The book was launched at a glittering function at Oberoi Hotel, which was followed by a reception onboard the ship. Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh was the chief guest on the occasion and Lt Gen JJ Singh, the then GOC-in-C, Army Training Command and the Colonel Commandant of the Maratha Light Infantry was the guest of honours.

The book has been brought out to commemorate the affiliation between INS Mumbai of Indian Navy and the Maratha Light Infantry. While the affiliation, a bonding between the Navy and the Army, is in itself significant, it is also significant for several other reasons. Firstly, INS Mumbai is one of the largest and the most sophisticated destroyers, designed indigenously and built entirely at Mazagon Docks. She is an apt representative of the city combining technological prowess with elegant looks and sleek sophistication. It is also worth mentioning that the present ship is the 15th ship and the 10th warship to be called Mumbai/Bombay over several generations, thus signifying the deep bond between the ship and the city.

Secondly, Maratha Light Infantry is a regiment with a history of more than 250 years, boasting of several campaigns and war heroes. Consisting of soldiers drawn from Maharashtra, the regiment is a source of pride for the state and the nation at large. It was raised in Mumbai at Bombay Fort, which later served as the Headquarters of the Indian Navy. The regiment has another strong maritime connection with HMS Maharatha that served in the Royal Navy and was sunk while fighting for the Allied Forces in the World War II.

One would undoubtedly be aware of the strong martial and maritime traditions of the city and the state. Shivaji, the great Maratha king, was amongst the first Indian rulers to recognise the need for a strong navy and his first naval craft was built in the Kalyan Creek close to Mumbai. Kanhoji Angre, one of India’s greatest Admirals, held sway over the water in this very region. The tradition inspires legion of soldiers and sailors alike. Mumbai the city remains India’s Urbs Primus.

Beyond the Battlefield connotes that the association between INS Mumbai and the Maratha Light Infantry, in particular, and between the Indian Navy and Indian Army ‘goes beyond the battlefield’. While the book is anchored in the issue of affiliation it casts its wide gaze at the history of the city and the state, the previous incarnation of the ship, the legacy of the Maratha Light Infantry and several other forces that shape of the contemporary Mumbai (the ship) and the Navy.