Kargil and other wars in post-independence India

Many retired defence personnel have shared their experience of wars in post independence India by way of memoirs. Intellectuals and the intelligentsia of the country have been critical because most of the authors tried to suppress political and military facts. There may be one or two rare exceptions about which I shall come later.

I was a shocked and a bewildered college student in Dehra Dun in 1959 when China invaded Tibet and parts of Indian border. Our (then) Prime Minister was unmoved and still talked about Panchsheel ideology to resolve the "minor" skirmish. He even famously claimed that "not a blade of grass grows" in the cold desert plateau of that part of India. I thought that humiliation suffered by our outstanding army in 1962 Chinese war was due to lack of military planning and shocking absence of political foresight. At least 4 or 5 of my close friends (who could have risen to high ranks ) were grievously injured and categorised for no fault of theirs. Our government of the day was callous and pushed these brilliant officers literally into the jaws of death or condemned them to live in post-war obscurity. Many of those still living are in their late seventies or early eighties and present a pathetic sight. This apart, the war shattered the dreams of resurgent young Indians and certainly many of them carried the scar for several years. 

The situation was no different in 1965 and at that time too it was political folly which pushed us into an unprepared war. I vividly remember of having lost some of my close relatives and friends in that war too. Perhaps the only occasion when political dispensation at the centre didn't have their say was in 1971. General Maneckshaw (later Field Marshal) had the guts to snub Mrs Gandhi and refused to open a front in month of March. Instead, he asked for few months for strategic planning and thereby (also) avoided the furious monsoon months of Northeast. This paid rich dividends and history stands in testimony to the gallantry of great Indian Army which achieved an incredible victory. 

Unfortunately, during Kargil war too, the political masters of 1997-99 government paid no heeds to Army's discomfiture about Pak build-up in the glacier region. What could have been militarily managed was allowed to grow into a monster. No doubt NDA as well as the previous governments were responsible for the mess. However, it definitely goes to the credit of Prime Minister Vajpayee's astute international diplomacy which motivated General Malik to turn an imminent defeat into an honourable draw if not a convincing win. After Sam Maneckshaw, it was the only occasion that gave us some cause to cheer. But it was short-lived because Kandhar too happened during same time. Moral of the story is that we must always have a strong and sagacious government which instead of frequently resorting to political bluster, remains on constant alert and in state of military preparedness.            

Kunal Chatterjee