Kargil Vijay Diwas is a day to salute our brave jawans and at the same time it is an occassion to take a stock of the recommendations of K Subramanyam Committee report
Prime Minister Vajpayee launched the Delhi-Lahore bus service on February 19, 1999 and in the post-Pokhran scenario first time, Bharat-Pakistan relationship was expected to be moving in the positive direction. Since Pakistan is ‘Pakistan’, those expectations were shattered in a couple of months time. In the second week of May, on a tip-off by a local shepherd in the Batalik sector, Capt Saurabh Kalia led a patrolling to the Kargil sector. Their ambushing led to the exposure of the infiltration by the Pakistan forces in this area.
The continuing proxy war and the prevailing nuclearised security environment justify a thorough review of the national security
On the one hand, it took many in Bharat by surprise, and at the same time exposed Pakistan internationally. It has been a recognised fact that the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Bharatiya side of the Line of Control, which serves as the de facto border between the two nations, caused the war. Though, Pakistan blamed the ‘independent Kashmiri insurgents’ for war and the civilian Government conveniently put the blame on the Army, documents left behind by casualties, and later statements by Pakistan”s Prime Minister and Chief of the Army Staff, showed involvement of Pakistani forces.
Bharat immediately launched Operation Vijay and within two months time, successfully recaptured the area by end of July. The terrain was difficult, the enemy was firing from the heights, there was a tremendous international pressure as both the neighbours by then had acquired the nuclear power status, still Bharatiya armed forces displayed the spectacular piece of bravery. The Bharatiya Army, supported by the Air Force, attacked the Pakistani positions and, with international diplomatic support, eventually forced a Pakistani withdrawal across the Line of Control (LoC). It was July 26, 1999, when Bharat officially declared the victory and since then that date is celebrated as the ‘Kargil Vijay Divas’.
Key Facts about the Kargil war
- The Kargil war between Bharat and Pakistan in Kargil, Ladakh which was initially Baltistan district, between May and July of 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Bakkharwals or shepherds of the high altitude region played a key role in passing on this information to the Bharatiya Army on May 3;
- The ambush of Capt Saurabh Kalia led patrolling team further exposed the infiltration;
- After the initial denial, it was proved that the Pakistan Army led by Pervez Musharraf orchestrated the attack;
- The infiltrators positioned themselves in key locations that gave them a strategic advantage during the start of the conflict;
- Based on information from local shepherds, the Indian Army was able to ascertain the points of incursion and launch “Operation Vijay”;
- Being the high altitude war, Safed Sagar, the operation of Bharatiya Air Force , was a major part of the Kargil war as the air power was used at the height of 32,000 feet for the first time for identifying the Pakistani troops and Mujahideens;
- PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared the operation successful on July 14, the operation was officially declared closed on July 26, 1999.
- While Pakistan confirmed that 453 soldiers were killed, according to the white paper released by PML (N) party led by Nawaz Sharif in its “white paper” on the war mentioned that more than 3,000 Mujahideens, officers and soldiers were killed.
- From Bharatiya side, casualty figures are 527 dead and 1,363 wounded.
- The Kargil War memorial, built by the Indian Army, is located in Dras, in the foothills of the Tololing Hill.
It is certainly a day to salute our brave soldiers. At the same time, it is also the day to address some hard questions like what were the reasons that led to such intelligence failure, why we had to pay the heavy price of this mis-adventurism by Pakistan, and are me more secured along the LOC. After the success of Operation Vijay, the Committee was constituted on July 29, 1999 against the backdrop of the heated public discussion on Pakistan”s aggression in Kargil under the chairmanship of K Subramanyam. Lieutenant General (Retd.) K.K. Hazari, B.G. Verghese and Satish Chandra were the other members while , Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) was also there as a designated Member-Secretary.
The Terms of Reference of the Committee were:
- To review the events leading up to the Pakistani aggression in the Kargil District of Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir; and
- To recommend such measures as are considered necessary to safeguard national security against such armed intrusions.”
The report of the committee makes many candid observations and recommendations regarding the intrusion based on the primary sources. Strengthening the intelligence infrastructure, expediting the defence modernisation with adequate budgeting, establishing civil-military liaison mechanism at levels and sensitising both military officials and media persons about the reporting during the war times were some of the key recommendations. The remark that, “The political, bureaucratic, military and intelligence establishments appear to have developed a vested interest in the status quo. National security management recedes into the background in time of peace and is considered too delicate to be tampered with in time of war and proxy war. The Committee strongly feels that the Kargil experience, the continuing proxy war and the prevailing nuclearised security environment justify a thorough review of the national security system in its entirety”, is perhaps the crux of the entire report. How far we have moved forward in changing this status quo is the key question we need to ponder over while celebrating the Kargil Vijay Diwas.
— Oganiser Bureau
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