Rajat Jayanti Special

 

Kargil : The hour of Nation's triumph
By V. Shanmugnathan

Indian soldiers throw out the aggressor and hoist the National Flag at Tiger hill.

Since 1965 and 1971 misadventures, intrusion across the line of control (LoC) in Kargil early in 1999 was Pakistan's most audacious misadventure against India. It had all the elements of a grand strategy, surprise and decept. That the misadventure was thwarted and the Pakistani troops, entrenched at altitudes exceeding 4000 meters, were soon routed out and made to beat retreat is a tribute to the professionalism and valour of the Indian armed forces. It is also a tribute to the BJP-led NDA government that gave the armed forces all the support and, by its skillful policy decision, kept the conduct of the operation well below the nuclear threshold and won endorsement of the international community. Above all, it is a tribute to the people of India, who stood unitedly behind the government and the armed forces. In the general election that followed a few months later they gave a fresh mandate to NDA and expressed their endorsement of BJP's commitment to nationalism.

Operation Vijay - A legend in high altitude warfare

Kargil Committee, that was set up by the government under the chairmanship of the noted defence analyst K. Subrahmanyam, has come to the conclusion that the plan to capture a 5 to 10 k.m. strip across the 168 k.m. long LoC in the Kargil sector was finalized in October 1998, soon after General Parvez Musharraf became Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff. He secured approval of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was engaged in the camouflage of preparing for the Lahore summit with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. While the summit was on, about 2000 Pakistani soldiers along with a few Mujahideen had begun surreptitiously to sneek through the "unheld gaps" in the LoC to occupy positions to depths of 5 to 10 kms. The intrusions were first noticed on 3rd May in the Batalik subsector by two shepherds. The patrols then launched by the Indian Army determined the extent of the intrusions made in the various subsectors, namely, Batalik, Dras and Manhkoh, Kaksar and Turtok that adjoins Siachin. The Indian Army's response by way of operation Vijay was extremely rapid and strong and has become a legend in high altitude warfare. The effective use of air power and heavy artillery came as a surprise to the Pakistanis. Our troops fought with exemplary valour and were led by officers from the front. When Tolioling was captured, the rout of Pakisanis was complete and the withdrawal statement by Nawaz Sharif in Washington was only a fig leaf. On the Indian side 474 men lost their lives and 1,109 were wounded. On the Pakistani side over 700 regular soldiers and about 250 irregulars were killed.

We should recall the Kargil operation, which was both a military and diplomatic triumph for India.

Military experts are unanimous in their opinion that the intrusion on the scale attempted by Pakistan ("salami slicing" in Cold War terminology) was totally unsustainable because of the lack of supportive infrastructure on their side and was militarily irrational. Why, then, did Pakisan attempt the intrusion that was doomed to fail? Kargil committee is of the opinion that the politico-strategic motives of Pakistan were to internationalise Kashmir as a nuclear flash point requiring urgent third party intervention, to alter the LoC and disrupt its sanctity by capturing unheld areas in Kargil and to achieve a better bargaining position for a possible trade-off against the positions held by India in Siachen. Among the military/proxy war related motives were: to interdict the Srinagar-Leh road (national highway IA) and to threaten the recently built bye pass, to impair India's defences in Turtok and Siachin, to give a fillip to militancy in J&K and to weaken the counter insurgency gird by drawing away troops from the Valley to Kargil. Pakistan's underlying assumption was that India's response would be weak and that, because Pakistan and India were now nuclear weapon states, the international community would intervene very soon and impose a ceasefire that would enable Pakistan to retain its territorial gains.

India's will and capacity to respond strongly for the defence of its territory and honour has been consistently misread by Pakistan since 1947. So was it in 1999 also. Though the NDA Government at that time was a caretaker one and was awaiting a general election, it resolutely launched itself in the defence of India's interests. That is the difference made by BJP's ideal of nationalism and unflinching commitment to national security. Apart from launching Operation Vijay of the Army, strong signals were sent out by the use of the Air Force and the western fleet of the Navy (Operation Talwar). But due caution was exercised (for instance, by the direction to the armed forces not to cross the LoC). By a competent and articulate management on the diplomatic front and the media (Kargil was the first war fought in the sub-continent in the gaze of television cameras) we won support of the international community. Pakistan, it is hoped, has now realised the limits to nuclear blackmail. That may be the abiding gain of the Kargil conflict. By its conduct of the Kargil operation the BJP led NDA Government has established the imperative of co-existence between neighbouring nuclear weapon states in which misadventure and blackmail will have no place.

Was Kargil avoidable?

Kargil Committee has answered the question in the following words:

"A Kargil-type situation could perhaps have been avoided had the Indian Army followed a policy of Siachenisation to plug unheld gaps along the 168 km. stretch from Kaubal Gali to Chorbat La. This would have entailed establishing a series of winter cut-off posts with communications and other logistic support and specially equipped and trained soldiers to hold these positions and undertake winter patrolling despite risk of cold injuries and avalanche casualties, which would have had to be accepted. Such a dispersal of forces to hold uninhabited territory of no strategic value would have dissipated considerable military strength and effort and would not have been at all cost-effective. ...The alternative should be a credible declaratory policy of swiftly punishing wanton and willful violations of the sanctity of the LoC. This should be supplemented by a comprehensive space and aerial based surveillance system."

Based on the recommendations of the committee the NDA government undertook wide-ranging reforms in our intelligence framework and undertook infusion of new technology.

BJP has always regarded the soldier as the centrepiece of our defence. In the wake of the Kargil conflict and subsequently utmost attention was given by the NDA government to catering to the weaponary, equipment and other requirements of the troops and everything possible was done to enhance their morale and esteem. Departing from the past practice, bodies of the martyred soldiers were brought to their homes and were cremated/buried with military honour; the local communities participated with due solemnity. The injured soldiers were given the best possible medical treatment. Financial grants to bereaved families and to the soldiers, permanently disabled were increased manifold.

Vijay Veer Awas Yojana

A special mention should be made of the Vijay Veer Awas Yojana in the Dwarka area of Delhi. A self-contained complex (including medical and canteen facilities) of about 400 two and three bed-room flats was constructed by the Delhi Development Authority. By waiving off the cost of land (which, in Delhi, constitutes three-fourths of the total cost of a flat) and administrative charges for construction, the flats were provided to the families of those martyred in Kargil and to the soldiers permanently disabled in operation Vijay at prices between Rs. 3.5 to 5 lakhs, as compared to the normal DDA prices of Rs 15 to 20 lakhs. The complex was dedicated by Shri Vajpayee and Shri. Advani and stands as a monument of BJP's homage to our brave soldiers.

During its six years in office the NDA Government has done more than any previous government did for the welfare and esteem of our soldiers and ex-servicemen. Had it been returned to office in 2004 the demand for "one rank one pension" would also have been met.

We should recall the Kargil operation, which was both a military and diplomatic triumph for India. The Pakistani intruders were evicted with heavier casualties than those suffered by India. The sanctity of the LoC received international recognition and Pakistan was isolated in the comity of nations.