Heritage meets hi-tech: Armed forces legacy showcased at book fair theme pavillion
New Delhi (PTI): An ornate gateway honouring the iconic IMA, Dehradun edifice, a gallery of Param Vir Chakra recipients and a virtual walk onboard an indigenous aircraft carrier using VR technology -- the thematic pavilion at the world book fair here is a veritable showpiece of the legacy of the armed forces.
The pavilion carries the overriding theme of the fair -- "Indian Military History: Valour and Wisdom @75," and a huge panel mounted on one of its walls depicts India's key military events since independence, spanning the period from the 1947 war to Operation Sindoor in 2025.
The New Delhi World Book Fair 2026, being hosted at the Bharat Mandapam from January 10-18, also celebrates 150 years of 'Vande Mataram' and the sesquicentenary of freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
However, it's the thematic pavilion erected in one of the capacious halls at the sprawling venue which is attracting a large number of people to it.
Visitors enter it through a heritage-style red-and-white gateway which reminds many of them of the celebrated 'Chetwode Building' -- the main building of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, while a grand bookshelf mounted at its other end pays homage to the Sudan Block of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla.
Books related to India's military history, its contribution during the two World Wars, the legacy of the Navy, aircraft carriers, the 1971 India-Pakistan War that led to the creation of Bangladesh and other publications on strategic affairs have been displayed for reading purposes.
"People have appreciated this pavilion a lot. Many come, pick a book off the shelf, and sit in front of the Sudan Block replica, to immerse themselves in the moment. A stage area in the middle of the pavilion hosts talks by authors and military researchers," a book fair staff member at the pavilion told PTI.
He points to a collage of prints of archival newspaper clips, bearing stories related to the 1948 Hyderabad police action, the 1971 war, the 1999 Kargil war, and the destruction of terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir during the military action carried out on early May 7 under Operation Sindoor, displayed in the bookshelf area.
People of all age groups have visited the pavilion in the past nine days, whose striking design is attracting visitors, military history enthusiasts or common readers alike
A separate wall panel highlights the role of women in the Indian armed forces.
The spirit of military wisdom and valour which the pavilion celebrates gets heightened as profound verses related to war and warfare, duty, bravery, sacrifice embedded in several ancient texts such as Yajurveda, Dhanurveda, Arthashastra, Bhagawad Gita and Nitisara, have been digitally displayed on a series of screens, bookended by two round panels explaining the essence of the philosophy.
Near the main gateway, a model of the main battle tank, Arjun, has been mounted against the backdrop of a column-fronted structure bearing a slogan 'Serve With Honour'. The caption describes that it is a representation of the building of the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai.
Adjacent to it, a major naval platform and the building of the Indian Naval Academy -- INS Ezhimala -- have been depicted, while a fighter aircraft model sits next to it, as many visitors stop by to get clicked with 'I Love Indian Army' glow signboard mounted near the gateway.
A special gallery has been created in the pavilion in homage to all the 21 recipients of the Param Vir Chakra -- India's highest military decoration, awarded for exemplary acts of valour during wartime.
Enhancing the patriotic fervour, a sculptural art installation sits in front of it, depicting India's victory in the Kargil war.
A giant panel erected on one side of the pavilion titled 'Saga of Valour' depicts major conflicts and the Indian military's journey since Independence, such as the 1947-48 war with Pakistan, the 1965 war, the 1971 war, and the decisive military action taken under Operation Sindoor last year.
A digital screen also displays a montage of images, including one from the tri-Services press conference on Operation Sindoor held in May.
"Visitors can also get a virtual feel of walking onboard India's indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, at our VR (virtual reality) kiosk, or a feel of an IAF aircraft at another kiosk next to it," a staff member operating the kiosk said, as many little children also queued up to get the VR experience.
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Trump loyalist Pam Bondi out as attorney general
Washington (AP): US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department's culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president's perceived enemies.
The departure followed months of scrutiny over the Justice Department's handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation and failed efforts to meet Trump's unwavering demands for criminal cases against his adversaries. As Trump's own frustrations mounted, he began privately discussing firing Bondi, people familiar with the matter say.
“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump said in a statement. He added, “We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.”
Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, one of his former personal lawyers, as the acting attorney general. Three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick.
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In her own statement, Bondi called the job “the honor of a lifetime” and said she would be working over the next month to transition the position to Blanche.
Bondi came into office 14 months ago pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department. But she quickly set out to do Trump's bidding, heaping lavish praise at congressional hearings and White House events, firing prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to the president and opening investigations into his political foes. The intense turmoil contributed to the resignations of hundreds of employees, with the norm-breaking actions stirring concern that he department was being wielded as a tool to advance Trump's personal and political interests.
“Pam Bondi oversaw an unprecedented weaponization of the Justice Department that brought our nation's rule of law to its knees,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.
Bondi rejected accusations that she politicised the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution's credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, which included two federal criminal cases against Trump. Bondi's defenders have said she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.
Embracing, supporting and protecting the president
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Bondi's public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm's-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. Bondi postured herself as Trump's chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.
She called for an end to the “weaponisation” of law enforcement she said occurred under the Biden administration, even though Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who produced two cases against Trump, have said they followed the facts, the evidence and the law in their decision-making. Bondi's critics, meanwhile, said she was the one who had politicised the agency to do the president's bidding.
“You've turned the People's Department of Justice into Trump's instrument of revenge,” Rep Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary committee, said at a February hearing.
Bondi delivered a combative performance but few substantive answers at that hearing as she angrily insulted her Democratic questioners with name-calling, praised Trump over the performance of the stock market — “The Dow is up over 50,000 right now” —- and openly aligned herself as in sync with a president whom she painted as a victim of past impeachments and investigations.
Even Republicans began to challenge her, with the Republican-led House Oversight Committee last month issuing a subpoena to her to appear for a closed-door interview about the Epstein files.
Under Bondi's leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were short-lived as they were quickly thrown out by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed.
Trump repeatedly praised and defended Bondi publicly but also showed flashes of impatience with his attorney general's efforts to meet his demands to prosecute his rivals. In one extraordinary social media post last year, Trump called on Bondi to move quickly to prosecute his foes, including James and Comey, telling her, “We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility.”
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Bondi oversaw the exodus of thousands of career employees — both through firings and voluntary departures — including lawyers who prosecuted violent attacks on police at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021; environmental, civil rights and ethics enforcers; counterterrorism prosecutors; and others.
Fumbling the Epstein files
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She struggled to overcome early stumbles over the Epstein files that angered conservatives eager for government bombshells about the case, which has long fascinated conspiracy theorists. She herself had fed the conspiracy theory machine with a suggestion in a 2025 Fox News Channel interview that Epstein's “client list” was sitting on her desk for review. The department later acknowledged that no such document exists.
Bondi was ridiculed over a move to hand out binders of Epstein files to conservative influencers at the White House, only for it to be later revealed that the documents included no new revelations. And despite promises that more files were going to become public, the Justice Department in July said no more would be released, prompting Congress to pass a bill to force the agency to do so.
The Epstein files fumbles led to a stunning public criticism from White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, a close friend of Bondi's, who told Vanity Fair that the attorney general “completely whiffed.” The Justice Department's release of millions of pages of Epstein files did little to tamp down criticism, prompting a House committee with the support of five Republicans to subpoena Bondi to answer questions under oath.
Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial, was his second choice to lead the Justice Department, picked for the role after former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.
