Pakistan’s hostility is ingrained in its approach towards India and is part of its strategic template. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had vowed to ‘bleed India with a thousand cuts’. He had earlier also announced a ‘thousand-year war’ against India while addressing the United Nations Security Council in 1965. His dangerous, negative policy was continued by his wily and ruthless successor, General Zia ul Haq. From then on, sub-conventional warfare and the use of terrorism as a strategic tool to achieve its objectives against India became a norm in Pakistan.

During my long innings in the Indian Police Service (IPS), I had the opportunity of serving the country’s premier intelligence agency and getting involved in security and counter-terrorist operations. Terror has no nationality, colour, creed or religion; the human race is its victim. Terror kills and maims the innocent and the unarmed who never expect to be its victims.

I had one mission during my long service career: to do my best to save civilian lives from violent and life-threatening terror attacks. That mission drove me, inspired me.

Operation Trojan Horse is the story of a handful of counter- terrorist operatives engaged in India’s fight against Pakistan-backed terror. I dedicate the book to the brave, faceless and nameless Indian intelligence operatives who are engaged in battling terror. They cannot be identified due to national security and attendant constraints despite their priceless sacrifices for the country.

During my active service career, I hardly had the time to analyse and reflect upon the counter-terrorist operations I was part of.  Even during my post-retirement assignment, when I held the statutory position of Central Information Commissioner, it was difficult to spare time and pen down my thoughts. I am really thankful to my co-author, Abhishek Sharan, for putting together my experiences in the form of a nail-biting work of fiction. For obvious reasons, actual incidents cannot be put in the public domain. With his imagination and creativity, Abhishek has been able to create and convey a sense of what could have actually happened on the ground.

Discussions with my wife, Rashmi, son, Dhawal, and daughter-in-law, Sonal, helped me focus on this endeavour and I am thankful for their encouragement. My daughter, Saloni, particularly, was a patient reader of multiple drafts and gave insightful feedback. I am also thankful to my brothers – Ujjwal, Alok and Dr Amit – for their support and enthusiasm. My late parents, Swayam Prakash Sinha and Usha Rani, have been a great influence on my life. Their guidance, teachings and strong value system played a huge part in shaping me. I would not have reached this stage of my life and career without their constant support and faith. My late mother had a photographic memory, a fraction of which I have inherited from her. She taught me to use this attribute at the opportune time and place for maximum impact.