Author: Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi
Publication: Reportmysignal.blogspot.com
Date: August 5, 2009
URL: http://reportmysignal.blogspot.com/2009/08/kargil-diwas-why-have-we-forgotten.html
The 10th anniversary of Kargil Diwas on 26
July passed with no fanfare and little remembrance. Only the serving personnel
and the veterans of the defence forces remembered their erstwhile comrades
who had laid down their lives on those forbidding heights, as well as those
who had fought shoulder to shoulder with the brave martyrs. That they prevailed
against tremendous odds is a tribute to their guts and valour. The drama of
Kargil was enacted over nearly two and a half months, till the last of the
Pakistani intruders were killed or chased out of the Kargil Sector, by the
doughty brave hearts of the Indian Army and Air Force. The Kargil Sector is
actually a swathe of real estate along the Line of Control (LC) in J&K,
stretching north east from the steep glaciated heights north of Drass and
extending to the general area of Turtok, just short of the Siachin Glacier.
Kargil had caught the imagination of every
citizen of our country during those tumultuous summer months of 1999, from
the time the Pakistani intrusion was first detected in early May, till the
last of the Pakistani soldiers were neutralized and the entire area was sanitized
by 26 July. The various battles fought in the sector were a series of tactical
level offensive operations, conducted with courage and élan. The officers
and men of the Indian Army had scaled those formidable and razor sharp sheer
heights, unmindful of their lives and limbs. They had won victories on those
high peaks, where the defenders - the Pakistani troops, had all the advantages.
The nation had lost 527 valuable lives and over 1300 officers and soldiers
of our defence forces were wounded, many losing limbs and organs permanently.
They were all brave young men, who sacrificed themselves, with grit written
large on their determined faces and a fierce fire burning strong in their
bellies.
Why is such unparalleled bravery forgotten
by our countrymen within a span of a mere 10 years? Have our nationalistic
feelings atrophied to such an extent that we have no time to remember the
sacrifices of our brave soldiers and airmen, who fought so valiantly to restore
the sanctity and pride of the motherland? Is it the government, which needs
to be reminded to take the lead on such occasions, or the military or the
people? The country does need to honour its soldiers and the earlier it is
done, the better it would be for the security, growth and progress of our
nation.
Over the last nearly two and a half months,
remembrances of the Kargil martyrs appeared in practically all newspapers
on a daily basis. These were either inserted by their kith and kin or by their
comrades and units to which they belonged. All of them were proud of these
warriors and there is a lot of meaning in such remembrances. However, our
government neither had the time nor the inclination to pay homage to those
brave men who laid down their lives for their country. I was horrified to
read in the media the callous statements attributable to the political leadership,
the political parties and the bureaucracy, that made light of the valour and
sacrifices of the officers and soldiers who gave their all for the honour
of the country.
It is the media, both print and electronic
and the ex-servicemen (ESM) who took a lead in generating enthusiasm for the
10th anniversary of the Kargil Diwas, but alas the somnolent functionaries
of the government remained unmoved. One newspaper had reported that the government
has decided that the Kargil War was not worth celebrating as we had not crossed
the LC! What logic indeed? Another report clarified that the army on approaching
the government was grudgingly "allowed" to celebrate the Kargil
victory on a "low key"! How generous of a grateful government that
does not hesitate to call in the army at the slightest pretext? The related
question is for the army. Since when does the army need permission to remember
its comrades and martyrs, notwithstanding the low or high key effort the army
chooses to adopt? This is solely the prerogative of the Chief and the C's-in-C;
they must not let anyone interfere with this. If the news report is correct,
it is another unwarranted effort at reducing the status of the military, politicizing
it and treating it with disdain.
Ours must be the only country in the world
where decisions to commemorate military events are based on which political
party is in power! One national party, when in power, celebrated Kargil Diwas
because that military victory took place when theirs was the ruling party.
The other does not, but celebrates Vijay Diwas instead, as it was their party
which was in power when the Indian Military did the country proud by their
resounding victory over Pakistan in 1971. A third category popular with the
government is when no event is celebrated, or is celebrated in 'low key',
on the specious plea that it may adversely affect the peace process with a
particular country! It is this kind of convoluted logic that shames our nation.
The end result of such a thoughtless and lackadaisical attitude on the part
of the government is that the military, which is proud of its brave military
heritage, is forced to have such celebrations and remembrances in the confines
of their cantonments, with no participation by the civil populace, the political
leaders or the government. What a dismal and farcical situation?
It is the intelligentsia, the opinion makers
and the common man and woman who should have taken matters in their hands
and honoured the warriors of the Kargil conflict on the 10th anniversary.
In future, let such events not be sacrificed at the alter of political and
administrative expediency, because the government wants to play politics,
forgetting that when those brave soldiers assaulted the enemy sitting on those
forbidding heights, they did so for the security of the nation and to restore
its pride.
- The author is a former Vice Chief of Army
Staff (VCOAS).
