Behind the much-feted victory in Kargil lurks a colossal blunder. A bungle which involves the top hierarchy of the government as well as the army. In a gist, had the political and army leadership simply been more alert and alive to the situation, Kargil need not have happened at all. As it transpired, India plodded into a needless war, and bled itself in terms of sterling men and material, before eking out a redeeming, if costly, military triumph. Yet, for all the to-do surrounding this definitive episode, it is a shame that no questions are being asked-or entertained-at the highest levels, and no answers given.
There is no denying the gallant efforts of the officers and the jawans in the battle, but placing Kargil in its military/political context can’t be said to have the sole intention of politicising the army. A sizeable section of senior and junior army officers too have been stressing the need to conduct a thorough examination of the lapses which led to the two-month-long operation in Kargil.