It was the speed and spontaneity with which the Indian army launched its attacks that led to their victory in the 1999 Kargil war, says Lieutenant General Mohinder Puri, who headed the 8 Mountain Division.
Gripping accounts of valour and fortitude from the frontlines of the war between India and Pakistan have been anthologised in a collection authored by General Puri. The book, Kargil: Turning the Tide, which was launched on Monday, is a first-hand narrative of the operations of the 8 Mountain Division, which was tasked to evict the enemy from the Drass-Mushkoh Sector during ‘Operation Vijay’.
We surprised the enemy with the speed and ferocity of our movement. It was the speed with which we conducted the operations and took them totally by surprise. this was one of the reasons why we succeeded in evicting the enemy.
Lieutenant General Mohinder Puri
General (retd) V P Malik, who has himself authored a book, Kargil - From Surprise To Victory, in 2006 on the same subject inaugurated the event at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.
Lots of books have been written about the Kargil War and most of them are hearsay. There are only two authentic books I can mention, one is General Puri’s and I will take credit for the second one. “While I have dealt with the war at a macro level, General Puri’s book talks about the several battles fought. After all, there is no war without these battles. I have gone through the book and it is a good read. It brings out vividly the emotions of the soldiers before they went into the battle, during the battle and after the battle ended.
General (retd) VP Malik
A fast-paced read, the book captures the trials and tribulations in the life of a soldier, the fear of authority, and finally the joy and ecstasy of victory.
With stories about several close quarters, hand to hand battles fought in challenging and hostile environment of the perilous rugged high altitude terrain, inclement weather and an entrenched enemy, Puri’s work is a tale of fortitude, valour and exemplary junior leadership.
The book covers the event from multiple perspectives- from attacks at the platoon level to issues impinging on national security.
The war received massive media coverage such that it came to be known as the first televised war of the country. General Puri lauded the role of media, particularly broadcast journalist Barkha Dutt, who at the time of covering the war was in her early 20’s.
Media did tremendous work and Barkha was there throughout. She was the one who brought the battles and the war into our living rooms.
Lieutenant General Mohinder Puri
Dutt, who was also present at the event, shared her experience of the War.
I was very young when I went to the field and many of the soldiers whom I met were one or two years younger to me. Although it was against the backdrop of violence, the valour and the courage that I saw in Kargil was the most intense and profound experience of my life and it changed me in ways no other assignment that I have reported on has.
Barkha Dutt, Senior Journalist
Dutt, along with three other media persons had refused to stay at a hotel in Kargil and were living out of a car for nearly two weeks. According to the author, India suffered very high casualties in the successive battles that were fought during the war with 268 killed and over 818 soldiers wounded.
Indian soldiers from the division, who had fought and laid their lives for the country, were honoured with gallantry awards that included 3 Param Vir Chakras, 8 Mahavir Chakras and 42 Vir Chakras.
(With inputs from PTI)
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