Essay On Kargil War In English
When reports on intrusions by mercenaries into Kargil appeared in the media, one read them with a willing suspension of disbelief. When news appeared that the intruders were heavily armed and had dug themselves in, one feared of a war with Pakistan in which the two states might nuke each other.
What good did Pokhran-II, which was bandied about as the ultimate deterrent, do, went an unhappy thought. One drew the conclusion that the Jehadis and the mercenaries had as much fear of a nuclear was as the vandals who razed Babri masjid had for the Supreme Court.
With the war over, one finds that the ruling party is trying to cash in on the lives our brave jawans lost in Kargil fighting insurmountable odds. However, the claims of a great victory in Kargil sound hollow. Pakistan managed to internationalise the issue of Kashmir, which the world had forgotten. And the ceasefire in Kargil was brought about by the United States which has consistently been treating Pakistan as a client state.
In other words, those who had wom their patriotism on their sleeves for decades and those who had seen a lady shooing off the Seventh Fleet in 1971, thrust on the United States the role of an arbiter of sorts in a matter which should be the concern of only two countries. Loud screams of having weaned away the US from Pakistan's side will only evoke snorts of derision.
Look at today's scenario and the sequence of events in Kargil. The BJP's claque in the media is hyperactive at its assigned job of clapping. Its obedient evangelists are palming of fantastic claims as stories; nobody is willing to accept the blame for the unhindered deep entry into our territory of unwelcome elements; an artful attempt is being made to supp 'ess the truth, to obfuscate matters, pull the wool over the eyes of the public.
A commission has been set up to look into the issue of whether there was any lapse on anybody's part in the intrusions. But it does not have the power to call for documents! Everything has been turned into a matter of a twist or a spin. Does it need a commision to establish that somebody or some people were remiss in their duty and so Kargil happened?
The sequence of events in Kargil is something like this. Reports appear on May 6 of the intrusion. The Army comfats the intruders. The Air Force is pressed into action on May 26. Defence Minister George Fernandes is reported to have offered the intruders safe passage.
The nation is shocked. The Government denies that Fernandes ever made such a statement. On July 4, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets President Clinton in Washington, issues a joint statement, offers to pull back the intruders.
On July 26, the Government offers those intruders who were not till then evicted or accounted for by the Army safe passage. But the safe passage offer is couched in sentences that are Greek to the naive. The war gets over, political calculations begin. The BJP's drum-beaters in the media write about victory, victory and nothing but victory.
The legatees of Goebbels know that a lie, repeated umpteen times, will pass for truth. One is reminded of the great Falstaff who described his army as food for powder, offered an infamous catechism on honour, and demanded of Prince Harry who had killed Hotspur a just reward for killing Hotspur in combat.
Even Falstaff could not have been as cynical as our netas. Spin doctoring and a string of non sequiturs are unlikely to sway the voters. It is worth recalling the denouement in Orwell's Animal Farm. Napoleon who had banished Snowball and Mr Pilkington tried to diddle each other in a game of cards.
In short what is being inflicted on the countrymen after Kargil with smart calculations and totting up of figures is worse than what the intruders inflicted, it is nothing short of deception. And the questions that Kargil raised will perhaps disappear into the maw of history of this blighted subcontinent