 "25 years of Kargil war: When Indian armed forces achieved near impossible")
The Ladakh and Kargil sectors have gone through a tumultuous period since independence, and this region has been at the forefront of significant battles in all the wars India has fought. Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, this remote area, isolated by high mountains with hostile climatic conditions, was where a military ingress by Pakistan took place across the Line of Control.
The intelligence failure was compounded by a sense of disbelief in the highest echelons of Pakistan, who had signed the recent Lahore Declaration while its troops had secretly crossed into vacant Indian territory in difficult high-altitude mountainous areas with aggressive intent.
The eviction of the intruders was then carried out as a result of near-suicidal frontal infantry attacks due to the restraints imposed by not allowing the Line-of-Control to be crossed, as the aim was to prevent a wider escalation. Indian soldiers had to attack uphill over rugged, open terrain in the face of aimed fire after long, arduous marches in a rarefied high-altitude atmosphere. Though these assaults resulted in 527 soldiers making the supreme sacrifice, troops were not permitted to infiltrate behind enemy positions, and fighter aircraft were not allowed to engage hostile gun positions, troop concentrations, and administrative dumps behind the LoC.
However, by the first week of July 1999, the Indian Tricolour was hoisted on Tiger Hill by brave soldiers of the Indian Army, and by the third week of July, it was flying across all the areas where the intrusions had taken place. It was a heroic fightback against daunting odds. Accounts of their unflinching devotion to duty, relentless determination, leadership, and selfless sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Armed Forces have left a legacy and continue to inspire future generations.
Operation Vijay
On May 3, 1999, the locals first reported the presence of unidentified personnel in Kargil Sector. Reconnaissance patrols were expeditiously dispatched to investigate the presence of infiltrators. The magnitude of Pakistan’s invasion and preparation were quickly revealed, and plans were prepared to evict Pakistani troops from the Indian side of the LoC. To avert escalation of the conflict, the Indian government stipulated that the LoC should not be crossed by the Indian armed forces.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt was soon realised that the operations to recapture the ridgelines from Pakistani regulars would be extremely difficult. Infantry assaults would have to be undertaken at very high altitudes while facing heavy enemy fire from multiple directions. It is a well-known maxim that the mountains favour the defenders.
Relentless infantry assaults supported by artillery fire support and air then followed, and over the course of three months, the Indian armed forces recaptured all the areas that were covertly occupied by the Pakistan Army. Names such as Tiger Hill, Tololing, Point 5140, Point 4700, Three Pimples, Chorbat La, Point 5203, Point 4875, Khalubar Top, and Jubar Top were soon well known across the country.
The gallantry of the Indian Army stood out. A total of 300 gallantry awards were awarded to the soldiers who fought in the Kargil War, out of which there were four Param Vir Chakras: Captain Vikram Batra (posthumous), Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey (posthumous), Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav, and Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar, who became household names for the display of unparalleled gallantry during the Kargil War. Other officers, JCO’s, and NCO’s, such as Captain Anuj Nayyar, Captain Haneef Uddin, Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse, Lieutenant Balwan Singh, Subedar Nirmal Singh, Naik Digendra Kumar, Rifleman Imliakum Ao, and many others, displayed outstanding courage and determination throughout the war in different sectors.
Stories of the exceptional gallantry of the Indian Army have inspired many books and films as they went from peak-to-peak, capturing Pakistani-held positions in the Mushkoh, Dras, Kaksar, and Batalik sub-sectors, where they turned the snow in those areas red with their blood. For them, the accomplishment of the task for their units mattered more. Izzat remains the defining factor for which no sacrifice is too great. In the annals of military history, the sacrifices and valour of the soldiers and leaders remain unmatched in military history.
Operation Safed Sagar
The Kargil Conflict was unique in the decision to employ airpower. What the Kargil conflict demonstrated, however, was that airpower was relevant and was very effective in the utterly demanding context of mountain warfare at high altitudes. The war offers an exemplary case study in the uses of airpower in joint warfare and the difficulties of modern air employment in high mountain conditions.
The IAF began conducting initial reconnaissance sorties over the Kargil heights as early as May 10, 1999, less than a week after the presence of the enemy incursion was first confirmed. On May 12, an IAF helicopter was fired upon in the most forward-based Pakistani positions overlooking Kargil. In the next few days, the IAF conducted tactical reconnaissance sorties to gather target information.
On May 21, 1999, the presence of personnel from the Pakistani 4th and 6th Battalions of the Northern Light Infantry’s and their positions was determined by an IAF Canberra bomber of the 106th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. On the morning of May 26, 1999, the IAF commenced air operations by attacking enemy positions and supply lines. The first strike was launched by MiG-21, MiG-27ML, and MiG-23BN fighters. MiG-29s provided air defence cover to strike aircraft. Post-strike, Canberra’s carried out recce to assess the damage inflicted on the enemy.
In the initial days, the IAF suffered a few losses. Between May 27 and May 28, the IAF lost two aircraft—a MiG-21, a MiG-27, and a Mi-17 helicopter. On May 27, the MiG-27 flown by Flight Lieutenant Kambampati Nachiketa developed mechanical problems, forcing the pilot to eject. The MiG-21, flown by Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja and orbiting in the area to look for Flight Lieutenant Kambampati Nachiketa, was shot down by a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile. Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously.
On May 28, 1999, Nubra Formation, 4 x Mi-17, was tasked with striking the ‘Point 5140′ feature, located two kilometres north of Tololing’. The nubra formation took off in time, and all went perfectly well. However, Flight Lieutenant Subramaniam Muhilan was flying the Nubra-3 formation, which got hit by the Stinger missile. Despite Flight Lieutenant Muhilan’s best effort to control the damaged helicopter, it crashed, killing him and all his crew members. He was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal posthumously. Wing Commander (later Air Commodore) Anil Kumar Sinha was the leader of the four-aircraft formation. The rocket attack launched by the formation, despite the loss of the helicopter, was successful and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Wing Commander Anil Kumar Sinha was awarded the Vir Chakra.
It was the air strikes conducted by the Indian Air Force on some of the key locations, including Tiger Hill on June 24, where LGBs were used to decimate the enemy. The most prominent among them is the strike on Muntho Dhalo, where the Pakistanis had built a supply camp in the bowl-shaped valley. Over the years, it grew into a major supply depot. The strikes of June 16 and 17 by MiG-27s and Mirage-2000s were devastating, and later attacks in the area ensured the destruction of fresh Pakistani attempts to reuse the base.
Operation Safed Sagar was a steep learning curve for the IAF and prompted an overhaul of weapons and tactics that began almost immediately after the campaign.
Operation Talwar
Operation Talwar involved protective activities such as bolstering our coastal defences and jointly conducting maritime patrols along with agencies such as the Coast Guard. Warfighting assets such as ships, submarines, and fully armed aircraft were deployed.
The Indian Navy blockaded Pakistani ports, primarily Karachi, cutting off supply routes, began aggressive patrols, and threatened to cut Pakistan’s sea trade. This exploited Pakistan’s dependence on sea-based oil and trade flows. The Pakistan Navy flew its maritime aircraft, and once the scale and span of the Indian deployment sank in, it went into a defensive mode, warning its vessels to steer clear of the Indian Navy.
It wasn’t that naval operations and activities were limited to the maritime domain. The Navy’s squadron of specially equipped electronic warfare aircraft operated extensively along the Line of Control in support of land operations. Specialist hydrographic survey teams of the Indian Navy were conjoined with the Army’s artillery batteries to pin-point gun locations.
Operation Talwar proved once again that credible maritime power can effectively safeguard national interests. Twenty-five years after the Kargil conflict, our threats in the maritime domain have only increased.
Conclusion
To quote then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Kargil: “We sent the unequivocal message to our adversaries that any military threat to our country will be dealt with swiftly, strongly, and effectively.”
Though there were analysts who felt that the nuclear tests in May 1998 precluded any conventional conflict, the Kargil conflict had driven home the message to Pakistan that India will not tolerate adventurism even under Islamabad’s umbrella of nuclear weapons and that there is still room for a short, sharp conflict.
A substantial geo-strategic outcome of the Kargil conflict was the US turning away from Pakistan as Washington concluded it was irresponsible and unworthy of a partnership. Later, the US chose to support India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group of countries and thus legitimised India’s nuclear status. Moreover, the US began a new set of engagements with India, particularly its military. The US president was also responsible for forcing Pakistan to vacate the areas occupied during the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Washington on July 4, 1999.
As many as 25 years later, and in the midst of simultaneity in tipping points across the globe ranging from conflicts to pandemic, some things stand out. These are the changing characteristics of warfare and the transformation of the Indian armed forces.
The character and conduct of warfare have changed with the growing use of terror and other irregular methods of fighting by non-state actors. Equally important have been the technological advancements in the cyber and space domains. Therefore, we must look at the impact of these changed realities on the future. The Indian armed forces must be prepared for future conflicts with a changed character because these would be very violent and unpredictable.
The importance of the human factor will remain undiminished. Soldiers will remain the primary assets. Battlespace will be contested and constrained by indeterminable factors. Recent conflicts have re-emphasised that unconventional and asymmetrical wars are gaining prominence. In the future, even conventional wars are likely to have an asymmetric component, leading to ‘hybrid wars.’
In its epilogue, the Kargil Review Committee noted that “the Committee has, after very wide interactions, sign-posted directions along the path to peace, ensuring progress, development, and stability of the nation. How exactly the country should proceed to refashion its security-intelligence-development shield to meet the challenge of the 21st century is for the government, parliament, and public opinion to determine.”
There remains no doubt that we can safeguard peace only when we have the strength to make aggression costly and futile. We cannot afford to turn away from that responsibility.
The author is a retired Major General of the Indian Army. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.
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