The Bharatiya Jansangh led by Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukharjee, held the National Integrity as the core agenda. Bhartiya Jan Sangh that later turned into the Bharatiya Janata Party, held Kashmir’s integrity into the Bharat and Abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, very close to their heart.
To illustrate BJP’s unyielding solidarity for national unity and to oppose the separatist movement, the Ekta Yatra was initiated by the then BJP president Murli Manohar Joshi on December 11th 1991.
The yatra was flagged off from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and would reach Srinagar on the 26th January 1992, covering Fourteen states. The yatra coincided with the birth anniversary of Subramanian Bharati and the day also was marked with the Balidan Divas of Guru Teg bahadur.
The yatra was led from the front by the then RSS pracharak and currently the Hon. Prime Minister of the nation, Shri. Narendra Modi. It was him who had conceptualised and organised the yatra.
This was the time when terrorism was at its peak in Jammu-Kashmir. There were constant threats of terrorist attack on the yatra. As they embarked on their journey amidst the terror threat, the yatra entered Phagwara in Punjab on the 23rd January 1992.
Gurdeep Singh Deepa, Deputy Chief of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), attacked BJP President Muril Manohar Joshi’s caravan. As the caravan entered Phagwara, the lead bus was attacked by Deepa and another with Ak-47’s. They had disguised themselves as police officers. The driver and the two party workers were killed and forty others were injured.
Yet, the yatra continued fearlessly and reached the Patnitop in Jammu on the 25th of January 1992.
In Patnitop, the motorcade of hundreds of vehicles was halted by the state authority and instructed to terminate the yatra. But, the strong willed team of Murli Manohar Joshi and Narendra Modi decided to opt for taking the risk and fulfil the decades old promise given to the Kashmiri Hindus, of standing by them and integrating them with Bharat.
They reached Srinagar in an Airforce aircraft and unfurled the Tiranga at Lal Chowk in Srinagar amidst the grenades and Bullets.
The unfurling of Tiranga imparted a well fortified message to the world and especially the Kashmiris, that in the times to come, the Bharatiya Janata party would not leave any stone unturned in unifying the nation without compromising.
The gesture and the initiative that appeared ‘damp squib’ in 1992, sow the seed for better tomorrows and the roots of patriotism were soaked deep in the souls of the each nationalist Bharatiya and eventually led to unifying Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh within the republic of Bharat, fully and entirely by abrogating Article 370 and 35 A.
In August 1947, as soon as Pakistan came into existence, it wanted to annex Jammu and Kashmir. On the 22nd October, the Pakistani army, in disguise as tribal Mujahideen attacked Kashmir and Ladakh. The state of Jammu-Kashmir was accessed by Bharat on 26th October 1947.
They took control of two districts of Kashmir valley and their dominance still continues. The region is known as Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK). The Pakistani army also took control of Gilgit, Baltistan and Hunza and it is administered now, under the name – ‘Northern Areas’.
This was the northern frontier of Bharat, where the boundaries of six countries touch one another – China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bharat, Tajikistan and Tibet and hence, it has the most significant strategic value. It connects middle Asia and South Asia and enhances the control over the entire Asian continent.
In the year 1935, the Soviet Union occupied Tajikistan, the then British Government realised the importance of Gilgit and signed an agreement with Maharaja Hari Singh. The Government took over the administrative responsibility as well as that of security of Gilgit for Sixty years on lease. They named it as Gilgit agency. For security of the area, the British Government employed an irregular armed force, named Gilgit scouts.
They returned this area to the Maharaja in 1947, On the 10th December 1972, a line of control was demarcated by the authorities of both the nations. It was the border in unspoken words.
The agreement was reached at Minimarg, a village near dzoji La. The LoC passes from Karobalgali to Neeral (on Bharatiya side) and Brelman (on Pakistani side), proceeding northwards to Chet (in Kargil), the Chhorbat La (in Turtuk) to finally Thafig (on Bharatiya side).
All Muslim (largely Shia) of Kargil have supported Bharat. Nevertheless , they have paid a heavy price for supporting their own country!!!
During each war and often in peacetime, the towns and villages of Kargil have been shelled by the Pakistani army, with Rockets and Mortars, stationed on hilltop, overlooking Kargil.
In 1998, Pakistan fired rockets from its side on the line of control, several hundred times. It would routinely shell vehicles travelling on the Kargil section of the national highway. It destroyed the Kargil district hospital, an upmarket hotel and two Shia mosques as Shia’s of Kargil have invariably stood by Bharat.
Alexander Evans, a British researcher, visited the Kashmiri Militant’s training camps in Muzaffarabad (POK). He observed that there was not a single trainee from Kargil.
In May 1999, Pakistan captured some territories of Kargil and shelved some towns and villages. This onslaught enforced the citizens to relocate themselves, outside the range of Pakistani artillery.
The mayhem dragged Kargil into the international limelight. In the following months, around five hundred Pakistani soldiers had infiltrated into the Bharatiya territory in Mushkoh valley, Drass Kaksar and Batalik. Pakistan, disassembled that the infiltrators were the Kashmiri Mujahideen (holy warriors)!!!
In reality, these young soldiers were official and professional soldiers belonging to Gilgit and Baltistan region. They could not even speak Kashmiri language.
The Pakistani press had another story to tell. As per the press, Pakistan wished to dominate the National Highway between Srinagar and Leh and thus, interrupt and suspend the connectivity between Siachen and Leh from Srinagar.
In July 1998, Bharatiya Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, met in Colombo. Their meeting had unspoken stiffness and it ended with no progress in the dialogue. Later, in the same year, in the month of September, they met again in New York during the UN General Assembly session and Vajpayee ji hosted Nawaz Sharif for lunch.
On this note, their relationship turned less stringent and much warmer. In early 1999, Shariff in an interview to Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express, praised the Bharatiya Prime Minister. “Vajpayee is an extremely decent man” and extended an invitation for him to visit Pakistan, promising him a hospitality “that people would remember for a very long time”.
Responding very warmly to the invitation, Vajpayee set off for Lahore on the 20th February 1999, for the historic voyage that the sub-continent would remember for centuries.
Little did anyone could foresee, behind the ‘warm hospitality’ and cordial affection, Bharat was to witness yet another stab in the back…
Shortly, after Vajpayee ji signed the Lahore declaration, both the Prime Ministers uttering Vajpayeeji’s poem – ” Jang na hone denge” and
departed from Pakistan soil, the Pakistani army surreptitiously occupied the winter vacated posts of the Bharatiya army. This act was the brainchild of the army chief General Parwez Musharaf.
On the 3rd May 1999, intrusions were detected. On 26th May, the first air to ground strike was launched by the Bharatiya Air Force (Indian Air Force -IAF), followed by Operation Vijay, by the Bharatiya Army to evict the intruders from the Bharatiya territory. After two months of violent confrontation, the war came to an end on 26th July 1999.
Kargil Vijay Divas is celebrated every year on the 26th of July to mark Bharatiya victory in the war against Pakistan.
Tiger hill was one such crucial point captured by the Pakistani soldiers. Tiger hill or Point 5062 is a mountain in the Drass-Kargil area of Ladakh overlooking the National Highway 1D, which connects Srinagar to Kargil and is the supply route of the Kargil sector.
Any enemy at the top of the Tiger Hill would establish direct control on the movement of the Bharatiya army and its supply channels.
The Pakistani army had infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir and illegally captured the Tiger hill. The Sikh regiment of the Bharatiya army tried to reclaim the territory but failed after major fighting.
After multiple attempts, the Bharatiya army designed a strategic attack and dug an area around the hill. The Sikh regiment and the Naga regiment teamed up with the Grenadiers and the Ghatak platoon to surround the entire hill and climb up the 1000 foot height, all the while raining artillery fire on the enemy present at the hilltop.
After several days of fighting and bloodshed, the Bharatiya army successfully recaptured Tiger Hill and unfurled the Tiranga.
Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav was the youngest recipient of the honour of the Param Vir Chakra at the age of 19. He played a major role in capturing the Tiger hill.
The assault began at 1900 hours on 3 July 1999 with direct and indirect firing by artillery. It was a multi-directional infantry assault. 8 Sikh provided the firm base and engaged the enemy from ‘obvious’ approaches as part of a deception plan. 18 Grenadiers moved towards the objective from the South and North East. The weather assisted the battalions in achieving surprise. Lt. Balwan Singh led the Ghatak Platoon (Commando) of 18 Grenadiers on the most difficult, North-Eastern Approach. His Platoon made use of the rope to reach the top of the Tiger Hill at 4.30 hours and totally surprised the enemy that had already suffered due to heavy artillery shelling and air attacks. In the ensuring hand-to-hand fighting, the enemy lost 10-12 personnel. 18 Grenadiers suffered six fatal casualties. Grenadier Yogendar Singh Yadav, who was in the lead on the rope, and wounded badly, earned India’s highest gallantry award of Param Vir Chakra. The Ghatak Platoon with some reinforcements fired on the Tiger Hill top, but throughout the day came under enemy fire from the Western Spur. This position (Western Spur) was cleared by a very gallant and highly motivated action by 8 Sikh on the night of 4-5 July, 1999. They beat back a fierce counter-attack led by two Pak officers on the early morning of 15 July 1999 and also captured ‘India Gate’ and helmet.
The Kargil War’s pivotal battle was at Point 4875, where 13 JAK RIF ‘Bravest of the Brave’ achieved the impossible.
On July 26, 1999, Bharatiya troops recaptured the peak, tilting the war in Bharat’s favour against Pakistani intruders, securing the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway. Captain Vikram Batra, the hero of the Kargil war, was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, who fought the fiercest battle in the Kargil war.
His last words “Yeh Dil mange more” still echoes in the Kargil hills. For the first time, the American administration was siding publicly with Bharat against Pakistani aggression. The Pakistani generals who had strategized the Kargil incursion, led by Parwaz Mushraf, had badly misread the American approach.
Mr. Bill Clinton, the then President of USA, has stated unambiguously in his memoirs – “My life”, that Pakistan’s dangerous standoff with India (began) when Pakistani forces under the command of General Musharraf crossed the line of control… By crossing the line of control, Pakistan had wrecked the rules.”
General Anthony Zinni, the chief of the US Central Command from 1997 to 2000, observed: “The Pakistanis waylaid the Indians and penetrated all the way to Kargil. This threatened Indian communications and support for Siachen and Indians hit back with a vengeance.”
Mr. Bill Clinton sent him as the special representative to Pakistan capital, Islamabad to persuade the Pakistani government to vacate Kargil.
The Pakistanis concurred with his assessment but the Pakistani Prime Minister, the one who had put up an act of singing “Jung na hone denge hum” with the Bharatiya Prime Minister and his civilian advisors were not in agreement to this suggestion that Pakistan should retreat from the Kargil. He considered that the withdrawal would be political suicide for him.
The Army chief, who later became Military dictator, General Parvez Musharaf, advised the Prime Minister to give Zinni an ear. In other words, as the Pakistani journalist Khalid Hassan writes, “In other words, the man who brought about [the] Kargil conflict i.e. [Gen. Musharraf] was prepared to back down.”
Mr. Sharif called Mr.Clinton and requested an audience on the 4th of July. The day being the American independence day and a national holiday, Clinton was not very keen to meet the Pakistani Prime Minister, but unwillingly he agreed for the meeting.
Mr.Clinton received Mr. Sharif at the Blair House and not at the White House. The Pakistani Prime Minister was hoping to use American pressure.
Strobe Talbott, who was the USA’s assistant Secretary of State, was present in the meeting. Recalling his narration, Mr. Sharif had told Mr. Clinton -“I am prepared to help resolve the current crisis in Kargil but India must commit to resolve the larger issue [i.e. Kashmir] in a specific time-frame.”
Mr. Talbott writes further, ” Clinton came as close as I have ever seen to blowing up in a meeting with a foreign leader.”
Mr. Clinton had said to Mr. Sharif, ” If I were the Indian Prime Minister, I would never do that. I would be crazy to do it. It would be nuclear blackmail. If you proceed with this line, I will have no leverage [left] with them. I am not and the Indians are not -going to let you get away with blackmail and I will not permit any characterization of this meeting that suggests that I am giving in to blackmail.” President Clinton questioned Prime Minister Sharif whether he had grasped how advance the threat of nuclear war really was and was he aware that his military was preparing to use nuclear missiles?”
Mr. Sharif indicates that he was unaware of his military ‘s moves!!!
(Levy, Adrian and Scott-Clark, Catherine, Deception : Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy, Atlantic 2007)
As per Talbott, “Clinton also refuted Sharif’s accusations that the Indians were the instigators of the crisis and intransigeants in the ongoing standoff.
When Sharif insisted that he had to have somey to show for his trip to the US beyond unconditional surrender over Kargil, Clinton pointed to the danger of nuclear war if Pakistan did not return to its previous position.
President Clinton asked Prime Minister Sharif to pull out the intruders out of Bharatiya territory immediately.
Pakistani scholar P. Bhandara notes that the above mentioned ‘Washington Accord of July 1999, between USA and Pakistan, commits Pakistan to the ‘inviolability’ and ‘sanctity of the Line of Control.
“This may not be the manner in which Pakistan would interpret the outcome of the Kargil war but this is the interpretation of the Security Council members and the world at large.”
The Dawn, Karachi, Pakistan in August 1999. China gave its faithful ally – Pakistan, no comfort either.
The battle to liberate the unguarded territory that had been stealthily captured by the Pakistanis lasted for Seventy four days, during which 407 Bharatiya and 696 Pakistanis were killed.
Later, the Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif was informed that 2700 Pakistani soldiers were killed. He admitted that the regular Pakistani forces also fought the Bharatiya forces in the war. India Today estimated that the war had cost Bharat, 250 million $ dollars whereas expenditure of Pakistan, as per the Pakistani finance minister, was 700 million $ dollars.
Pakistan had officially claimed and that too, several times, that the motive behind the intrusion was to ‘internationalise’ the Kashmir issue. Absolutely, Kashmir was ‘internationalised’ like never before.
On June 20th 1999, right of the world’s richest nations, the G-8, asked the intruders to withdraw to the Pakistani side of the line of control, thus giving the LoC, the same sanctity as an international border.
Several nations including USA, appreciated Bharat, for its Military ‘restraint’ during the war and for not having retaliated by attacking Pakistan.
Bharat, thus won the war on the Military as well as diplomatic fronts and the people of Kargil won for their faith in Bharat.
Sources of Information :
हमारी भूलोका स्मारक : धर्मांतरित कश्मीर
नरेन्द्र सहगल
कश्मीर : दहकते अंगारे
जगमोहन जी
जम्मू कश्मीर की अनकही कहानियां
कुलदीप चंद अग्निहोत्री
Kashmir : Behind The Vale
M J Akbar
My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir
Jagmohan ji
100 Documents
Kul Bhushan Mohtra
Jammu-Kashmir : Facts, Problems and Solutions
Ashutosh
Madhvi Bhuta is the National Executive of BJP Mahila Morcha and a Columnist on various Forums.