The summer of strife

When They Were Waiting For 1999 Cricket World Cup To Start, Indians Came To Know Of War Breaking Out With Pakistan In Mountains Of Kargil. In Days That Followed, Every One Was Glued To News Channels, Praying For The Success Of Our Bravehearts In Driving Away Pakistani Intruders. The War Lasted 3 Months, But India Won. Twenty-Five Years On, TOI Series Revisits Those Moments Of Valour...
CHANDIGARH : The high mountains of Kashmir are considered one of the toughest terrains to live in the world, with military outposts perched on summits above 16,000 ft.So, when the Kargil war broke out in May 1999, the bravehearts of Indian Army were in for a long summer ahead — one which saw several martyrdoms and acts of courage in conditions which are tough even for the battle-hardened.

This July 26, the country will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its victory in the high-altitude conflict, but will also be mourning the men who were martyred — 527 of them in just three months. The loss of this pain will be felt most profoundly by those in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
Comprising just 5.56% of the country’s population, the three states accounted for 28% of the casualties in the war, triggered by Pakistan Army intruding into Indian territory and capturing Indian posts along LoC during the winter while disguising as Kashmiri militants.
In all, the three states accounted for 144 casualties in the war, with the loses coming from across the hierarchical order — soldiers, junior commissioned officers and other ranks.
As far as state-wise figures are concerned, Haryana had suffered the highest number of 58 casualties, Punjab 45 and tiny Himachal Pradesh 41. Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh constitute just 2.09%, 2.9% and 0.56% of the total population of the country, respectively.

These figures of state-wise casualties in the war were placed before Lok Sabha on July 27, 2000, by the then defence minister, George Fernandes, in reply to an unstarred question asked by MPs Abdul Rashid Shaheen, Bhawana Gawali Patil and Jagdambi Prasad Yadav.
The MPs had sought details about the number of army men who attained martyrdom during the conflict and the facili ties provided to their families. As per official data, the highest number of 147 casualties of soldiers was from Uttar Pradesh, 69 from Jammu and Kashmir, 54 from Rajasthan and 17 from Bihar. Besides, 21 soldiers, who were native to Nepal, had also lost their lives in the war.
During the war, two of the four Param Vir Chakras (PVC) awardees — country’s highest gallantry award — were given to Army men from Himachal Pradesh — Captain Vikram Batra and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, who is now a subedar. Apart from this, several other gallantry awards were conferred on soldiers from the region for their heroic acts.