Kargil War At A Glance

As nation observes the 25th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, the event is an occasion to pay homage to the courage and valour of the soldiers between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LOC) with the Indian Army successfully evicting Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing the Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of Operation Vijay.

Hyderabad: In order to commemorate India’s win in the war, the Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on July 26.Over decades the situation remains the same and the raw courage and valour of young officers and men has proven time and again that the Indian Army has never been short of “courage”. Kargil was the first operation that was covered “live”; much to the chagrin of the troops being launched into operations. In the recent past it was again demonstrated by Late Col Suresh Babu, MVC and his gallant men as they clashed with the PLA at Galwan on 15th June 2020.

The Kargil war was fought between India and Pakistan between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LOC). During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing the Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of Operation Vijay. The Indian soldiers had secured this victory after a three-month conflict that led to a loss of lives from both sides with the Indian side losing nearly 490 officers, soldiers, and jawans. Due to political reasons the mission of IPKF was changed overnight leading to a violent conflict which led to 1200 Killed in Action and more than 3000 gravely wounded/amputations for life.

In 1948 operations – 1,104 killed; 1962 war – 1,383 killed; 1965 war – 2,862 killed; 1971 war – 3900 killed Kargil 1999 war – 527 killed.

The Government of India both in 1987 and 1999 had imposed restrictions on use of all its resources to eliminate the enemy. During Kargil, restriction was imposed that the Line of Control will not be transgressed to evict the enemy, not with standing the fact that we lost two fighter aircraft and one helicopter. This is something to reflect upon as we remember and honour our Braveheart’s for their supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation.

Main events of Kargil war

Events leading to war:The Pakistani infiltration in the Kargil sector was first reported by Tashi Namgyal, a local shepherd.Tashi Namgyal was looking for his missing yak when he saw the camouflaged Pakistani intrudersHe informed the nearest post of the Army who cross-checked and found the information to be correct.

The planning and aims of Pakistan

Amarinder noted that after India conducted Operation Brasstacks in 1986, the Pakistani Army developed a war-game called Operation Tupac. This particular war-game ran a simulation scenario, looking at the different possibilities in case Pakistan invaded India. About a decade later, in 1998, once Gen. Pervez Musharraf became Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, he took up Operation Tupac and decided to implement it.India's crucial link-NH10-Srinagar to Leh runs near LoC and could be targeted easily from the occupied high peak/posts. This Was to create a situation which would enable Pakistan to negotiate from strength by securing the large tracts of Indian territory across the LOC. By launching a military operation the opportunity was ripe to internationalise the Kashmir Issue.

How India Won A Diplomatic War Against Pakistan In Kargil War

India exposed to the world through its effective diplomacy that Pakistan was the aggressor in this conflict and nailed its lie and deceit in front of international community and isolated Pakistan globally. Indian diplomats countered this strategy by explaining to the International community about the intricacies of the Loc and effectively conveyed to them that it's the Pakistani actions was a attack on India's sovereignty. Indian diplomacy ensured that instead of doing so, these important countries, especially the United States, leaned on Pakistan to withdraw from Kargil. To convince the world that India was a victim of Pakistan’s aggression—the latter had violated the Simla Agreement. By the end of June, the U.S. government, the European Union, and the G-8 all threatened sanctions on Pakistan if it did not withdraw to its side of the LoC. International pressure was building up. As General Pervez Musharraf later admitted in his book In the Line of Fire, India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan diplomatically had worked and created a “demoralizing effect on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.” Sharif would eventually cave to Clinton’s pressure thus bringing the war to an end.Untill 4th July Indian army has captured stratagic peaks like tiger hill, Tololing and many more. Under US pressure (President Bill Clinton)Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif orders pull out of 'Troops 'on 4th July.

Israel helped India with ordnance and armaments , UAVs , while(not official)USA refused GPS help.

Three operation was included in this war namely- Operation Vijay which was done by Indian Army and Operation Safed Sagar which was done by Indian air force and Operation Talwar which was done by Indian Navy.

Operation Vijay:In May, 1999, an operation was launched by the Indian Army named'Operation Vijay'. Now, the Indian troops moved towards the occupied Pakistani positions with air cover provided by aircraft and helicopters.

Operation Safed Sagar -"Operation White Sea")was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with the Ground troops during the 1999 Kargil war that was aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.

Operation Talwar -Under 'Operation Talwar', the 'Eastern Fleet' joined the 'Western Naval Fleet' and blocked the Arabian Sea routes of Pakistan. The blockade was so powerful that was created by the Indian Navy that the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif disclosed that Pakistan was left with just six days of fuel (POL) to sustain itself if a full-fledged war had broken out. This is how the Indian Navy played a pivotal role and helped the Indian Army and Air Force during the Kargil War.

The key players in India's Diplomatic victory

Vajpayee remained calm and unwaveringly focused on the objective of throwing out Pakistan from Kargil.

National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra ensured that all Indian institutions worked harmoniously to achieve the national aim of defeating Pakistan in Kargil.

External affairs minister Jaswant Singh led the diplomatic effort from the front.

Foreign secretary K Raghunath, ever thoughtful, sharpened India’s diplomatic arguments to profile Pakistan’s irresponsibility.

How India Beefed Up Its Defences in Infiltrated areas Post Kargil War

India now has three Battalions guarding the Loc in Kargil in 1999 we had only one battalion.The army’s deployment strength has more than tripled. Several helipads have come up near the LOC to help the army with supply rounds and quick mobility of reserves.The Indian defences are backed by Leh airport, which was turned into a fighter base after the Kargil war.The army has also made new ammunition points and revised its ammunition reserves. Communication has improved with the laying of optical fiber cables and surveillance was heightened with more Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and satellite imagery.

Role Of Bofors The Artillery In Kargil Victory

The artillery played a significant role in defeating Pakistan in Heights of Kargil.

Enemy targets on both sides of the LOC were engaged . Nearly fifty fire units comprising artillery guns, howitzers ,mortars and one rocket battery were employed in the area of operations for various purposes ; for destroying given objectives ,for supporting the infantry attacks and for carrying out counter bombardment.

In all these ,the units fired nearly 250,000 rounds/rockets over a period of ninety days.On some occasions when a company commander became a casualty the forward observation officer took over the rifle company and led it to capture the assigned objective.As an effective innovation in mountain ware fare, field guns ,the 155-mm Bofors Howitzers ,130 -mm medium guns and even 122 -mm grad multi barrel rockets launchers were employed in a direct firing role.

THE PARAMVEERS OF KARGIL WAR

Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav: Played a key role in the capture of The Tiger Hill ,He was decorated with the nation's highest gallantry award the Param Vir Chakra.

Rifleman Sanjay Kumar-Played a key role in the capturing of Point 4875 in the Mashkoh valley.

Captain Vikram Batra - On the 7th July 1999, Captain Vikram Batra volunteered to lead an attack to recapture the area north of Point 4875 from where the enemy was interfering in the operations of 13 JAK rifles.

Manoj Kumar Pandey-Khalubar was eventually captured andCapt Manoj Kumar Pandey with his supreme sacrifice not set an example of unparalleled bravery but changed the course of Kargil war.

Aftermath-

AtalBihari led NDA won 303 seats in the 13th Loksabha elections in October 1999.

General Parvez Musharraf staged a coup d'etat against PM Sharif on 12 October 1999.

Huge backlash in Pakistan over the Kargil blunder.

Significance of this Kargil -war

Only direct conflict betwen two nuclear capable nations.

Limited area of warfare.

High altitude mountains warfare .

US and west identified Pakistan as agressor and condemned it. 1st time US was favourable to India.

First war beamed 'live ' to TVs in India.Though it created many conspiracy for raising question of nation security .

The four lessons from the Kargil war for a new India

One of the key lessons from Kargil is that the Rawalpindi GHQ, working with Pakistan-based terror groups, will stymie all attempts made by the political leaderships of both India and Pakistan to bridge the gap between the two countries.

The second lesson of Kargil was the downside of fighting a battle within Indian territory Two decades later, PM Modi has changed the paradigm with the Balakot air strike, as future Indian battles may now be fought on enemy territory.

The third lesson of war was that the era of stand-off weapons had dawned on the sub-continent, and the time for close combat was over.

The fourth lesson from Kargil was that Indian intelligence agencies must be empowered by the political leadership, unlike what had been done under the IK Gujral regime prior to the Kargil war. The defanging of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing, under the Gujral Doctrine ensured that actionable intelligence was not available before the onset of war.