The discovery of a collection of wartime dispatches following the death of a former British Indian Army public relations officer has led to the publication of a new historical volume documenting India’s role in the Second World War.

The material, written between 1944 and 1946 by Captain P.R.S. Mani while serving as an embedded war correspondent with the Allied Fourteenth Army, offers a rare first-hand account of the Japanese invasion of northeast India and the subsequent military campaign into Burma.

The documents remained largely unknown outside official archives for decades before they were recovered by Mani’s family while sorting through his personal belongings after his death in Bengaluru in August 2011. According to family accounts, the discovery came as relatives were deciding which of his papers to preserve and which to discard after clearing the family home.

Among personal diaries, government correspondence, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and decades of carefully preserved records were typewritten wartime dispatches prepared during Mani’s military service. While many of the personal possessions were eventually discarded because of practical constraints, the wartime files, along with selected diaries and newspaper clippings, were retained.

At the time, the significance of those documents was not immediately apparent. Although Mani had occasionally spoken about episodes from his wartime years, including a brief imprisonment in Indonesia after the conflict, his family had never closely examined the dispatches themselves.

Several weeks later, while researching his father’s career online, a family member came across an academic discussion posted in 2009 on the H-Asia scholarly network. The inquiry, submitted by historian Heather Goodall, sought information about P.R.S. Mani’s work on Indonesia and asked whether any archive of his writings or personal papers still existed.
The inquiry prompted immediate contact between the family and Goodall.

The surviving collection of dispatches, diaries and related documents was subsequently shared with the Australian academic for preservation and research purposes.
Goodall later digitised the wartime dispatches and made them accessible through a dedicated archive hosted by the University of Technology Sydney.

The project transformed a private collection into a publicly available historical resource, allowing researchers to examine first-hand reporting produced by an Indian correspondent embedded with Allied forces during one of the most significant campaigns fought on Indian soil during the Second World War.

The archive subsequently attracted wider academic interest. India’s National Archives organised an exhibition in New Delhi in May 2013 featuring the recovered material, bringing renewed attention to Mani’s reporting. The dispatches have since been referenced by historians studying India’s wartime experience, including research examining the military campaign in South Asia and the wider political developments surrounding the conflict.

The publication of Captain Mani’s War builds upon those archival efforts by presenting the dispatches in book form for a broader readership.
The reports describe the Japanese offensive into India’s northeastern frontier during 1944, one of the decisive phases of the Burma campaign. They chronicle military operations involving Allied forces as well as the experiences of Indian soldiers serving across multiple roles beyond the battlefield.

Rather than focusing exclusively on senior commanders or military strategy, the dispatches devote considerable attention to ordinary personnel, including medics, mechanics, mule drivers, cooks and infantrymen. Individuals are identified by name, and their actions are recorded in detail, creating an account that extends beyond operational reporting into social documentation of wartime service.

The writings also reflect the perspective of an Indian correspondent working within the British Indian Army during the final years of colonial rule. Historians have noted that such material remains comparatively uncommon because much of the wartime narrative has traditionally been shaped by British, American and other Western accounts.

Family members who later examined the recovered dispatches said the writings revealed aspects of Mani’s professional life that had remained largely unknown within the household. Although he later authored books on Indonesia and produced a brief autobiography, his wartime reporting had not received comparable attention.

The rediscovered papers also highlighted Mani’s approach to journalism. His dispatches frequently emphasised individual stories alongside broader military developments, documenting not only combat operations but also the experiences and personalities of those serving in supporting roles. That emphasis has been cited as one reason the collection continues to hold value for historians examining the human dimensions of the Burma campaign.

Beyond their military significance, the documents provide insight into the methods used by wartime public relations officers and embedded correspondents operating alongside Allied formations. Distributed through the Army’s Public Relations Department, the dispatches were circulated to Indian and international newspapers during the conflict, giving contemporary audiences access to reports from the front.

For decades, however, those reports remained largely inaccessible outside scattered archival collections. Their preservation within Mani’s personal files ensured that complete copies survived long enough to be digitised and incorporated into academic research.
The renewed interest generated by the archive has also contributed to broader efforts to recognise India’s role in the Second World War.

More than two million Indians served in the British Indian armed forces during the conflict, making it one of the largest volunteer military forces in history. Campaigns fought across northeast India and Burma played a critical role in halting Japanese advances and eventually pushing Allied forces toward victory in Southeast Asia.

The publication of the recovered dispatches adds another primary source to that historical record by documenting the campaign through the observations of an Indian correspondent present alongside frontline formations.

As historians continue reassessing India’s wartime contribution, such first-hand material provides additional evidence for understanding both military operations and the experiences of those who served during one of the defining conflicts of the twentieth century.

Actor Hannah Murray has offered a deeply personal account of psychosis, involuntary psychiatric treatment and the breakdown of her sense of reality in a forthcoming memoir, describing a period in which she believed she possessed supernatural abilities and played a central role in humanity’s salvation.

In an extract from her memoir, The Make-Believe: A Memoir of Magic and Madness, Murray recounts her experiences while undergoing a severe mental health crisis that ultimately led to her being detained under the UK’s Mental Health Act.

The actor, widely known for portraying Gilly in the television series Game of Thrones, describes a state in which ordinary events were interpreted through an elaborate belief system involving magic, destiny and spiritual transformation.

According to the memoir extract, Murray believed she had become a “Ritual Master” and viewed routine interactions within a hospital setting as part of a larger supernatural narrative. Medical staff, patients and family members were assigned symbolic roles within a reality she perceived as fundamentally altered.

She recounts being brought food and drink by a healthcare worker but refusing to eat, believing instead that she no longer required conventional nourishment. During this period, she writes that she considered herself entirely self-sufficient and capable of surviving through spiritual energy rather than physical needs.

As her condition intensified, Murray describes wandering hospital corridors while waiting for what she believed would be the arrival of an important figure connected to her perceived mission. She interpreted events around her through the lens of a complex belief system that blended personal experiences, spirituality, popular culture and fantasy.

One of the most emotionally significant moments in the account involves a phone call from her mother. Murray writes that when she first heard her mother’s distressed voice, she viewed the conversation not as a family member trying to reach her, but as part of a test designed to pull her back into ordinary reality.

She recalls ending the first call before answering again when her mother phoned back. During the second conversation, Murray attempted to reassure her that she was safe and believed she was in a positive place despite the growing concerns of those around her.

The memoir describes how medical professionals informed her that she was being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, a legal process that allows individuals experiencing severe mental illness to be detained and assessed when they may pose risks to themselves or are unable to recognise their condition.

At the time, however, Murray writes that the information had little impact because it did not fit within the reality she believed she was experiencing. References to legal procedures, assessment periods and patient rights appeared disconnected from the worldview that had taken hold during her psychosis.

Instead, she says she remained focused on what she perceived as powerful energies moving through her body and voices that reinforced her convictions. Throughout the episode, Murray believed she possessed extraordinary abilities and unlimited creative powers.

The actor describes pacing hospital corridors while delivering what she considered a profound performance, convinced she was simultaneously a magician, actor, writer and spiritual guide.

She believed she could perform any conceivable action and viewed herself as possessing superhuman capabilities.The memoir further details grandiose beliefs commonly associated with psychotic episodes. Murray writes that she became convinced she had prevented an apocalypse and served as a central figure in humanity’s future.

She interpreted cultural references, films and professional experiences as evidence supporting those conclusions.Among those interpretations was her belief that a 2016 film, The Girl with All the Gifts, contained messages connected to her perceived role in world events.

She viewed the title itself as a reflection of her identity during the episode.Murray also writes that her acting career took on symbolic significance within the delusional framework. Professional collaborations and casting decisions were reimagined as part of a larger cosmic narrative.

She came to believe that her work in television and film had been preparing her for a destiny connected to the survival and transformation of the world.The account illustrates how psychosis can fundamentally alter a person’s perception of reality, leading ordinary experiences to acquire extraordinary meanings.

Mental health specialists often describe psychosis as a condition in which individuals may experience delusions, hallucinations or disordered thinking that make it difficult to distinguish between subjective beliefs and external reality.Murray’s memoir presents those experiences from her own perspective, allowing readers to follow the internal logic that shaped her thinking during the crisis.

Rather than reflecting on the events solely through hindsight, the narrative recreates the certainty with which she held those beliefs at the time.The extract forms part of a broader memoir examining Murray’s experiences with mental illness, recovery and identity.

By documenting her psychotic episode in detail, she offers an account of how severe mental health conditions can affect perception, relationships and decision-making.The book is scheduled for publication by Cornerstone and explores both the onset of Murray’s illness and the process of understanding what happened after the crisis ended.

The actor is also due to discuss the memoir publicly during an event in London alongside Jessie Cave.For Murray, the memoir represents an effort to chronicle a period in which reality itself became unstable, transforming familiar people, places and experiences into elements of a narrative that felt entirely real at the time but was ultimately shaped by psychosis.

In August 2000, Danny Stewart, a 34-year-old social care worker living in New York City, was commuting through Union Square station when he made a discovery that would alter the course of his life. Rushing to meet his partner, Pete Mercurio, for dinner after work, Stewart noticed what appeared to be a bundle of clothing in a corner of the subway platform.

When the bundle moved, he approached and found a newborn baby wrapped in a dark sweatshirt.According to Stewart’s account, the infant still had an attached umbilical cord, indicating he had been born only recently. Stewart immediately left the platform to locate a payphone and contacted emergency services. “I found a baby,” he told the 911 operator before returning to remain with the child until authorities arrived.

Stewart later recalled sitting beside the infant while waiting for police and emergency responders. He attempted to comfort the baby and remained at the scene to provide a statement to investigators. Afterward, he met Mercurio, and the couple spent the evening discussing the unusual circumstances surrounding the discovery and questioning why the child had been left in one of New York City’s busiest transit hubs.

The incident attracted brief media attention, but Stewart said he expected his involvement to end after cooperating with authorities. Instead, approximately 12 weeks later, he was summoned to testify at a court hearing after efforts to locate the child’s birth mother were unsuccessful.

During the proceeding, the presiding judge raised the possibility of adoption and asked Stewart whether he had any interest in becoming the child’s parent. Stewart said the suggestion had not previously occurred to him, but he immediately felt drawn to the idea. Although he informed the court that he needed to discuss the matter with Mercurio, he said he had already reached a personal decision.

The proposal initially generated tension within the couple’s relationship. Stewart and Mercurio had been together for slightly more than three years but were not living together and had not discussed starting a family. Financial concerns also weighed heavily on the decision.

According to Stewart, the couple carried debt and faced practical questions about their ability to care for a child.Mercurio agreed to accompany Stewart on a visit to the infant, who was then living in foster care. Stewart recalled holding the baby and feeling an immediate connection. Mercurio later said that any reservations he had disappeared after meeting the child.

Following the visit, the couple agreed to pursue adoption together.On Dec. 20, 2000, the court granted the couple custody of the child. The transition to parenthood occurred rapidly. Stewart and Mercurio had only a short period to prepare before bringing the infant home.

They purchased parenting books and immersed themselves in learning basic childcare responsibilities while simultaneously adjusting to a new family structure. Stewart moved into Mercurio’s apartment, and the couple began raising the child together.The boy was named Kevin. The name carried personal significance for Mercurio’s family.

His parents had long spoken about an older son named Kevin who died before Mercurio was born, and they often referred to him as a guardian angel. The couple chose the name in recognition of that family connection.The early months of parenting were marked by both excitement and anxiety.

Stewart said he and Mercurio frequently took turns staying awake during the night to monitor the baby and ensure he was breathing normally. Like many first-time parents, they confronted uncertainty and fear, though they did so with far less preparation time than most families experience before welcoming a child.As Kevin grew older, the couple sought to ensure he understood the circumstances of his adoption.

They created a story explaining how they became a family and regularly read it to him. According to Stewart, Kevin requested the story repeatedly and later shared it with classmates at school. The account became part of the family’s effort to provide openness about his origins and adoption history.

The family’s story intersected with broader legal developments in New York more than a decade later. In 2011, New York legalized same-sex marriage, allowing same-sex couples to marry under state law. Stewart and Mercurio discussed marriage with Kevin, who was then 11 years old. According to Stewart, Kevin suggested that the judge who had asked them about adopting him should officiate the ceremony.

The judge later agreed, and the couple were married.While the family described many positive experiences over the years, Stewart acknowledged that Kevin also faced questions regarding his biological origins. During adolescence, he became increasingly interested in learning about his birth mother and understanding the circumstances that led to his abandonment.

Stewart said Kevin occasionally searched for physical resemblances in strangers and considered public efforts to locate his biological family.Those questions reflected challenges commonly encountered by adopted children seeking information about their identities and family histories.

Stewart said Kevin eventually came to terms with the uncertainty surrounding his birth circumstances, although the search for answers remained an important part of his personal development.The family has since worked to share its story more broadly. Mercurio wrote a memoir recounting the events that led to Kevin’s adoption.

The story originally written for Kevin as a child was later adapted into a children’s book, and the family also participated in the creation of a short animated project. Stewart said the objective was to illustrate the different ways families can be formed and to provide representation for children whose family experiences may differ from traditional narratives.

More than two decades after the discovery at Union Square station, Kevin has established an independent life and works as a software developer outside New York. Despite living in another state, Stewart said he continues to maintain a close relationship with both of his fathers.Reflecting on the events that began on a summer evening in 2000, Stewart said he and Mercurio remain aware of how unlikely the sequence of events was.

What started as an unexpected encounter on a subway platform ultimately led to the formation of a family that neither man had anticipated when they first met the abandoned newborn.