The Hindu : Front Page : 1998 war-game predicted Kargil

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Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004

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1998 war-game predicted Kargil

By Praveen Swami

NEW DELHI, JUNE 28. A 1998 war-game had warned of the possibility that the Pakistani troops could hold key heights in the Kargil sector, and called for reinforcements to be sent to the strategic mountain features in the area. Top commanders, however, ignored the warnings, leading to the loss of over a hundred Indian soldiers' lives in the operations to re-capture Tiger Hill, Point 5165 and the Mushkoh Valley.

The Hindu has obtained access to a January 30, 1999 letter, calling the attention of the then 3 Infantry Division Commander, Major-General V.S. Budhwar, to major weaknesses in the defences identified in the course of the war-game, code-named Exercise Jaanch. Written by Colonel Pushpinder Oberoi, commanding officer of the 16 Grenadiers, the letter is marked 0072/AC OPS. Colonel Oberoi was later cashiered for the unauthorised vacation of Bajrang, a key forward post in the Kargil sector, during the winter of 1998-1999.

According to Colonel Oberoi's classified letter, Exercise Jaanch suggested that "existing defs [defences] need a re-look in view of the en [enemy] capturing certain hts [heights] in the vicinity of own defs [defences], rendering some posts untenable." It proceeded to make the specific suggestion that section-strength or company-strength forces be permanently stationed on Point 5165, Pariyon ka Talab and Point 4165. General Budhwar, sources said, was dismissive of the warning, and told the local commanders to make do with the forces they had.

Colonel Oberoi's letter, the sources said, was written after General Budhwar failed to respond to the verbal pleas for troops, made during his visit to the sector on November 25, 1998. It would, ironically, have reached the 3 Division Headquarters — and possibly the offices of the then-15 Corps Commander, Lieutenant-General Kishan Pal — about the same time the first reconnaissance groups of Pakistani intruders occupied these features. General Pal, like other senior officers, was dismissive of the prospect of a Pakistani offensive, an attitude founded on the fact that Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif were to meet in Lahore shortly.

Bloody battle

Point 4165, better known as Tiger Hill, was the site of perhaps the most bloody single battle of the Kargil war. While it is hard to arrive at a precise estimation of casualties — since the final victory required the capture of a succession of secondary positions — the 18 Grenadiers Regiment lost 9 men and 37 were injured in the final operation. Fighting to take an adjoining feature, Tololing, claimed 25 lives and 41 were injured, while the 8 Sikh Regiment lost 35 men and 83 were injured in fighting to set up a base from which the Tiger Hill assault could be launched.

Occupation of the Pariyon ka Talab area, similarly, would have given India considerable strength in the Mushkoh valley and possibly detected the infiltration early on. Between January 10, 1999 and March 30, 1999, the Army sent out no patrols in the Mushkoh sector, allowing Pakistan to take control of the critical features dominating the National Highway 1A from Mughalpura to Dras. Sixteen men of the 2 Naga Regiment were killed in the fighting to recapture Point 4875, the most important feature in the Mushkoh Valley, while 24 were injured.

Interestingly, the official Kargil Review Committee made no reference at all to Exercise Jaanch in its report on the 1999 war. Colonel Oberoi was removed from service for his negligence on the Bajrang Post issue. His pleas that General Budhwar had not laid down any clear procedures for the winter occupation of the posts were, however, never addressed. General Budhwar's handling of his command is central to the cases filed by two other sacked officers, Major Manish Bhatnagar and Brigadier Surinder Singh, which are being heard by the Delhi High Court.

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