondents Association had sent out advance notices to its 230 members to publicise the event.

However, minutes before Gen Ray was due to speak, as he was having coffee with about two dozen members, including reporters from the BBC and the CNN and correspondents of The Independent and Delhi Express, he received a call from Army HQ to cancel the meeting. The general immediately left, after briefly apologising for the unexpected development.

``It was a very embarrassing situation for everybody but particularly for Gen Ray'', said Bernard Imhassly, president of the club and representative of the Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

``The foreign media has had a somewhat reluctant relationship with Indian defence authorities and we thought a turning point had been reached with the publication of such a candid and thoughtful book by a serving officer.''

Imhassly says he contacted Gen Ray through his publisher, who only gave assent to the press meet after the General had obtained proper clearance from his superiors.

Ironically, Gen Ray's book Kashmir Diary, Psychology of Militancy was released on May 17 in the capital by the Chief of Army Staff Gen Shankar Roychowdhury.

The book launch was widely covered in the media and Gen Ray, who was in charge of anti-militancy operations in the valley in 1993-95, was heralded as an example of a serving officer being allowed to write about a current conflict.

Gen Ray's book, although principally an investigation into the social, political and behavioural impulses of Kashmiri militants, is also openly critical of the government's mishandling of the media in the Kashmir conflict.

When contacted for an explanation of the last-minute cancellation of Gen Ray's meeting, army Public Relations Officer Col Anil Bhatt sounded bewildered. ``I was on my way myself to the Foreign Correspondents' Club to hear Gen Ray's talk when I received a call from HQ that the meeting was to be cancelled. I have no comment to offer.'' Gen Ray, when contacted, also declined to comment.

Although the Army HQ immediately closed ranks over giving an official reason, insiders confessed that the situation was an example of internal bungling and differences of opinion over the book's contents. ``It is highly unlikely that Gen Ray did not have official clearance to address the meeting. Far from talking at a Foreign Correspondents' Club, no army officer can even address a Rotary Club without permission in writing,'' said an officer.

Others consider it a typical bureaucratic example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. But most sources in Army HQ believe that the main bone of contention lies in some of the book's contents, especially Gen Ray's observations on the ineptitude and lack of army public relations machinery in Kashmir, poor media handling of the information war in a low-intensity conflict and the resorting to media censorship during flash points.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.