Kargil War

"Operation Vijay (1999)" redirects here. For the 1961 Indian operation, see Annexation of Goa.

Kargil War
Part of the Kashmir conflict and the India–Pakistan conflict
Kargil_war
Indian soldiers after capturing a hill from Pakistani forces during the Kargil War
Date3 May – 26 July 1999
(2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Kargil district, Jammu and Kashmir (now Ladakh), India
Result

Indian victory

  • India regains possession of Kargil
Territorial
changes		 Status quo ante bellum
Belligerents
 India  Pakistan
Commanders and leaders
Strength
30,000 5,000
Casualties and losses

Indian official figures:

Pakistani claims:

  • 1,600 (per Musharraf)[5]

Independent figures:

Pakistani figures:

Indian claims:

  • 737–1,200 killed (at least 249 bodies recovered in Indian territory)[14][15][16][7]
  • 1000+ wounded[17]

The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict,[note (I)] was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh (erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir) and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay (Sanskrit: विजय, lit. 'Victory'), which was the codename of the Indian military operation in the region.[18] The Indian Air Force acted jointly with the Indian Army to flush out the Pakistan Army and paramilitary troops from vacated Indian positions along the LoC,[19] in what was designated as Operation Safed Sagar (Hindi: ऑपरेशन सफेद सागर, lit. 'White Sea').

The conflict was triggered by the infiltration of Pakistani troops—disguised as Kashmiri militants—into strategic positions on the Indian side of the LoC,[20][21] which serves as the de facto border between the two countries in the disputed region of Kashmir. During its initial stages, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed the involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces,[22][23][24] led by General Ashraf Rashid.[25] The Indian Army, later supported by the Indian Air Force, recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LoC; facing international diplomatic opposition, Pakistani forces withdrew from all remaining Indian positions along the LoC.

The Kargil War is the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such, posed significant logistical problems for the combatting sides. It also marks one of only two instances of conventional warfare between nuclear-armed states (alongside the Sino-Soviet border conflict). India had conducted its first successful test in 1974; Pakistan, which had been developing its nuclear capability in secret since around the same time, conducted its first known tests in 1998, just two weeks after a second series of tests by India.

  1. ^ Chakraborty, A. K. (21 July 2000). "Kargil War Brings into Sharp Focus India's Commitment to Peace" (PDF). Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. ^ Fernandes, George (28 November 2002). "Soldiers Killed in Kargil War". Parliamentary Questions, Lok Sabha. Parliament of India. Starred Question No 160. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Complete Roll of Honour of Indian Army's Killed in Action during Op Vijay". Indian Army. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  4. ^ Fernandes, George (8 December 1999). "Soldiers Killed During Indo Pak Wars". Parliamentary Questions, Lok Sabha. Parliament of India. Unstarred Question No 793. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Musharraf claims Kargil was a big success militarily for Pakistan". Greater Kashmir. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  6. ^ Khan, M. Ilyas (26 July 2019). "Kargil: The forgotten victims of the world's highest war". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Kargil probe body had sought Musharraf's court martial". The News International. AFP. 13 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  8. ^ Tavares, Rodrigo (2006). Understanding Regional Peace and Security. Göteborg University. p. 297. ISBN 978-9187380679. the US State Department quoted the Pakistani military casualties at 700, but according to the then PM Nawaz Sharif (quoted in Gulf News, February 2002), the entire Northern Light Infantry of Pakistan was wiped out during the conflict claiming 2,700 lives.
  9. ^ "Over 4,000 soldiers killed in Kargil: Sharif". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Pak quietly names 453 men killed in Kargil war". Rediff News. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  11. ^ "Pakistan Army admits to Kargil martyrs". NDTV. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  12. ^ "Musharraf now has Pak's Kargil toll: 357". Indian Express. 7 October 2006. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Tribune Report on Pakistani POWs". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  14. ^ Malik, V. P. (2006). Kargil: From Surprise to Victory. HarperCollins. p. 342. ISBN 9788172236359. According to our intelligence estimates, their Army suffered over 737 casualties, primarily due to our artillery fire.
  15. ^ Pubby, Manu (19 November 2010). "Kargil: Pak suffered most casualties at Batalik". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018. Indian records say a total of 249 bodies of Pakistani soldiers were recovered during the battle but estimates of total enemy casualties is put around 1000–1200.
  16. ^ Kanwal, Gurmeet (2009). "Pakistan's Strategic Blunder at Kargil" (PDF). CLAWS Journal: 72. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2018. The army recovered 249 dead bodies of Pakistani regular soldiers from the area of operations in Kargil; 244 dead bodies were buried as per military norms with religious rites; five bodies were accepted by Pakistan and taken back
  17. ^ "How artillery changed the tide of the Kargil war". The Economic Times. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  18. ^ It is also sometimes referred to as Operation Vijay Kargil so as to distinguish it from Operation Vijay, the 1961 operation by the military of India that led to the capture of Goa, Daman and Diu and Anjidiv Islands.
  19. ^ "Op Safed Sagar: Understanding Air Operations in Kargil". Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021.
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Qadir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Musharraf, Pervez (2006). In the Line of Fire: A Memoir. Free Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-7432-8344-9.
  22. ^ Clancy, Tom; Zinni, Tony; Koltz, Tony (2004). Battle Ready. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 0-399-15176-1.
  23. ^ Pubby, Manu (12 June 2009). "Pak commander blows the lid on Islamabad's Kargil plot". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  24. ^ "Sharif admits he let down Vajpayee on Kargil conflict". The Hindu. Chennai, India. PTI. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  25. ^ Nawaz, Shuja (2007). Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within. p. 420.