Vijay Diwas - A New 'Kargil' in making
Vijay Diwas: A New 'Kargil' In Making!
Newsletter Number: 003, 29th July 2022
The Print: There have been 819 suicides - 642 in the Army, 29 in the navy & 148 in the Air Force - in the last five years, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt told the Rajya Sabha this week.
26 July, Kargil Vijay Diwas: 23 years ago, our Indian army showed the world how a war is won despite having limited resources and an unfavourable situation. Of course, we won the war but at the cost of the lives of 500 plus Indian soldiers. Last 23 years, we have been celebrating this day with pride as Vijay Diwas. But..but..but, Are we ready for another Kargil? Is another Kargil in the making?
Did we learn from our mistakes? Did we ask the right questions? Did we implement the expert advice post-war? 23 years later, in 2022, do we support our army just from the heart? or on a few days? or Are we really concerned about them? Let's dive in to understand What Kargil was & what the learnings we took from it or not?
The Kargil War
Historically talking, there has been no time of total peace between India & Pakistan. More or less, always there are infiltration & shelling attempts by Pakistan at LOC along or all-out war. A strange shelling started in the first week of May 1999, strange because, just three months ago, both the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee & Mr. Nawaz Shareef met at the Wagha border on a friendly note. The Lahore peace talk was going on & our Prime Minister received a 21-gun salute at Islamabad. With these ongoing, India thought, this can be the progressive step in the relationship between the two neighbours but as usual, the 'Aman ki Asha' has been destroyed. We came to learn that when Indian representatives were in the peace talks, the regular Pakistani army, in the dress of terrorists, infiltrated and crossed 80 Kms after LOC and occupied the 'Kargil Heights'. It's a very strategic location placed at around 16 thousand to 18 thousand feet from the ground. Strategic because if shelling starts from this point, it can easily disrupt the Leh-Srinagar highway. Indian political leadership was stunned and confused because on one side, they were in the peace talks with Pakistan and reality is far from the theory. Our initial reaction was not so successful because we were not sure about anything at the border. When we started Operation Vijay, we had no idea about the number of infiltrators or the arms/ammunition they had, or how many bunkers have been placed. Initially, we had to suffer high losses due to a lack of intelligence as we thought it was a terrorist attack, but it was a full-fledged Pakistan army that was on the other side.
India Hits Back
Despite having tactical & operational disadvantages, the Indian army kept moving through those icy heights & inhospitable mountain terrain where no one can hide and was always the target of the Pakistan army from the top. A high loss of lives followed and we lost a high chunk of soldiers in this movement. But we kept moving on and with the help of small arms and artilleries, we kept re-capturing our area slowly. Indian Air Force played a very limited but important role in the Kargil war. IAF was instructed to not move in Pakistan, but they destroyed bunkers and the back supply line of the Pakistan army through the air with help of laser-guided missiles. This decisive intervention of IAF changed the dynamics of operations. A few IAF veterans later told, that if a free hand could be given to them, they could do more and more and not just provide the air cover to the ground force. Up to now, the last week of May 1999, India didn't declare an all-out war and kept it a limited theatre.
On June 13th, Tololing Heights was again re-captured by the Indian army which created the turning point in the operations. 5140 was also captured and after this capture, our famous & brave Captain Vikram Batra said - Dil Maange More! This helped the Indian army to stand against the enemy with more motivation and enthusiasm. This line filled the forces with more zeal. The whole system and India were filled with pride and zeal for our boys.
But why did India keep it as a limited theatre? Because, India wanted to show that, India does not want any kind of clash or war. And because of this India succeded in exposing Pakistani Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Shaeef and Army Head General Parvaiz Musharraf on the international diaspora.
On July 04, we re-captured Tiger Hill & major peaks have been re-captured by 13th July. By this time, Pakistani infiltrators and intruders started drawing back. On 26th July, the Government of India declared the success of Operations Vijay & that's why 26th July has been celebrated as Vijay Diwas.
Impact on Pakistan
Pakistan got exposed as the 'Aggressor' on international platforms like G8, IMF, United States even. Before Kargil, Pakistan was an ally of the US but after this, the US declared Pakistan as a 'Terrorists Harbouring Nation'. India pushed and placed Pakistan on the 'Grey List' of FATF. The main purpose of starting this war from Pakistan's side was - To raise the Kashmir issue on the international level and to bring the UN into the scene. But Pakistan failed miserably and they didn't have the idea that India can unilaterally change the war scene and emerge as a Mature Power.
Learning & steps taken post-war: We won the war and also learned the lessons:
Another Kargil in Making!
Today, after 23 years we are witnessing a similar situation in Eastern Ladakh, where Chinese forces compelled Indian forces to move the man, machinery, and arms, to the high-altitude deserted areas at a massive cost to the military. But why? Because China is being notorious and infiltration from this side has started in the last few years. Actually, we did the same mistake here, we trusted China more than required. When China started infiltration, we said it was nothing but the differences in perception & situational awareness. Every leader used to talk like 'Sab Changa Si' and everything is good at the border. Slowly, China occupied the No Man's Land & then started heavy infiltration into the Indian territory. We ignored many warnings before 2020, as we did in Kargil. And when it became too late, we learned that how deadly it is what we called transgression & perception difference. On the nights of 15th & 16th June 2020, what we saw at Galwan valley is the prime proof of this. They thrashed our twenty soldiers in the brutal clashes with nail-studded wooden pieces, iron rods, and cemented poles. Although China has not yet declared the loss at its end. It is very important also because it never happened in the last 45 years and how motivated China is.
We already lost more than 500 soldiers in 1999, but imagine the loss we will have if China becomes the next Kargil because this time we are not talking about 80-100 km Leh Srinagar highway, we are talking about 700-800 km of Ladakh. The level of adversity is beyond imagination. There is only one way which can be suggested:
Two prong approach for China:
It has been two years or more of Galwan valley incident but the Government of India kept mum about it. It is like DDLJ theory. Deny, Distract, Lie or Justify! Let's have a look at various headlines in newspapers:
The Indian Express: Our Prime Minister told us No one has entered Indian territory or captured any military post.
The Hindu: China controls 1000 sq. km of area in Ladakh.
The Indian Express: Chinese incursions due to 'difference of perception' - Rajnath
India Today: Defence Ministry removes reports on Chinese intrusion from the website, looks at the prolonged standoff at Pangong Tso
The Hindu: Second Chinese village along Arunachal Border: Satellite Images
The Wire: General Bipin Rawat dismisses Pentagon report on Chinese Construction in Arunachal
According to reports, China is building a full-fledged bridge over Pangong Tso lake for the rapid movement of men, machines and arms from the north Tso lake to the southern part of it. If we keep mum on it, it will surely backfire in time.
Agnipath: Playing with Fire - When our army needs to more modernise, we made it an employment generation tool through the Agnipath scheme.
The critical shortage of ammunition: After Kargil, the army introduced a concept called MARL (Minimum Accepted Risk Level). The bottom line is, that we must have the ammunition and arms for 20 days of intense warfighting anytime. The stocking level of fewer than 10 days is 'Critical'. Critical shortages of ammunition have been reported publicly by CAG. It is easier said than done. Building up stocks to that level needs money - to buy ammo, keep it safe, and replenish stocks as their shelf life expires. At the same time, if we look at the budgets, there is a marked decline in defence spending as a percentage of GDP in recent years. The IAF is already down to 30 fighter squadrons against the 42 it needs, the Navy has 130 vessels against the original goal of 200 (later revised down to 170).
The Enemy Within:
The Print: As we get ready to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, while mourning the loss of more than 500 soldiers - most of whom were in the early part of their youth- there is something else that must weigh heavily on our conscience; the number of soldiers committing suicides and of other non-war reasons.
The Print: There have been 819 suicides - 642 in the Army 29 in the navy & 148 in the Air Force - in the last five years, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt told the Rajya Sabha this week.
Of course, we have to look after China & Pakistan, but we also need to look within. We can't afford to lose our soldiers like this. Additional allowances, leaves, and counselling sessions will help the soldiers to keep their mental wellness high.
Overall, in this long article, I wanted to say - We do give full respect, we celebrate Vijay Diwas, We do Tiranga Yatra procession & Salute our forces but the question is - Is this respect just in words or in action? The question is as an alert citizens, what & how we are doing or helping for other betterment of the greater good?
Thanks for reading! I would love to see your comments on this.
Paritosh
Genie Pads | Reliance Foundation Fellow'25 | Author | Microbiologist
2 年Kargil war reminds me of days when my father was constantly working day and night. It wasn't only the nation or soldiers who were fighting, families were also involved in fear of loss, struggle, and desire to win and end the war. I remember my father saying, "If we had a free hand, the number of martyred soldiers would have been less. When Politics interferes we lose soldiers." Well, I hope our nation does not face another Kargil as we have already lost more soldiers than mentioned in the news. Thanks for sharing Paritosh Anand! It was informative.