Kargil War

The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC).

Quotes

• During the winter of 1998/99, Pakistanis had stealthily occupied several Himalayan mountain peaks on the Indian side. In the same winter, the Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee had inaugurated a bus service from Delhi to Lahore as a gesture of friendship, had travelled along with the first bus and had shaken hands with his Pakistani counterpart. End of April 1999, however, the Pakistanis opened fire from their advantageous position on top with the goal to capture the Srinagar–Leh road and isolate Ladakh. The Indian soldiers faced an almost impossible task to dislodge the Pakistanis, as there was a gradual ascent to the mountain peaks from the Pakistani side, yet a steep drop to the Indian side. Moreover, they were inadequately equipped for the cold climate. Nevertheless, they did the impossible. The whole nation stood behind the soldiers and their commanders, many of whom sacrificed their lives. There were daily reports about the incredible heroism of the young men who, in the night at sub-zero temperatures at 5000 metres, climbed up the rocks and came under fire from the top, with many of the soldiers wearing only canvas shoes and carrying heavy equipment on their backs.
  This naturally made my suffering pale in comparison.
  • Wirth, Maria - Thank You India, A German Woman's Journey To The Wisdom of Yoga. Garuda Prakashan Private Limited (2020)

• Now compare this with the attitude of the BBC during the Kargil war. Most of us foreign correspondents know by now that the Pakistanis are training, arming and financing Kashmiri mujahidins. We also know that Pakistan is sponsoring international terrorism, whether in New York or in Sinkiang and is a closed ally of the Taliban, one of the most fundamentalist and dangerous forces in the world today. Yet, for the last 10 years, the BBC has kept on with the old refrain : " India SAYS that Pakistan is training Kashmiri militants, an accusation which Islamabad refutes". By insisting on mouthing this absurd statement, even during the Kargil war, when the whole Western intelligence knew that most of the militants manning the heights were Pakistani soldiers in civil, the BBC thought that it is practising impartial journalism. But who are they fooling ? Everybody is aware of the strong Leftist bias of the BBC (nothing wrong in being Leftist, as long as you don’t pretend to be impartial), who has always defended Muslims separatists all over the planet, whether it is the Palestinians, the terrorists in Chechenya, or the Kashmiri militants. Unfortunately, the BBC has so much of a reputation in the world (and indeed their documentaries are first class), that it shapes the opinions of our editors in Paris or Bonn, who in turn put pressure on us to report on "Hindu fundamentalism", or the "poor persecuted Kashmiris".
  • François Gautier, The Ferengi’s columns, 2001