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THE KARGIL WAR Pieces of a WarA perceptive book on Kargil that asks the right questions. By Ved Marwah THE KARGIL WAR Praveen Swami may have won the race for writing the first major book on the "Kargil war", but in the process of writing a "quickie" he has failed to do full justice to many of the vital national security issues thrown up by recent events. To say this, however, is not to underestimate the merits of the slim volume. There is little doubt that the author has deep insight into the complexities of the so-called Kashmir issue, Indo-Pakistani relations and the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir. He manages to say more in a few pages than the authors of many larger volumes on the subject. Swami makes an important statement in the title itself. He calls it a war and not an infiltration or intrusion. He sees through the Pakistani game plan. It was no adventure or "misadventure" as some would like to believe. It should be obvious that the intrusion in Kargil was part of a well-planned Pakistani strategy to wrest Kashmir. The author rightly points out that even though the Pakistanis could not achieve their military objectives, they have created serious problems for us. It is a "punctuation in a larger conflict over the future of J&K ... The real cost of this equivocal victory, enabled by Pakistan's withdrawal, has yet to become apparent". In this very readable book, Swami lists a series of misjudgements and failures on part of the army's top brass. He is unsparing in his criticism. He raises vital questions and even if one disagrees with his answers, they will require some clarification at the official level. The issues are too important to be pushed under the carpet. One thing is clear -- the country cannot afford a repeat of Kargil. According to the author, Indian strategists failed to appreciate the opportunity Pokhran II offered to Pakistan to force a conventional military conflagration in Jammu and Kashmir and ensure international intervention. He holds "political blindness to Pakistan's emerging objectives" responsible for the military consequences. Maybe there is substance in what he says, but he should have resisted the temptation of making sweeping statements without undertaking an in-depth study of the actual developments. The book gives the impression that the journalist in Swami got the better of the scholar in him. This is unfortunate. In his perceptive analysis, the author points out how "democracy and secularism in Jammu and Kashmir have come under assault". Communalisation of politics poses the biggest threat in the state, but unfortunately little is being done to tackle it. On the contrary, Swami blames both the Union and the state governments for actually encouraging the process: "The Islamic right has occupied much of the opposition space, further strangling democratic debate." He rightly concludes that "the bloody war in Kargil is profoundly unlikely to mean the beginning of peace" in the state. This is a timely publication by a well-informed journalist. It tries to answer some of the questions many are asking. Obviously, it is neither an authentic nor a full account of everything that actually happened. That will require more painstaking research. NEW RELEASES Inside Diplomacy Gateway to America The Taj Mahal of Agra Katju's Whims Bowled by Dice Layman's Guide to Chronic Diseases |
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