25 Years of Kargil War

Posted 27 Jul 2024

6 min read

Why in the News?

India is celebrating 25years of Kargil War victory or success of Operation Vijay.

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Operation Vijay, was launched by Indian Army in response to the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and militants into the Kargil district of Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Indian Airforce launched ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ for conducting attacks on Pakistani troops positioned on high hills. Indian Navy launched ‘Operation Talwar’ to check Pakistan’s navy in Arabian Sea. Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed annually on July 26 to commemorate the victory of success of Operation Vijay.

About Kargil War

War theatre: The war was fought in the Kargil district of Union Territory of Ladakh across 170km high-altitude frontier near LoC.
- Key locations were Tololing, Tiger Hill, Batalik, Drass, Mushkoh Valley, Kaksar, Chorbat La.
Commencement of war: The war commenced shortly after the signing of the Lahore declaration in 1999, when the Pakistan Army surreptitiously occupied the winter-vacated posts (vacated to prevent loss of soldier’s life) of the Indian Army.
- In 1999, India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration to reduce nuclear risks and resolve their border disputes peacefully.

Map illustrating key battle fronts during the Kargil War. Locations such as Shigar, Shingo, and Indus Rivers, LoC, and strategic points like Khaltubar Top, Point 5140, Tiger Hills, and Tololing are marked. Key roads NH1 and NH301 are highlighted.

Reasons for Pakistan’s intrusion of India

Politico-strategic:
- To internationalize Kashmir as a nuclear flash point requiring urgent third party intervention.
- To alter the Line of Control (LOC) and disrupt its sanctity by capturing upheld areas in Kargil.
- To achieve a better bargaining position for a possible trade- off against the positions held by India in Siachen.
Military/Proxy War Related Motives:
- To interdict the Srinagar-Leh road by disrupting vital supplies to Leh.
- To outflank India’s defences from the South and rendering its defences untenable in Turtuk and Siachen.
- To boost militancy in J&K by diverting troops from the Valley to Kargil, weakening the counter-insurgency efforts and opening new infiltration routes while also raising moral of militants.

Shortcomings in India’s defense architecture that contributed to the Kargil War

In the aftermath of the Kargil War, the Indian government established the Kargil Review Committee (KRC) in July 1999. Chaired by K. Subrahmanyam, a prominent strategic affairs analyst. The KRC and its follow-up by the Group of Ministers highlighted following issues:

Intelligence failure: Government of India did not anticipate the possibility of a war so soon after the Lahore Declaration. Therefore, intelligence failure was one of the prime causes for not anticipating Pakistan’s intrusion.
Low technology: Intrusion by Pakistan could have been detected earlier if India had half-metre resolution satellite imagery capability, appropriate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in addition to better Human Intelligence (HUMINT).
Inadequate resources for defence forces: Decline in defence expenditure compromised with the defence modernisation and replacement of obsolete/ obsolescent equipment and weapons systems.
A comprehensive security policy: No attempt was made to evolve a comprehensive security policy keeping in view the changing threat scenario because of the proxy war, nuclearisation in the sub-continent and RMA.

Suggestions made by KRC to strengthen India’s defense architecture

Strengthen National Security Council and have a full time National security adviser (NSA)
Enhance satellite imagery capability and induct unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s)
Create an organization focused on electronic and communication intelligence (like the National Security Agency in US)
Create an integrated defence intelligence agency (DIA)
give more powers and prominence to the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC)
Reduce the age profile in the army and find ways to decrease the pension bill.
Establish a committee to study all the issues related in order to have an effective border management policy
Publish war histories and declassify official documents to establish the facts
Create synergy between military and the media
Create civil-military liaison mechanisms at various levels, from Command HQ to operational formations on ground to smoothen relationships.

Major initiatives taken for strengthening India’s defence architecture

Specification	Reforms taken
Intelligence	Task force on Intelligence apparatus formed, National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) was formed in 2004 for the protection of national critical infrastructure and handling cyber-related issues. A ‘Multi Agency Centre’ (MAC) has been established. Information sharing is done at the MAC on daily basis by all intelligence agencies Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) which is a tri-Service Intelligence Agency of MoD, is placed at MAC Radar Satellite-2 (RISAT-2) was launched by ISRO which is a Radar Imaging Satellite with all-weather capability to take images of the earth.
National security management and apex decision-making	National Security Council (NSC) was reformed to adopt whole of government approach and NSA have been strengthened over the years. NSC established in 1998 is headed by the Prime Minister. The Ministers of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs and Finance are its members. The National Security Adviser is its secretary. Nuclear Command Authority was established in 2003. Its Political Council chaired by the Prime Minister is the sole body which can ecognize the use of nuclear weapons. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) created in 2019 is the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Defence Modernisation	Agnipath Scheme to ensure a fine balance between youthful and experienced personnel in the Armed Force. Corporatization of the ordnance factories: To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency. Defence production and indigenization: DAP 2020, Positive Indigenisation List, SRIJAN Portal, ADITI (iDEX) Defence Offset Policy: To leverage capital acquisitions to develop Indian defence industry Andaman and Nicobar Theatre Command established in Technology Development Fund scheme: specially designed for new start-ups, MSMEs and academia
Border Management	Task force on border management created. Smart fencing: BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) under CIBM (Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System) is deployed in some Indo-Bangladesh and Pakistan border patches Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme: A Central Sector Scheme for the construction of border fence, border flood lights Vibrant Village Programme: A Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2023 for comprehensive development of the select villages abutting northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Ladakh. All-weather roads and tunnels like Atal tunnel (connecting Manali to Lahaul-Spiti) and tunnel at Shinku-La (for an all-weather road to Ladakh)

Conclusion

Since Kargil War, the character and conduct of warfare have changed with the growing use of terror and other irregular methods of fighting by non-state actors. Equally important have been the technological advancements in the cyber and space domains. Therefore, Indian armed forces must be prepared for future conflicts with a changed character as the war could be more violent and unpredictable.