Kargil War
Kargil is a place where the war between India & Pakistan took place and it is called LOC (Line of Control ), which divides India , Pakistan and Kashmir but this year in May both the countries came up with surprises because just before couple of months the head Governors had promised to work towards peace. The Pakistani intruders dug themselves in the heights of 16,000 - 18,000ft on the Indian side of LOC at a stretch of 80 Km to the north of Kargil and in the first week of May they started hammering at the highway's linking to Srinagar and Leh. On 26th of May the Indian Air Force rained the rockets & fired the machine guns on the intruders camp's tucked far away from the reach of army. By the end of that week Indian army casualties were mounted to 34 killed and 131 wounded and 12 were missing, ( a possibility of this soldiers to be in the hands of Pakistanis ) and there was a loss of two Jet fighters and because of that the army assumed that there must have been 300 people dead in Leh - Srinagar Road where it collapsed. Within a week of operation Vijay, It was obvious that the Indian army would have to fight for a long time to evict the Pakistani intruders from their positions over looking the vital Srinagar-Leh highway. An important variable was in the Kargil equation was Pakistan's attempt to internationalize the issue, and to what extremes would it go to achieve that end and according to Major- General J.J.Singh, the additional general of Military operation said " Hold them from the front and isolate them from the rear ( the pakistan side LoC ) and then roll up their positions one by one."
India postulates that Pakistan had become
increasingly bugged over its failure of neculear flashpoint and iot was looking for its
way to bring Kashmir back in focus. Pakistani's thought that by making a new front India
wont be able to strike through.Taken by surprise at the valor of Pakistan's action,
India's response was delayed. The situation became evident when Defence Minister
George Fernandes was briefed by the army on May 6 after an Indian patrol stumbled on a
camp set up on the Kukarthang ridge in the Batalik area. While his May 12-14 visit,defence
minister Fernandes was accompanied by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the
Northern Command, Lt-General H.M. Khanna, and the 15 Corps Commander, Lt-General Krishen
Pal, who briefed him on the developments in the region. Meanwhile, Vajpayee too was given
a detailed briefing about India's plans to deal with the intruders.
The world reaction against Paskistan was
interpreted by the government as a major victory. it can only be hoped that this was for
the press while it has seen the finer print of the international statements and is
preparing for it . For while the big print of the G-8 communiqué, and the Clinton-Sharif
statement sqaurely puts the onus on Pakistan for Kargil, the fine print ensures that India
is left with little option but to enter into a supervised and monitored dialouge on
Kashmir.
The Lahore Declaration was an eyewash. Nations that exercised the nuclear option with each other in mind could not shake their right hands without carrying a knife in the left. Mr Sharif knew peace was illusory and used it to lull the enemy into complacency. Mr Vajpayee belived the illusion and came back hallucinating about the Noble Prize for peace. Kargil happened and the infiltrators crossed the LoC before Mr Vajpayee crossed the Wagah border.
Kargil, July 9: Indian jawans fighting a
debilitating high-altitude war against Islamic militants in Kashmir have been shocked by
the intruders' superior weaponry and relatively luxurious rations. "They have
biscuits and chocolates and even British cigarettes," said Brigadier Amar Aul,
India`s military commander for the battlezone of Dras.
Brig Aul said the rations had been frequently found in mountains-tops bunkers and camps
captured from the gurrillas in Indian assaults.Indian soldiers often go hungry or thirsty
as the food freezes solid and the snow on the peak is laced with cordite from exploded
shells and cannot be melted for water." a soldier said.
" We love to eat and drink Pakistani rations whenever we find them." He said showing a pack of low nicotine Rothmans cigarettes and a packet of cream biscuits he had brought down from a recaptured peak.
Indian soldiers also complain that what while their clothing is unsuited for mountain warfare, the guerrillas have thermal suits and the same tents that are used by top mountaineers.
"Some of the peaks are under several
feet of snow and it`s tough task getting along on foot," said a Lieutenant Colnel
from Rajputana Rifles.
"On the other hand, the Pakistanis have snowmobiles, expensive skis, fur-lined gloves
and snow goggles," he said.
The Indian troops were fighting at altitudes ranging from 17,000 feet to 20,000 feet.
"How can our defence personnel fight when they are not even given proper boots for
this kind of terrain," Gen Sharma said.
A government attempt to import 50,000 pairs of snow boots last month proved futile as none
of the overseas dealers of specialised military products held such large stocks.
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