Remembering Kargil

It is unfortunate that the Government has decided that the 10th anniversary of the Kargil War did not need to be celebrated. Is it reluctance to remember a war fought when a different political party was in power or is it just plain indifference to courage?

Kargil was a war that was beamed into every Indian home and the citizens of this country watched with baited breath as Indian officers and soldiers swept them off their feet by their heroic acts and personal courage.

The odds were in favour of the enemy who held the icy heights and dominated the barren landscape with withering fire from their automatic weapons, which made it difficult for anything to move. This however was just the scenario for Indian soldiers to carry out their death-defying missions.

Those who watched, agonised for their safe return. Some returned and some did not and even the enemy grew to respect these young lions and to acknowledge their courage and daring. The price they paid was heavy but they laid their lives on the line and they did it willingly and without regret.

The defending Pakistani soldiers were very confident that they would beat back any attack by our soldiers, so great was the advantage of the tactical positions that they held. They, however, did not reckon with one factor in the Indian armoury – Courage! Courage of the ill-equipped Indian soldier whose bravery in the extreme adverse circumstances that underlined the Kargil war must never be forgotten.

Courage in combat coloured the snow covered Kargil slopes crimson, as soldiers shed their precious blood battling against superhuman odds. Attacks were launched at heights above 15,000 feet in sub-zero temperatures where every breath at those rarefied heights is painful and every step a laboured effort. Added to this was the government's decision not to cross the Line of Control, thereby reducing the Army's tactical options.