Book Review of
Operation Cactus Indian Military Intervention in the Maldives, 1988
Author: Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
Helion & Co., Ltd.
Asia @ War Series
ISBN: 978-1-91437-02-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $29.95
Asia @ War Series
ISBN: 978-1-91437-02-0
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $29.95
In 1988, the Indian Army and Air Force ably supported by the Indian Navy, carried out a daring intervention in the Maldives. The government of the Maldives, led by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, facing an attempted coup by PLOTE, a renegade group of Tamil insurgents from Sri Lanka, sent out a request for help to which India responded.
This was India’s most ambitious out of area intervention to date. This book describes the history, economy, demography and politics of the Maldives, with an emphasis on the government of the day and the strategic value of the islands to PLOTE, as well as the geopolitical ramifications for India in respect to the need to secure its influence in the area.
The book details the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force of 1980’s, with particular emphasis on elements that could be used in out of area interventions and the transport assets of the Indian Air Force and the amphibious capabilities of the Indian Navy.
The Maldives National Security Service of 1988 is also discussed and its evolution into the Maldives National Defence Force in the aftermath of the 1988 coup.
The PLOTE attempt to overthrow the Gayoom government and the resistance it face from the NSS, along with Operation Cactus itself, are described in detail, along with the intervention by India , including operational planning, mobilization of forces, and the force levels committed. The actual landing in the Maldives, the paucity of intelligence and the force selection are detailed, along with the confrontation with PLOTE and the latter’s desperate attempt to escape by sea and the Indian Navy’s counter to this.
Operation Cactus includes original color artworks of the aircraft and troops involved in this unique intervention.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co., Ltd. is based in the UK.
This book is soft-bound of 60 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of Indian Army paratroopers parachuting onto a grassy plane.
Below that is a color side-view illustration of a IL76MD transport of the Indian Air Force. It is chalk-white over a medium-grey under-carriage. It has a small black no. 1 over K 2878 on the rudder.
The book starts with ABBREVIATIONS and an INTRODUCTION.
There are 59 black and white photos and the cover art is the only color one.
There are photos of combatants, officials, aircrafts, tanks and ships.
Included are 5 maps and 5 data lists.
There are 16 color profile illustrations:
Three are of the IL-76MD transport.
One is of the Antonov AN-32
A MI-8 helicopter
A Tupolev Tu-142MK-E
A ILyushin IL-38
A Breguet Br-1050 Alize
A Westland Sea-king Mk. 42 helicopter
A Aerospatiale SA.316B/C helicopter
Three illustrations are of jeeps. One with no weapon on it, one with a 30 cal. machine-gun on a pedestal mount and one with a M40 100mm recoiless- gun on pedestal mount.
A 75/24 Pack or Mountain Howitzer
An illustration of Brigadier F.F.C. Bulsara seated and reading a map. He wears a camouflaged uniform and a beret.
An illustration of an Indian Army paratrooper, dressed like the Brigadier. He is carrying a wood box of ammo on his left shoulder and a rifle slung over his right shoulder.
An illustration of a Tamil guerrilla wearing street clothes and carrying a rifle in both hands.
The book ends with the 3 ½ page BIBLIOGRAPHY.
About the author:
Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, from Trinidad and Tobago, received his MA and PhD from the Department of War Studies, King's College, London. His thesis was on India’s Nuclear Weapons Program. He has written and published extensively, including The Armageddon Factor: Nuclear Weapons in the India-Pakistan Context (2000) and Indian Nuclear Strategy: Confronting the Potential Nuclear Threat from both Pakistan and China (2018), as well as Kargil 1999, Trinidad 1990, Operation Meghdoot, Nuclear India and Armed Forces of the English Speaking Caribbean for Hellion's War Series.
He has served as a consultant to the Ministry of National Security in Trinidad and was a visiting International Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
This was India’s most ambitious out of area intervention to date. This book describes the history, economy, demography and politics of the Maldives, with an emphasis on the government of the day and the strategic value of the islands to PLOTE, as well as the geopolitical ramifications for India in respect to the need to secure its influence in the area.
The book details the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force of 1980’s, with particular emphasis on elements that could be used in out of area interventions and the transport assets of the Indian Air Force and the amphibious capabilities of the Indian Navy.
The Maldives National Security Service of 1988 is also discussed and its evolution into the Maldives National Defence Force in the aftermath of the 1988 coup.
The PLOTE attempt to overthrow the Gayoom government and the resistance it face from the NSS, along with Operation Cactus itself, are described in detail, along with the intervention by India , including operational planning, mobilization of forces, and the force levels committed. The actual landing in the Maldives, the paucity of intelligence and the force selection are detailed, along with the confrontation with PLOTE and the latter’s desperate attempt to escape by sea and the Indian Navy’s counter to this.
Operation Cactus includes original color artworks of the aircraft and troops involved in this unique intervention.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co., Ltd. is based in the UK.
This book is soft-bound of 60 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a color photo of Indian Army paratroopers parachuting onto a grassy plane.
Below that is a color side-view illustration of a IL76MD transport of the Indian Air Force. It is chalk-white over a medium-grey under-carriage. It has a small black no. 1 over K 2878 on the rudder.
The book starts with ABBREVIATIONS and an INTRODUCTION.
There are 59 black and white photos and the cover art is the only color one.
There are photos of combatants, officials, aircrafts, tanks and ships.
Included are 5 maps and 5 data lists.
There are 16 color profile illustrations:
Three are of the IL-76MD transport.
One is of the Antonov AN-32
A MI-8 helicopter
A Tupolev Tu-142MK-E
A ILyushin IL-38
A Breguet Br-1050 Alize
A Westland Sea-king Mk. 42 helicopter
A Aerospatiale SA.316B/C helicopter
Three illustrations are of jeeps. One with no weapon on it, one with a 30 cal. machine-gun on a pedestal mount and one with a M40 100mm recoiless- gun on pedestal mount.
A 75/24 Pack or Mountain Howitzer
An illustration of Brigadier F.F.C. Bulsara seated and reading a map. He wears a camouflaged uniform and a beret.
An illustration of an Indian Army paratrooper, dressed like the Brigadier. He is carrying a wood box of ammo on his left shoulder and a rifle slung over his right shoulder.
An illustration of a Tamil guerrilla wearing street clothes and carrying a rifle in both hands.
The book ends with the 3 ½ page BIBLIOGRAPHY.
About the author:
Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, from Trinidad and Tobago, received his MA and PhD from the Department of War Studies, King's College, London. His thesis was on India’s Nuclear Weapons Program. He has written and published extensively, including The Armageddon Factor: Nuclear Weapons in the India-Pakistan Context (2000) and Indian Nuclear Strategy: Confronting the Potential Nuclear Threat from both Pakistan and China (2018), as well as Kargil 1999, Trinidad 1990, Operation Meghdoot, Nuclear India and Armed Forces of the English Speaking Caribbean for Hellion's War Series.
He has served as a consultant to the Ministry of National Security in Trinidad and was a visiting International Fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, New Delhi.
This book will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Helion & Co. Books and all Helion titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Recommended.