The intrusion by Pakistani Army personnel into the posts vacated by the Indian troops with the onset of winter late in 1998 on Kargil heights was first detected on May 3, 1999. It was the nomads of the area who informed the local Indian Army formations about the presence of Pakistani troops on higher reaches. A trifle taken aback initially, these formations sent discreet patrols to try to gauge the extent of intrusions. As days went by, the Indian Army realised that they were looking at Pakistanis holding positions on a wide front along Line of Control (LoC).
The 15 Corps headquartered at Srinagar, also called Chinar Corps, was then commanded by Lieutenant General Kishan Pal. Ironically, Lt Gen Pal infamously described these holding of positions by Pakistani regulars as a “local’’ skirmish in the initial days of the war. These words were grossly misleading and did not reflect the harsh realities that prevailed on the ground then. He ignored early warnings about Pakistani presence, gave wrong assessments to Northern Command, as also the Army headquarters in Delhi and was an epitome of flawed leadership. Many reports about his acts of omission and commission are available online.
Many years after the Kargil war, the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) indicted Lt Gen Pal for “doctoring battle performance and after action’’ reports to belittle the achievements of then Batalik-based 70 Brigade headed by Brigadier Devinder Singh who had predicted such a scenario as happened in Kargil much earlier but Lt Gen Pal ignored these words of caution as alarmist reports. Ironically, Lt Gen Pal got a gallantry award for the Kargil war and Brigadier Singh was denied promotion to next rank of Major General.
Brigadier Singh, however, decided to challenge his sidelining and the case dragged on for years altogether, long after he had retired. Justice A K Mathur, who headed the AFT, ordered that Lt Gen Pal’s biased assessments regarding Brigadier Singh be expunged from official records. Brigadier Singh had said after the AFT verdict that he felt vindicated and his honour was restored. Even if he won’t don the rank of a Major General, he would be considered for the same notionally and that was a big win for the Brigade he commanded.
Many more such stories of chicanery and making some young officers “scapegoats’’ so that senior officers could go scot free are also there in the Army records. But it was the josh of the young soldiers and younger officers who fought pitched battles with Pakistani troops that led to victories at dozens of locations. Incidentally, the Kargil war was one where the young troops covered themselves in glory for the way they fought. For the way they redeemed the faith put in them by their immediate superiors.
Grenadier Yoginder Singh was barely 19 when he won the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) for the extraordinary grit and determination he showed while fighting a battle. Dozens of his fellow soldiers died in that onslaught and Yoginder barely managed to survive though he got several bullet injuries. The Battle of Tololing, won on June 13, had an electrifying effect on Indian troops all around. The Indian Army captured two vital posts: Point 5060 and Point 5100 near Tiger Hill on June 29, 1999.
A young Captain or a Major here, and a young soldier barely out of his teens leading a frontal assault on enemy positions there, such were the stories that trickled in day after day. By June 15, halfway mark of the month, the tide had started against the entrenched Pakistanis decisively. The Indian field commanders and soldiers had started talking about vanquishing the enemy and annihilating it altogether.
