The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
from May to July 1999 in the
Kargil district of
Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the
Line of Control
The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serve ...
(LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay ( hi, विजय, ), which was the codename of the Indian military operation in the region. The role of the
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
in acting jointly with the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
was aimed at flushing out both the
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC,
[http://>.nic.in/content/op-safed-sagar] in what was designated as
Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar ( hi, ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. "Operation White Ocean") was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aim ...
( hi, ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, label=none, ).
The conflict was triggered by the infiltration of Pakistani troops—disguised as
Kashmiri militants—into strategic positions on the Indian side of the LoC,
which serves as the ''de facto'' border between the two countries in the
disputed region of Kashmir. During its initial stages, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
and
Chief of Army Staff showed the involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by
General Ashraf Rashid. The Indian Army, later supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LoC; facing international diplomatic opposition, Pakistani forces withdrew from all remaining Indian positions along the LoC.
The Kargil War is the most recent example of
high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such, posed significant logistical problems for the combatting sides. It also marks one of only two instances of
conventional warfare
Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined and fight by using weapons that target primari ...
between
nuclear-armed states (alongside the
Sino-Soviet border conflict
The Sino-Soviet border conflict was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought the world's two largest communist states to ...
). India had conducted its first successful test
in 1974; Pakistan, which had been developing its nuclear capability in secret since around the same time, conducted its first known tests
in 1998, just two weeks after
a second series of tests by India.
Location
200px, Location of the conflict
Before the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, Kargil was a
tehsil
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, a sparsely populated region with diverse linguistic, ethnic and religious groups, living in isolated valleys separated by some of the world's highest mountains. The
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948 concluded with the Line of Control bisecting the Ladakh district, with the
Skardu tehsil
Skardu ( ur, , translit=Skardū, ; bft, སྐར་དོ་་, script=Tibt, ) is a city located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit−Baltistan, a part of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Skardu serves as the capital of Skardu District and the Baltistan ...
going to Pakistan (now part of
Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...
).
After Pakistan's defeat in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
, the two nations signed the
Simla Agreement
The Simla Agreement, also spelled Shimla Agreement, was a peace treaty signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It followed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which ...
promising not to engage in armed conflict with respect to that boundary.
The town of
Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Jam ...
is located from
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
, facing the
Northern Areas
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...
across the LOC. Like other areas in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, Kargil has a continental climate. Summers are cool with frigid nights, while winters are long and chilly with temperatures often dropping to .
An Indian
national highway (
NH 1) connecting Srinagar to
Leh
Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...
cuts through Kargil. The area that witnessed the infiltration and fighting is a long stretch of
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
s overlooking this only road linking Srinagar and Leh.
The military outposts on the ridges above the highway were generally around high, with a few as high as .
Apart from the district capital, Kargil, the populated areas near the front line in the conflict included the
Mushkoh Valley
The Mushkoh Valley is a valley situated in Dras. Also known as valley of wild tulips, which are a major attraction for tourists but it's yet to explore. Located within the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh. Widely considered to be ...
and the town of
Drass, southwest of Kargil, as well as the
Batalik
Batalik is a town in Ladakh, India, located on the upper reaches of the Indus river. It was a focal point in the Kargil War because of its strategic location between Kargil, Leh and Baltistan. In 1999, the Kargil war was fought in this region.
...
sector and other areas northeast of Kargil.
Kargil was targeted partly because the terrain was conducive to the
preemptive seizure of several unoccupied military positions. With tactically vital features and well-prepared defensive posts atop the peaks, a defender on the high ground would enjoy advantages akin to that of a fortress. Any attack to dislodge a defender from high ground in
mountain warfare
Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, t ...
requires a far higher ratio of attackers to defenders, and the difficulties would be exacerbated by the high altitude and freezing temperatures.
Kargil is just from the Pakistani-controlled town of
Skardu
, nickname =
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Gilgit Baltistan#Pakistan
, pushpin_label_position ...
, which was capable of providing logistical and artillery support to Pakistani combatants. A
road between Kargil and Skardu exists, which was closed in 1949.
Background
![Kargil town, India panorama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Kargil_town%2C_India_panorama.jpg)
After the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the
Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...
, there had been a long period with relatively few direct armed conflicts involving the military forces of the two neighbours—notwithstanding the efforts of both nations to control the
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...
by establishing military outposts on the surrounding mountains ridges and the resulting military skirmishes in the 1980s. During the 1990s, however, escalating
tensions and conflict due to
separatist activities in Kashmir, some of which were supported by Pakistan, as well as the conducting of
nuclear tests
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
by both countries in 1998, led to an increasingly belligerent atmosphere. In an attempt to defuse the situation, both countries signed the
Lahore Declaration
The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement and governance treaty between India and Pakistan. The treaty was signed on 21 February 1999, at the conclusion of a historic summit in Lahore, and ratified by the parliaments of both countries t ...
in February 1999, promising to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...
.
During the winter of 1998–1999, some elements of the
Pakistani Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and con ...
were covertly training and sending Pakistani troops and paramilitary forces, some allegedly in the guise of
mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
, into territory on the Indian side of the LOC. The infiltration was
codename
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
d "Operation Badr";
["Kargil: where defence met diplomacy"](_blank)
, India's then Chief of Army Staff VP Malik, expressing his views on Operation Vijay. Hosted on '' Daily Times'' its aim was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...
, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. Pakistan also believed that any tension in the region would internationalise the Kashmir issue, helping it to secure a speedy resolution. Yet another goal may have been to boost the morale of the decade-long rebellion in
Jammu and Kashmir by taking a proactive role.
Pakistani
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Shahid Aziz
Shahid Aziz ( ur, ) is a Pakistani military author and a public official who served as the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from 2004–07, and university administrator of the Federal Urdu University in 2014–16. Aziz, a soldi ...
, and then head of
ISI analysis wing, has confirmed there were no mujahideen but only regular Pakistan Army soldiers who took part in the Kargil War. "There were no Mujahideen, only taped wireless messages, which fooled no one. Our soldiers were made to occupy barren ridges, with hand held weapons and ammunition", Lt Gen Aziz wrote in his article in ''The Nation'' daily in January 2013.
Some writers have speculated that the operation's objective may also have been retaliation for India's
Operation Meghdoot
Operation Meghdoot ( "Operation Cloud Messenger" after a famous Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa) was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict. E ...
in 1984 that seized much of Siachen Glacier.
According to India's then
army chief Ved Prakash Malik
General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM (born 1 November 1939) served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 30 September 1997 to 30 September 2000. He was the Army Chief during the Kargil War.
Honours and decorations
Dates o ...
, and many scholars, much of the background planning, including construction of logistical supply routes, had been undertaken much earlier. On several occasions during the 1980s and 1990s, the army had given Pakistani leaders (
Zia ul Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...
and
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
) similar proposals for infiltration into the Kargil region, but the plans had been shelved for fear of drawing the nations into all-out war.
Some analysts believe that the blueprint of attack was reactivated soon after Pervez Musharraf was appointed
chief of army staff in October 1998.
After the war,
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...
, Prime Minister of Pakistan during the Kargil conflict, claimed that he was unaware of the plans, and that he first learned about the situation when he received an urgent phone call from
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
, his counterpart in India. Sharif attributed the plan to Musharraf and "just two or three of his
cronies",
a view shared by some Pakistani writers who have stated that only four generals, including Musharraf, knew of the plan.
Musharraf, however, asserted that Sharif had been briefed on the Kargil operation 15 days ahead of Vajpayee's journey to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
on 20 February.
War progress
Conflict events
There were three major phases to the Kargil War. First, Pakistan infiltrated forces into the Indian-controlled section of Kashmir and occupied strategic locations enabling it to bring
NH1 within range of its artillery fire. The next stage consisted of India discovering the infiltration and mobilising forces to respond to it. The final stage involved major battles by Indian and Pakistani forces resulting in India recapturing most of the territories
[Online summary of the Book]
held by Pakistani forces and the subsequent withdrawal of Pakistani forces back across the LOC after international pressure.
Occupation by Pakistan
![Kargil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Kargil.map.buildup.gif)
During February 1999, the
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
sent forces to occupy some posts on the Indian side of the LOC. Troops from the elite
Special Services Group
, colors = Maroon, sky blue
, colors_label = Colours
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, ...
as well as four to seven
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s
of the
Northern Light Infantry
The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of con ...
(a paramilitary regiment not part of the regular Pakistani army at that time) covertly and overtly set up bases on 132 vantage points of the Indian-controlled region. According to some reports, these Pakistani forces were backed by Kashmiri
guerrillas
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...
and Afghan
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
.
[It is estimated that around 2,000 "Mujahideen" might have been involved as Musharraf stated on 6 July 1999, to Pakistan's ''The News'']
online article
''Asia Times
''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kong-based English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...
'' quoting the General's estimate. An Indian Major General (retd) too puts th
"Number of guerrillas at 2,000"
apart from the NLI Infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
Regiment. According to General
Ved Malik, the bulk of the infiltration occurred in April.
Pakistani intrusions took place in the heights of the lower Mushkoh Valley, along the
Marpo La ridgeline in Dras, in Kaksar near Kargil, in the Batalik sector east of the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
, on the heights above of the
Chorbat La
Chorbat Valley ( ur, , Balti: ) is a section of the Shyok river valley divided between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and Indian-administered Ladakh. The Pakistan-administered portion is in the Khaplu tehsil, Ghanche District of Gilgit ...
sector where the LOC turns North and in the
Turtuk
Turtuk ཏུར་ཏུཀ་ is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous community development block in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is a small village sandwiched between Karakorum Range and Himalayas. and one of the northe ...
sector south of the
Siachen
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier
A glac ...
area.
India discovers infiltration and mobilises
Initially, these incursions were not detected for a number of reasons: Indian patrols were not sent into some of the areas infiltrated by the Pakistani forces and heavy artillery fire by Pakistan in some areas
provided cover for the infiltrators. But by the second week of May, the ambushing of an Indian patrol team led by Capt
Saurabh Kalia
Saurabh Kalia (; – ) was an officer of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War while being held as a prisoner of war by the Pakistan Army. He and five soldiers in his patrol group were captured by Pakistani troops following a ...
, who acted on a tip-off by a local shepherd in the Batalik sector, led to the exposure of the infiltration. Initially, with little knowledge of the nature or extent of the infiltration, the Indian troops in the area assumed that the infiltrators were jihadis and claimed that they would evict them within a few days. Subsequent discovery of infiltration elsewhere along the LOC, and the difference in tactics employed by the infiltrators, caused the Indian army to realise that the plan of attack was on a much bigger scale. The total area seized by the ingress is generally accepted to between .
The
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
responded with Operation Vijay, a mobilisation of 200,000 Indian troops. However, because of the nature of the terrain,
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
and
corps
Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
operations could not be mounted; subsequent fighting was conducted mostly at the brigade or
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
level. In effect, two
divisions of the Indian Army, numbering 20,000, plus several thousand from the
Paramilitary forces of India
India maintains 10 paramilitary forces.
List of Paramilitary forces
From 1986 to 2011 the Central Armed Police Forces were considered as Central Police Forces (CPF). However, as per their respective acts they all are Armed Police Forces.
R ...
and the air force were deployed in the conflict zone. The total number of Indian soldiers that were involved in the
military operation
A military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state, or a non-state actor, in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state or actor's favor. Operations may ...
on the Kargil-Drass sector was thus close to 30,000. The number of infiltrators, including those providing logistical backup, has been put at approximately 5,000 at the height of the conflict.
This figure includes troops from
Pakistan-administered Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompass ...
who provided additional artillery support.
The
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
launched
Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar ( hi, ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. "Operation White Ocean") was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aim ...
in support of the mobilisation of Indian land forces on 26 May. The Indian government cleared limited use of Air Power only on 25 May, for fear of undesirable escalation, with the fiat that IAF fighter jets were not to cross the LOC under any circumstance.
This was the first time any air war was fought at such high altitudes globally, with targets at altitudes between
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. The rarified air at these altitudes affected ballistic trajectories of air to ground weapons, such as rockets, dumb and laser guided bombs. There was no opposition at all by the Pakistani Air Force, leaving the IAF free to carry out its attacks with impunity. The total air dominance of the IAF gave the aircrew enough time to modify aiming indices and firing techniques, increasing its effectiveness during the high altitude war. Poor weather conditions and range limitations intermittently affected bomb loads and the number of
airstrip
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s that could be used, except for the
Mirage 2000 fleet, which commenced operations on 30 May.
Naval action
The
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
also prepared to blockade the
Pakistani ports (primarily the
Karachi port
The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Kar ...
) to cut off supply routes under
Operation Talwar
Operation Talwar (Operation Sword) was the naval operation carried out by the Indian Navy during the Kargil War of 1999. It was one of the three operations at that time carried out by the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Navy respectiv ...
. The Indian Navy's
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
eastern fleets joined in the North
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
and began aggressive patrols and threatened to cut Pakistan's sea trade. This exploited Pakistan's dependence on sea-based oil and trade flows.
Later, then–
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
Nawaz Sharif disclosed that Pakistan was left with just six days of fuel to sustain itself if a full-scale war had broken out.
India attacks Pakistani positions
The terrain of Kashmir is mountainous and at high altitudes; even the best roads, such as
National Highway 1 (India)
National Highway 1 (NH 1) in India runs between the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It comprises parts of old NH1A and NH1D. The number 1 indicates, under the new numbering system, that it is the northernmost East-Wes ...
(NH1) from Srinagar to Leh, are only two lanes. The rough terrain and narrow roads slowed down traffic, and the high altitude, which affected the ability of aircraft to carry loads, made control of NH 1 (the actual stretch of the highway which was under Pakistani fire) a priority for India. From their 130+ covertly occupied
observation post
An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...
s, the Pakistani forces had a clear line-of-sight to lay down
indirect artillery fire on NH 1, inflicting heavy casualties on the Indians.
This was a serious problem for the Indian Army as the highway was the main logistical and supply route. The Pakistani shelling of the
arterial road
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...
threatened to cut Leh off, though an alternative (and longer) road to Leh existed via
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
, the
Leh–Manali Highway
The Leh–Manali Highway is a long highway in northernmost India connecting Leh, the capital of the Union Territory of Ladakh, to Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It connects the Manali Solang valley to the Lahaul and Spiti va ...
.
![Kargil war](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Kargil_war.jpg)
The infiltrators, apart from being equipped with
small arms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
and
grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...
s, were also armed with
mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
,
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and
anti-aircraft guns
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
. Many posts were also heavily
mined, with India later stating to have recovered more than 8,000
anti-personnel mines
Anti-personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines; the latter may ...
according to an
ICBL
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose stated objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their righ ...
report. Pakistan's
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
was done through
unmanned aerial vehicles
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
and
AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar
Hughes AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder weapon locating system is a mobile radar system developed in the mid-late 1970s by Hughes Aircraft Company and manufactured by Northrop Grumman and ThalesRaytheonSystems, achieving initial operational capability in ...
s supplied by the US. The initial Indian attacks were aimed at controlling the hills overlooking NH 1, with high priority being given to the stretches of the highway near the town of Kargil. The majority of posts along the LOC were adjacent to the highway, and therefore the recapture of nearly every infiltrated post increased both the territorial gains and the security of the highway. The protection of this route and the recapture of the forward posts were thus ongoing objectives throughout the war.
The Indian Army's first priority was to recapture peaks that were in the immediate vicinity of NH 1. This resulted in Indian troops first targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras, which dominated the Srinagar-Leh route.
This was soon followed by the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector which provided access to
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kar ...
. Some of the peaks that were of vital strategic importance to the Pakistani defensive troops were Point 4590 and
Point 5353
Point 5353 (also called Point 17561, and Marpo La Peak) is a mountain peak on the Line of Control dividing the Indian- and Pakistani-administered portions of Kashmir in the vicinity of Dras in the Kargil district.: Description of the 1949 ...
. While 4590 was the nearest point that had a view of NH 1, point 5353 was the highest feature in the Dras sector, allowing the Pakistani troops to observe NH 1. The recapture of Point 4590 by Indian troops on 14 June was significant, notwithstanding the fact that it resulted in the Indian Army suffering the most casualties in a single battle during the conflict.
Although most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war.
![Sheeju mig21](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Sheeju_mig21.JPG)
Once India regained control of the hills overlooking NH 1, the Indian Army turned to driving the invading force back across the LOC. The
Battle of Tololing
The Battle of Tololing was a pivotal battle in the Kargil War between India's 2nd Rajputana Rifles's and troops from one full bn of Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry who were aided by Pakistani irregulars in 1999.
The Tololing peak is a dom ...
, amongst other assaults, slowly tilted the combat in India's favour. The Pakistani troops at Tololing were aided by Pakistani fighters from Kashmir. Some of the posts put up a stiff resistance, including Tiger Hill (Point 5140) that fell only later in the war. Indian troops found well-entrenched Pakistani soldiers at Tiger Hill, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. After a final assault on the peak in which ten Pakistani soldiers and five Indian soldiers were killed, Tiger Hill finally fell. A few of the assaults occurred atop hitherto unheard of peaks—most of them unnamed with only Point numbers to differentiate them—which witnessed fierce
hand to hand combat
Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...
.
As the operation was fully underway, about 250 artillery guns were brought in to clear the infiltrators in the posts that were in the
line-of-sight. The
Bofors
AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years.
History
Located in ...
FH-77B field howitzer played a vital role, with Indian gunners making maximum use of the terrain. However, its success was limited elsewhere due to the lack of space and depth to deploy it.
The
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
was tasked to act jointly with
ground troops
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
on 25 May.
The
code name
A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
assigned to their role was
Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar ( hi, ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. "Operation White Ocean") was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aim ...
It was in this type of terrain that
aerial attacks were used, initially with limited effectiveness. On 27 May 1999, the IAF lost a
MiG-27
The Mikoyan MiG-27 (russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India ...
strike aircraft
An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pres ...
piloted by Flt. Lt.
Nachiketa
Nachiketa (), also rendered Nachiketas and Nachiketan, is a character in Hindu literature. He is the son of the sage Vājashravas, or Uddalaki, in some traditions. He is the child protagonist of an ancient Indian, dialogical narrative, about th ...
, which it attributed to an
engine failure
A turbine engine failure occurs when a turbine engine unexpectedly stops producing power due to a malfunction other than fuel exhaustion. It often applies for aircraft, but other turbine engines can fail, like ground-based turbines used in power ...
, and a
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...
fighter piloted by Sqn Ldr
Ajay Ahuja
Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja ( – ) was a fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force who was killed during the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999. His MiG-21 was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Pakistan Army near the town of Kargil i ...
which was shot down by the Pakistani army, both over Batalik sector.;
initially Pakistan said it shot down both jets after they crossed into its territory.
According to reports, Ahuja had bailed out of his stricken plane safely but was apparently killed by his captors as his body was returned riddled with bullet wounds.
One Indian
Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968.
It is now produced by Russia.
In addition to ...
helicopter was also lost due to
Stinger
A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal.
An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of v ...
SAMs. French made
Mirage 2000H
A mirage is a naturally-occurring Optical phenomena, optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English language, English via the French language, Fre ...
of the IAF were tasked to drop
laser-guided bomb
A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly p ...
s to destroy well-entrenched positions of the Pakistani forces
and flew its first sortie on 30 May.
The effects of the pinpoint non-stop bombing by the Mirage-2000, by day and by night, became evident with almost immediate effect.
In many vital points, neither artillery nor air power could dislodge the outposts manned by the Pakistani soldiers, who were out of visible range. The Indian Army mounted some direct frontal ground assaults which were slow and took a heavy toll given the steep ascent that had to be made on peaks as high as . Since any daylight attack would be suicidal, all the advances had to be made under the cover of darkness, escalating the risk of freezing. Accounting for the
wind chill
Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air.
Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...
factor, the temperatures were often as low as near the mountain tops. Based on
military tactics
Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, Mobility (military), mobil ...
, much of the costly
frontal assault
The military tactic of frontal assault is a direct, full-force attack on the front line of an enemy force, rather than to the flanks or rear of the enemy. It allows for a quick and decisive victory, but at the cost of subjecting the attackers to ...
s by the Indians could have been avoided if the Indian Military had chosen to blockade the supply route of the opposing force, creating a
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
. Such a move would have involved the Indian troops crossing the LOC as well as initiating aerial attacks on Pakistani soil, however, a manoeuvre India was not willing to exercise due to the likely expansion of the
theatre of war
In warfare, a theater or theatre is an area in which important military events occur or are in progress. A theater can include the entirety of the airspace, land and sea area that is or that may potentially become involved in war operations.
T ...
and reduced international support for its cause.
Two months into the conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges that were encroached upon by the infiltrators;
according to the official count, an estimated 75–80% of the intruded area and nearly all the high ground were back under Indian control.
Washington Accord and final battles
Following the outbreak of armed fighting, Pakistan sought American help in de-escalating the conflict.
Bruce Riedel
Bruce O. Riedel (born 1953) is an American expert on U.S. security, South Asia, and counter-terrorism. He is currently a senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and a professor at Johns Hopkins School ...
, who was then an aide to President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, reported that US intelligence had imaged Pakistani movements of nuclear weapons to forward deployments for fear of the Kargil hostilities escalating into a wider conflict. However, President Clinton refused to intervene until Pakistan had removed all forces from the Indian side of the LOC.
Following the Washington accord of 4 July 1999, when Sharif agreed to withdraw Pakistani troops, most of the fighting came to a gradual halt, but some Pakistani forces remained in positions on the Indian side of the LoC. In addition, the
United Jihad Council
The United Jihad Council, also known as the Muttahida Jihad Council (MJC), is an Islamist Jihadist organisation formed by the Pakistan Army for unified command and control over the anti-Indian terror groups operating in Jammu and Kashmir. It was ...
(an umbrella for extremist groups) rejected Pakistan's plan for a climb-down, instead deciding to fight on.
The Indian army launched its final attacks in the last week of July in co-ordination with relentless attacks by the IAF, both by day and night, in their totally successful
Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar ( hi, ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. "Operation White Ocean") was the code name assigned to the Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with the Indian Army during the 1999 Kargil war that was aim ...
; as soon as the Drass subsector had been cleared of Pakistani forces, the fighting ceased on 26 July. The day has since been marked as ''Kargil Vijay Diwas'' (Kargil Victory Day) in India. In the wake of its successive military defeats in Kargil, diplomatic isolation in the international arena, its precarious economic situation, and the mounting international pressure, the
Pakistani establishment was compelled to negotiate a face saving withdrawal from the residual areas on the Indian side of the LoC, thereby restoring the sanctity of the LoC, as was established in July 1972 as per the
Simla Agreement
The Simla Agreement, also spelled Shimla Agreement, was a peace treaty signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It followed the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which ...
.
World opinion
Pakistan was heavily criticised by other countries for instigating the war, as its
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
forces and
insurgents
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irreg ...
had crossed the LOC (
Line of Control
The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but serve ...
). Pakistan's primary diplomatic response, one of
plausible deniability
Plausible deniability is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to denial, deny knowledge of or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by members of their organizational hierarchy. Th ...
linking the incursion to what it officially termed as "Kashmiri
freedom fighter
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
s", was in the end not successful.
Veteran analysts argued that the battle was fought at heights where only seasoned troops could survive, so poorly equipped "freedom fighters" would neither have the ability nor the wherewithal to seize land and defend it. Moreover, while the army had initially denied the involvement of its troops in the intrusion, two soldiers were awarded the
Nishan-E-Haider
Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...
(Pakistan's highest military honour). Another 90 soldiers were also given
gallantry
Gallantry may refer to:
* military courage or bravery
* Chivalry
* Warrior ethos
* Knightly Piety Knightly Piety refers to a specific strand of Christian belief espoused by knights during the Middle Ages. The term comes from ''Ritterfrömmigkei ...
awards, most of them
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ''Posthumous'' (E ...
, confirming Pakistan's role in the episode. India also released
taped
''Taped'' is a 2012 Dutch thriller film directed by Diederik van Rooijen.
The film won the Best Feature Film award at the 2012 Stony Brook Film Festival. Susan Visser was also nominated for the Golden Calf for Best Actress for her role in the ...
phone conversations between the Army Chief and a senior Pakistani general where the latter is recorded saying: "the scruff of
he militants
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
necks is in our hands", although Pakistan dismissed it as a "total fabrication". Concurrently, Pakistan made several contradicting statements, confirming its role in Kargil, when it defended the incursions saying that the LOC itself was disputed. Pakistan also attempted to internationalise the Kashmir issue, by linking the crisis in Kargil to the larger
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...
, but such a diplomatic stance found few backers on the world stage.
As the Indian counter-attacks picked up momentum, Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif flew to meet US President Bill Clinton on 4 July to obtain support from the United States. Clinton rebuked Sharif, however, and asked him to use his contacts to rein in the militants and withdraw Pakistani soldiers from Indian territory. Clinton would later reveal in
his autobiography that "Sharif's moves were perplexing" since the Indian Prime Minister had travelled to Lahore to promote bilateral talks aimed at resolving the Kashmir problem and "by crossing the Line of Control, Pakistan had wrecked the
ilateraltalks". On the other hand, he applauded Indian restraint for not crossing the LOC and escalating the conflict into an all-out war.
G8 nations supported India and condemned the Pakistani violation of the LOC at the
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
summit. The
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
also opposed Pakistan's violation of the LOC.
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, a long-time ally of Pakistan, insisted on a pullout of forces to the pre-conflict positions along the LOC and settling border issues peacefully. Other organisations like the
ASEAN Regional Forum
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military ...
too supported India's stand on the inviolability of the LOC.
Faced with growing international pressure, Sharif managed to pull back the remaining soldiers from Indian territory. The joint statement issued by Clinton and Sharif conveyed the need to respect the LOC and resume bilateral talks as the best forum to resolve all disputes.
Gallantry awards
India
Operation Vijay Medal – Awarded to armed forces of India who were deployed during Operation Vijay
A number of Indian soldiers earned awards for gallantry. Four
Param Vir Chakra
The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...
s and 11
Maha Vir Chakra
The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...
s were awarded.
The following units were awarded the ''COAS' unit citations'' for their exemplary role in the war -
*Infantry
**2 Rajputana Rifles
**8 Sikh
**17 Jat
**18 Grenadiers
**1 Bihar
**13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
**18 Garhwal Rifles
**12 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry
**2 Naga
**1/11 Gorkha Rifles
**Ladakh Scouts
*
Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
**108 Medium Regiment
**141 Field Regiment
**197 Field Regiment
*
Army Aviation Corps
**663 (Reconnaissance and Observation) Squadron
**666 (Reconnaissance and Observation) Squadron
*
Army Service Corps
**874 Animal Transport Battalion
Pakistan
Two Pakistani soldiers received the
Nishan-e-Haider
Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...
, Pakistan's highest military gallantry award:
* Capt.
Karnal Sher Khan
Karnal Sher Khan (1 January 1970 – 5 July 1999) was a military officer of the Pakistan Army. He was one of only eleven recipients of the Nishan-e-Haider. He was a captain in the 27th Sindh Regiment of the Pakistan Army and later was posted to ...
, 27th Battalion,
Sind Regiment
ur, سندھ رجمنٹ)
, image = Badge of Sind Regiment.png
, image_size =
, alt =
, caption = Regimental cap badge
, start_date = 1980
, disbanded =
, country =
, allegiance =
, branch =
, type =
, role = infantry
, size = 34 bat ...
: Nishan-e-Haider (posthumous)
* Hav.
Lalak Jan
Havaldar Lalak Jan ( ur, ) (April 1967 – July 1999) was a soldier of Pakistan Army belonging to Northern Light Infantry regiment. He was killed in action during the Kargil war. For his bravery, he was awarded Pakistan's highest military gallan ...
,
Northern Light Infantry
The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of con ...
: Nishan-e-Haider (posthumous)
Impact and influence of media
The Kargil War was significant for the impact and influence of the mass media on public opinion in both nations. Coming at a time of exploding growth in
electronic journalism
Digital journalism, also known as netizen journalism or online journalism, is a contemporary form of journalism where editorial content is distributed via the Internet, as opposed to publishing via print or broadcast. What constitutes digital j ...
in India, the Kargil news stories and war footage were often telecast live on TV, and many websites provided in-depth analysis of the war.
The conflict became the first "live" war in South Asia and it was given such detailed media coverage that one effect was the drumming up of
jingoistic
Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...
feelings.
The conflict soon turned into a
news propaganda
News propaganda is a type of propaganda covertly packaged as credible news, but without sufficient transparency concerning the news item's source and the motivation behind its release. Transparency of the source is one parameter critical to dist ...
war, in which press briefings given by government officials of each nation produced conflicting claims and counterclaims. The Indian government placed a temporary
News Embargo
In journalism and public relations, a news embargo or press embargo is a request or requirement by a source that the information or news provided by that source not be published until a certain date or certain conditions have been met. They are of ...
on information from Pakistan, banning the telecast of the
state-run Pakistani channel
PTV and blocking access to online editions of the ''
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
'' newspaper. The Pakistani media criticised this apparent curbing of
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
in India, while India media claimed it was in the interest of
national security
National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
. The Indian government ran advertisements in foreign publications including ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' detailing Pakistan's
role in supporting extremists in Kashmir in an attempt to garner political support for its position.
As the war progressed, media coverage of the conflict was more intense in India than in Pakistan. Many Indian channels showed images from the battle zone in a style reminiscent of
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
's coverage of the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
(one of the shells fired by Pakistan troops even hit a
Doordarshan
Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
transmission centre in Kargil; coverage continued, however). Reasons for India's increased coverage included the greater number of privately owned electronic media in India compared to Pakistan and relatively greater
transparency in the
Indian media
The Indian media consists of several different types of communications of mass media: television, radio, Cinema of India, cinema, Newspaper, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Websites/portals. Indian media was active since the late 18th ...
. At a seminar in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
, Pakistani journalists agreed that while the Indian government had taken the press and the people into its confidence, Pakistan had not.
The print media in India and abroad was largely sympathetic to the Indian cause, with editorials in newspapers based in the west and other neutral countries observing that Pakistan was largely responsible for the conflict. Some analysts believe that Indian media, which was both larger in number and more credible, may have acted as a
force multiplier for the Indian military operation in Kargil and served as a morale booster.
[ As the fighting intensified, the Pakistani version of events found little backing on the world stage. This helped India gain valuable ]diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accorde ...
for its position.
WMDs and the nuclear factor
Since Pakistan and India each had weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...
, many in the international community were concerned that if the Kargil conflict intensified, it could lead to nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
. Both countries had tested their nuclear capability in 1998 (India conducted its first test
''First Test'', is a fantasy novel by Tamora Pierce, the first book in the series ''Protector of the Small''. It details the first year of Keladry of Mindelan's training as a page of Tortall.
Plot introduction
''Protector of the Small'' is set ...
in 1974 while it was Pakistan's first-ever nuclear test
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...
). Many pundits
A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport).
Origins
The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowle ...
believed the tests to be an indication of the escalating stakes in the scenario in South Asia. When the Kargil conflict started just a year after the nuclear tests, many nations desired to end it before it intensified.
International concerns increased when Pakistani foreign secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...
Shamshad Ahmad
Shamshad Ahmad ( ur, ) (born 10 December 1941) is a veteran Pakistani diplomat, international relations expert and an author who served in BPS-22 grade as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan from 1997 to 2000. He also served as the Permanent R ...
made a statement on 31 May warning that an escalation of the limited conflict could lead Pakistan to use "any weapon" in its arsenal. This was immediately interpreted as a threat of nuclear retaliation by Pakistan in the event of an extended war, and the belief was reinforced when the leader of Pakistan's senate noted, "The purpose
of developing weapons becomes meaningless if they are not used when they are needed". Many such ambiguous statements from officials of both countries were viewed as warnings of an impending nuclear crisis where the combatants would consider use of their limited nuclear arsenals in "tactical" nuclear warfare in the belief that it would not have ended in mutual assured destruction
Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would cause the ...
, as could have occurred in a nuclear conflict between the United States and the USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Some experts believe that following nuclear tests in 1998, the Pakistani military was emboldened by its nuclear deterrent to markedly increase coercion against India.
The nature of the India-Pakistan conflict took a more sinister turn when the United States received intelligence that Pakistani nuclear warhead
A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
* Explosiv ...
s were being moved towards the border. Bill Clinton tried to dissuade Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif from nuclear brinkmanship
Brinkmanship (or brinksmanship) is the practice of trying to achieve an advantageous outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink of active conflict. The maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the op ...
, even threatening Pakistan of dire consequences. According to a White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
official, Sharif seemed to be genuinely surprised by this supposed missile movement and responded that India was probably planning the same. In an article published in a defence journal in 2000, Sanjay Badri-Maharaj, a security expert, claimed while quoting another expert that India too had readied at least five nuclear-tipped ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s.
Sensing a deteriorating military scenario, diplomatic isolation, and the risks of a larger conventional and nuclear war, Sharif ordered the Pakistani army to vacate the Kargil heights. He later claimed in his official biography that General Pervez Musharraf had moved nuclear warheads without informing him. Recently however, Pervez Musharraf revealed in his memoirs that Pakistan's nuclear delivery system was not operational during the Kargil war; something that would have put Pakistan under serious disadvantage if the conflict went nuclear.
The threat of WMD included chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
and even biological weapon
A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterroris ...
s. Pakistan accused India of using chemical weapons and incendiary weapons
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using fire (and sometimes used as anti-personnel weaponry), that use materials such as napalm, th ...
such as napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated al ...
against the Kashmiri fighters. India, on the other hand, showcased a cache of gas mask
A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...
s as proof that Pakistan may have been prepared to use non-conventional weapons. US official and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...
determined that Pakistani allegations of India using banned chemicals in its bombs were unfounded.
Aftermath
India
From the end of the war until February 2000, the Indian stock market rose by more than 30%. The next Indian national budget included major increases in military spending.
There was a surge in patriotism, with many celebrities expressing their support for the Kargil cause. Indians were angered by media reports of the death of pilot Ajay Ahuja
Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja ( – ) was a fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force who was killed during the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999. His MiG-21 was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Pakistan Army near the town of Kargil i ...
, especially after Indian authorities reported that Ahuja had been murdered and his body mutilated
Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...
by Pakistani troops. The war had produced higher than expected fatalities for the Indian military, with a sizeable percentage of them including newly commissioned officers
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
. One month after conclusion of the Kargil War, the Atlantique Incident
Pakistan Navy Atlantic shootdown happened on 10 August 1999, when a Breguet Atlantic maritime patrol aircraft of the Pakistan Naval Air Arm was shot down by a MiG 21 fighter of the Indian Air Force over the Rann of Kutch, on the border between ...
, in which a Pakistan Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...
plane was shot down by India, briefly reignited fears of a conflict between the two countries.
After the war, the Indian government severed ties with Pakistan and increased defence preparedness. India increased its defence budget as it sought to acquire more state of the art equipment. Media reported about military procurement irregularities and criticism of intelligence agencies
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives.
Means of informatio ...
like Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...
, which failed to predict the intrusions or the identity/number of infiltrators during the war. An internal assessment report by the armed forces, published in an Indian magazine, showed several other failings, including "a sense of complacency" and being "unprepared for a conventional war
Conventional warfare is a form of warfare conducted by using conventional weapons and battlefield tactics between two or more states in open confrontation. The forces on each side are well-defined and fight by using weapons that target primari ...
" on the presumption that nuclearism
Nuclear peace is a theory of international relations which argues that the presence of nuclear weapons may in some circumstances decrease the risk of crisis escalation, since parties will seek to avoid situations that could lead to the use of nucle ...
would sustain peace. It also highlighted the lapses in command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
, the insufficient troop levels and the dearth of large-calibre
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
guns like the Bofors. In 2006, retired Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...
, A. Y. Tipnis, alleged that the Indian Army did not fully inform the government about the intrusions, adding that the army chief Ved Prakash Malik, was initially reluctant to use the full strike capability of the Indian Air Force, instead requesting only helicopter gunship support. Soon after the conflict, India also decided to complete the project, previously stalled by Pakistan, to fence the entire LOC.
The end of the Kargil conflict was followed by the 13th Indian General Elections to the Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
, which gave a decisive mandate to the National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...
(NDA) government. It was re-elected to power in September–October 1999 with a majority of 303 seats out of 545 in the Lok Sabha. On the diplomatic front, Indo-US relations improved, as the United States appreciated Indian attempts to restrict the conflict to a limited geographic area. Relations with Israel—which had discreetly aided India with ordnance supply and matériel such as unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s, laser-guided bombs, and satellite imagery
Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell ima ...
—also were bolstered.
The end and victory of the Kargil War is celebrated annually in India as Kargil Vijay Diwas
Kargil Vijay Diwas (Hindi: कारगिल विजय दिवस, lit. Kargil Victory Day) is commemorated every 26 July in India, to observe India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War for ousting Pakistani Forces from their occu ...
.
Kargil Review Committee
Prime minister Vajpayee checking the guns captured from Pakistani intruders during Kargil war
Soon after the war the Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
set up an inquiry into its causes and to analyse perceived Indian intelligence failures. The high-powered committee was chaired by eminent strategic affairs analyst K. Subrahmanyam and given powers to interview anyone with current or past associations with Indian security, including former Prime Ministers
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...
. The committee's final report (also referred to as the "Subrahmanyam Report") led to a large-scale restructuring of Indian Intelligence. It, however, came in for heavy criticism in the Indian media for its perceived avoidance of assigning specific responsibility for failures over detecting the Kargil intrusions. The committee was also embroiled in controversy for indicting Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Surinder Singh of the Indian Army for his failure to report enemy intrusions in time, and for his subsequent conduct. Many press reports questioned or contradicted this finding and claimed that Singh had in fact issued early warnings that were ignored by senior Indian Army commanders and, ultimately, higher government functionaries.
In a departure from the norm the final report was published and made publicly available. Some chapters and all annexures, however, were deemed to contain classified information by the government and not released. K. Subrahmanyam later wrote that the annexures contained information on the development of India's nuclear weapons program and the roles played by Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...
, P. V. Narasimha Rao and V. P. Singh.
Pakistan
Shortly after declaring itself a nuclear weapons state, Pakistan had been humiliated diplomatically and militarily. Faced with the possibility of international isolation
International isolation is a penalty applied by the international community or a sizeable or powerful group of countries, like the United Nations, towards one nation, government or group of people. The same term may also refer to the state a coun ...
, the already fragile Pakistan economy
Pakistan is a low income developing country. Its economy is the 23rd-largest worldwide in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP). According to a 2021 estimate, the Country has a population of 227 million people ( 5th-largest w ...
was weakened further.[Samina Ahmed]
"Diplomatic Fiasco: Pakistan's Failure on the Diplomatic Front Nullifies its Gains on the Battlefield"
, Belfer Center for International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
. The morale of Pakistan forces after the withdrawal declined as many units of the Northern Light Infantry
The Northern Light Infantry Regiment (NLI) is a light infantry regiment in the Pakistan Army, based and currently headquartered in Gilgit, Pakistan. Along with other forces of the Pakistani military, the NLI has the primary responsibility of con ...
suffered heavy casualties. The government refused to accept the dead bodies of many officers, an issue that provoked outrage and protests in the Northern Areas. Pakistan initially did not acknowledge many of its casualties, but Sharif later said that over 4,000 Pakistani troops were killed in the operation. Responding to this, Pervez Musharraf said, "It hurts me when an ex-premier undermines his own forces", and claimed that Indian casualties were more than that of Pakistan. The legacy of Kargil war still continues to be debated on Pakistan's news channels and television political correspondents, which Musharraf repeatedly appeared to justify.
Many in Pakistan had expected a victory over the Indian military
The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...
based on Pakistani official reports on the war, but were dismayed by the turn of events and questioned the eventual retreat. The military leadership is believed to have felt let down by the prime minister's decision to withdraw the remaining fighters. However, some authors, including Musharraf's close friend and former American CENTCOM
The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...
Commander General Anthony Zinni
Anthony Charles Zinni (born September 17, 1943) is a former United States Marine Corps general and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). From 2001 to 2003, he served as a special envoy for the United States t ...
, and former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif, state that it was General Musharraf who requested Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops. In 2012, Musharraf's senior officer and retired major-general Abdul Majeed Malik maintained that Kargil was a "total disaster" and bitterly criticised General Musharraf. Pointing out the fact that Pakistan was in no position to fight India in that area; the Nawaz Sharif government initiated the diplomatic process by involving the US President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and got Pakistan out of the difficult scenario. Malik maintained that soldiers were not "Mujaheddin" but active-duty serving officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
.
In a national security meeting with Prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the Joint Headquarters, General Musharraf became heavily involved with serious altercations with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Fasih Bokhari
Admiral Fasih Bokhari (; 8 March 1942 – 24 November 2020) was a Pakistani admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999. He was a well-known pacifist and a prominent political figure as the Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 ...
who ultimately called for a court-martial against General Musharraf. With Sharif placing the onus of the Kargil attacks squarely on the army chief Pervez Musharraf, there was an atmosphere of uneasiness between the two. On 12 October 1999, General Musharraf staged a bloodless ''coup d'état'', ousting Nawaz Sharif.
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
, an opposition leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
in the parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and former prime minister, called the Kargil War "Pakistan's greatest blunder". Many ex-officials of the military and the Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(Pakistan's principal intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...
) also believed that "Kargil was a waste of time" and "could not have resulted in any advantage" on the larger issue of Kashmir.
A retired Pakistan Army's Lieutenant-General Ali Kuli Khan, lambasted the war as "a disaster bigger than the East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
tragedy",[Kargil was a bigger disaster than 1971](_blank)
– Interview of Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan Khattak
Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan Khattak ( ur, ) is a retired Pakistani three-star rank general officer and former field commander of X Corps.
Prior to this field assignment, he was the chief of general staff and also directed the directora ...
. adding that the plan was "flawed in terms of its conception, tactical planning and execution" that ended in "sacrificing so many soldiers". The Pakistani media criticised the whole plan and the eventual climbdown from the Kargil heights since there were no gains to show for the loss of lives and it only resulted in international condemnation.
Despite calls by many, no public commission of inquiry was set up in Pakistan to investigate the people responsible for initiating the conflict. The Pakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country.
The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’s ...
(PML(N)) published a white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
in 2006, which stated that Nawaz Sharif constituted an inquiry committee that recommended a court martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
for General Pervez Musharraf, but Musharraf "stole the report" after toppling the government, to save himself. The report also claims that India knew about the plan 11 months before its launch, enabling a complete victory for India on military, diplomatic and economic fronts. A statement in June 2008 by a former X Corps commander and Director-General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...
of Military Intelligence (M.I.) that time, Lieutenant-General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
(retired) Jamshed Gulzar Kiani said that: "As Prime minister, Nawaz Sharif "was never briefed by the army" on the Kargil attack, reignited the demand for a probe of the episode by legal and political groups.
Though the Kargil conflict had brought the Kashmir dispute into international focus, which was one of Pakistan's aims, it had done so in negative circumstances that eroded its credibility, since the infiltration came just after a peace process between the two countries had been concluded. The sanctity of the LOC too received international recognition. President Clinton's move to ask Islamabad to withdraw hundreds of armed militants from Indian-administered Kashmir was viewed by many in Pakistan as indicative of a clear shift in US policy against Pakistan.
After the war, a few changes were made to the Pakistan armed forces. In recognition of the Northern Light Infantry's performance in the war, which even drew praise from a retired Indian Lt. General, the regiment was incorporated into the regular army. The war showed that despite a tactically sound plan that had the element of surprise, little groundwork had been done to gauge the political ramifications. And like previous unsuccessful infiltrations attempts, such as ''Operation Gibraltar
Operation Gibraltar was the codename of a military operation planned and executed by the Pakistan Army in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir in August 1965. The operation's strategy was to covertly cross the Line of Control (LoC) an ...
'', which sparked the 1965 war, there was little co-ordination or information sharing among the branches of the Pakistani Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and con ...
. One US Intelligence study is reported to have stated that Kargil was yet another example of Pakistan's (lack of) grand strategy
Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...
, repeating the follies of the previous wars. In 2013, General Musharraf's close collaborator and confidential subordinate Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
(retired) Shahid Aziz
Shahid Aziz ( ur, ) is a Pakistani military author and a public official who served as the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from 2004–07, and university administrator of the Federal Urdu University in 2014–16. Aziz, a soldi ...
revealed to Pakistan's news televisions and electronic media
Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical means for the audience to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created digitally, but do not require el ...
, that "argil
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
adventure' was India's intelligence failure and Pakistan's miscalculated move, the Kargil operation was known only to General Parvez Musharraf and four of his close collaborators".
Casualties
Pakistan army losses have been difficult to determine. Pakistan confirmed that 453 soldiers were killed. The US Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...
had made an early, partial estimate of close to 700 fatalities. According to numbers stated by Nawaz Sharif there were over 4,000 fatalities. His PML (N) party in its "white paper" on the war mentioned that more than 3,000 Mujahideens, officers and soldiers were killed. Another major Pakistani political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
, also says that "thousands" of soldiers and irregulars
Irregular military is any non-standard military component that is distinct from a country's national armed forces. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military orga ...
died. Indian estimates stand at 1,042 Pakistani soldiers killed. Musharraf, in his Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
version of his memoirs, titled "Agnipath", differs from all the estimates stating that 357 troops were killed with a further 665 wounded. Apart from General Musharraf's figure on the number of Pakistanis wounded, the number of people injured in the Pakistan camp is not yet fully known although they are at least more than 400 according to Pakistan army's website.[Pakistan army publishes list of army regulars who died in various conflicts](_blank)
, November 2010 One Indian pilot was officially captured during the fighting, while there were eight Pakistani soldiers who were captured during the fighting, and were repatriated on 13 August 1999.
India gave its official casualty figures as 527 dead and 1,363 wounded.
Kargil War Memorial, India
The Kargil War memorial, built by the Indian Army, is located in Dras, in the foothills of the Tololing Hill. The memorial, located about 5 km from the city centre across the Tiger Hill, commemorates the martyrs of the Kargil War. A poem "Pushp Kii Abhilasha" (Wish of a Flower) by Makhanlal Chaturvedi
Pandit Makhanlal Chaturvedi (4 April 1889 – 30 January 1968), also called Pandit ji, was an Indian poet, writer, essayist, playwright and a journalist who is particularly remembered for his participation in India's national struggle for indepe ...
, a renowned 20th century neo-romantic Hindi poet, is inscribed on the gateway of the memorial greets visitors. The names of the soldiers who lost their lives in the War are inscribed on the Memorial Wall and can be read by visitors. A museum attached to the Kargil War Memorial, which was established to celebrate the victory of Operation Vijay, houses pictures of Indian soldiers, archives of important war documents and recordings, Pakistani war equipments and gear, and official emblems of the Army from the Kargil war.
A giant national flag, weighing 15 kg was hoisted at the Kargil war memorial on Kargil Vijay Diwas
Kargil Vijay Diwas (Hindi: कारगिल विजय दिवस, lit. Kargil Victory Day) is commemorated every 26 July in India, to observe India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War for ousting Pakistani Forces from their occu ...
to commemorate the 13th anniversary of India's victory in the war.
Popular culture
The brief conflict provided considerable dramatic material for filmmakers and authors in India. Some documentaries which were shot on the subject were used by the ruling party coalition, led by Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP), in furthering its election campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...
that immediately followed the war. The following is a list of the major films and dramas on the subject.
* '' Lord John Marbury'' is a 1999 episode in the first season of ''The West Wing'' which depicts a fictionalised representation of the Kargil conflict.
* Pentagram's single, 'Price of Bullets', released in 1999 dealt with the Kargil War.
* '' Shaheed-E-Kargil'' (2001), a Hindi movie directed by Dilip Gulati was released in 2001, based on the incident of Kargil conflict.
* '' LOC: Kargil'' (2003), a Hindi movie which depicts many incidents from the war was one of the longest in Indian movie history, running for more than four hours.
* '' Lakshya'' (2004), another Hindi movie portraying a fictionalised account of the conflict. Movie critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...
s have generally appreciated the realistic portrayal of characters. The film also received good reviews in Pakistan because it portrays both sides fairly.
* ''Sainika'' (2002), the Kannada film directed by Mahesh Sukhdhare depicted the life of a soldier with Kargil war as one of the events. Starring C.P.Yogishwar and Sakshi Shivanand
Sakshi Shivanand is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. Her most notable work is '' Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai'' which was directed by Anubhav Sinha and co-starred Priyanshu Chatterjee ...
.
* ''Dhoop
''Dhoop'' ( Sunshine; ) is a 2003 Indian war drama film directed by Ashwini Chaudhary, based on Battle of Tiger Hill. Actress Gul Panag made her Bollywood debut with this film.
The film stars Om Puri and Revathi and is loosely based on Captain ...
'' (2003), Hindi film directed by Ashwini Chaudhary depicted the life of Anuj Nayyar's parents after his death. Anuj Nayyar was a captain in the Indian army and was awarded Maha Vir Chakra
The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...
posthumously. Om Puri
Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...
plays the role of S.K. Nayyar, Anuj's father.
* ''Mission Fateh – Real Stories of Kargil Heroes'', a TV series telecast on Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
channel chronicling the Indian Army's missions.
* ''Fifty Day War'' – A theatrical production on the war, directed by Aamir Raza Husain, the title indicating the length of the Kargil conflict. This was claimed to be the biggest production of its kind in Asia, budget of Rs. 15 million, involving real aircraft and explosions in an outdoor setting.
* ''Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita".
Legends
According to the Pura ...
'' (2008) – A Malayalam film directed by a former Indian Army Major Ravi (Retd) based on his experience of Kargil War.
* '' Laag'' (2000) – A Pakistani film-drama based on the armed intrusions and struggle of Pakistan army soldiers in the conflict.
* ''Kargil Kartoons'' (1999) – With the support of eight leading cartoonists, Shekhar Gurera
Lalit Kala Academy
Shekhar Gurera, or Chander Shekhar Gurera, is an Indian editorial cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer. He publishes regular cartoons with comments about India's political and social trends. His daily pocket cartoons a ...
compiled a collection of cartoons dedicated to the Indian defence forces. He also coordinated ''Kargil Kartoons'' (A Collection of Cartoons and a chain of Cartoon Exhibition), the solidarity gesture of drawing on-the-spot cartoons of ''army men'' who passing through the New Delhi railway station on their way to Kargil. The cartoons on Kargil War were later exhibited at The Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi. 25–31 July 1999, followed by the chain exhibition of cartoons at Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
, Chandigarh, Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
and Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
.
* ''Stumped
Stumped is a method of dismissing a batsman in cricket, which involves the wicket-keeper putting down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground. (The batsman leaves his ground when he has moved down the pitch beyond the popping crease ...
'' (2003) – A film expressing the mixed emotions of 1999 Cricket World Cup
The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...
celebrations and mourning associated with individual's casualty in the Kargil war.
* '' Mausam'' (2011), romantic drama film directed by Pankaj Kapoor
Pankaj Kapur (born 29 May 1954) is an Indian actor who has worked in Hindi theatre, television and films. He has appeared in several television serials and films. He is the recipient of several awards, including a Filmfare Award and three Nati ...
, spanned over the period between 1992 and 2002 covering major events.
* '' Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl'' (2020) – An Indian biographical film was based on life of Indian Air Force pilot Gunjan Saxena
Gunjan Saxena (born 1975) is an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and former helicopter pilot. She joined the IAF in 1996 and is a 1999 Kargil War veteran. She is one of the first women to fly in a combat zone. One of her main roles during the Ka ...
, the first Indian female air force pilot in combat during Kargil War.
* '' Shershaah'' (2021) – An Indian war film was based on life of Indian army captain Vikram Batra
Vikram Batra (9 September 1974 – 7 July 1999) was an officer of the Indian Army. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest Indian military decoration, for his actions during the Kargil War; on 7 July 1999, Batra was kill ...
.
* ''Laal Singh Chaddha
''Laal Singh Chaddha'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Advait Chandan and written by Atul Kulkarni. Produced by Paramount Pictures, Aamir Khan Productions and Viacom18 Studios, it is a remake of the 1994 American ...
'' (2022) an Indian remake of ''Forrest Gump
''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
''.
The impact of the war in the sporting arena was visible during the India-Pakistan clash in the 1999 Cricket World Cup
The 1999 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup '99) was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with Scotland, Ireland, Wales ...
, which coincided with the Kargil timeline. The game witnessed heightened passions and was one of the most viewed matches in the tournament.
See also
* Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
Since the Partition of India, Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of Dominion of India, India and Dominion of Pakistan, Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and m ...
* Gudiya, Kargil war victim
* Kambampati Nachiketa, Prisoner of war
Notes
* Ashwani Shrotriya
"Operation Vijay: Everything You Need To Know In 4 Minutes"
''Dainik Bhaskar
''Dainik Bhaskar ''is India's largest Hindi-language daily newspaper owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is ranked 3rd in the world by circulation and is the largest newspaper in India by circula ...
''
Footnotes
* Names for the conflict: There have been various names for the conflict. During the actual fighting in Kargil, the Indian Government was careful not to use the term "war", calling it a "war-like situation", even though both nations indicated that they were in a "state of war". Terms like Kargil "conflict", Kargil "incident" or the official military assault, " Operation Vijay", were thus preferred. After the end of the war however, the Indian Government increasingly called it the "Kargil War", even though there had been no official declaration of war. Other less popularly used names included "Third Kashmir War" and Pakistan's codename given to the infiltration: "Operation Badr".
References
Asymmetric Warfare in South Asia: The Cause and Consequences of the 1999 Limited War in Kargil
the CCC Kargil Project.
(GlobalSecurity.org)
Limited Conflict Under the Nuclear Umbrella
(RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
)
War in Kargil
(Center for Contemporary Conflict) (PDF)
*
*
ACDIS Occasional Paper by Suba Chandran, Published 2004 by Program in Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security (ACDIS), University of Illinois.
An Analysis of the Kargil Conflict 1999
by Shaukat Qadir
Shaukat Qadir is an independent Risk and Security Analyst who works generally in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He started his career as a pilot in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and then moved to the Pakistan Army. He reti ...
, RUSI Journal, April 2002
*
Further reading
Indian literature on Kargil war
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Pakistan literature on Kargil theatre
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External links
*
Indian Armed Forces site on Kargil
Impact of the conflict on civilians
– BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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