The 1999 Kargil War, code named Operation Vijay, on the Line of Control (LOC) was an artillery-driven, precision-strike operation to evict Pakistani soldiers and Mujahideens who had intruded and occupied several high-altitude peaks in Indian territory. The subcontinent was sitting on a powder-keg in 1998 with bilateral tension reaching a crest after the twin nations conducted back-to-back nuclear explosions in the summer. India and Pakistan were off the talks table, and diplomatic ties were at an abysmal low. Expectedly, there was an upsurge of cross-border firing throughout autumn-winter 1998. It is believed that planning for the mass intrusion into Kargil by exploiting gaps in Indian LC defences by Pakistan occurred during this tense period. Kargil town is 205km from Srinagar, and 173km from Skardu, which was Islamabad’s logistical base in the war. From 15 May 1999, India moved five infantry divisions, five brigades and 44 paramilitary battalions into Kashmir in just two weeks, and Indian troop strength in J&K peaked at 730,000, the highest ever since 1947. The actual number of soldiers fighting was, however, about 30,000, with 60 frontline attack aircraft. The area of intrusion extended along 160km of National Highway 1D connecting Srinagar to Leh. The intrusion was the brainchild of Pakistan’s then Chief of Army Staff, General Pervez Musharraf, and Chief of General Staff, Lt Gen. Md Aziz. They are believed to have obtained only an ‘in principle’ concurrence, without any specifics, from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, though the exact degree of complicity of the latter is still clouded. In the first two weeks of May 1999, several patrols were conducted in the Kaksar Langpa area of Kargil district to check whether the snow had retreated enough for the summer positions to be re-occupied. On 5th May 1999 3 Punjab sent out a patrol in the Batalik sector to verify the claims of two local shepherds named Tashi Namgyal & Tresing Morup reported seeing strangers on a ridgeline. Another patrol party with Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh of the 4 Jat Regiment had gone for a routine patrol of the Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector in the rugged, treeless Ladakh mountains under the leadership f Lt Saurabh Kalia. After a continuous cross fire with Pakistan armed forces from across the LOC, the troop ran out of ammunition. They were finally encircled by a platoon of Pakistani rangers and captured alive before Indian reinforcements could reach them. No trace of the patrol was left, meanwhile Radio Skardu of Pakistan announced that the six soldiers including an officer had been captured by Pakistani troops. It was after this that India discovered hundreds of guerrillas had established fortified positions on the peaks of the hills deep inside the Indian side of the Line of control, with sophisticated equipment and supply lines back to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. The brave soldiers of Jat regiment were in captivity from 15 May 1999 – 7 June 1999 (over twenty-two) days, and subjected to torture as evident from injuries to their bodies when they were handed over by the the Pakistani Army on 9 June 1999. Post-mortem examinations revealed that the Pakistanis had tortured their prisoners by: burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing the ear-drums with hot rods, puncturing eyes before removing them, breaking most of their teeth and bones, fracturing their skulls, cutting the lips, chipping of nose, chopping off limbs and private organs of the soldiers, and finally shooting them dead, as evidenced by bullet wounds to the temple. The post-mortem also confirmed the injuries were inflicted ante-mortem (before death). “Desh” is starting her Kargil War memorial series by paying tribute to the six brave hearts who suffered ultimate inhuman torture to protect us. We express our heartfelt regards for the families of Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram, Naresh Singh and Lt Saurabh Kalia on this day when their patrol reported missing.
