The Kargil War, 1999
India's 1999 war to evict Pakistani intruders from the heights of Kargil; victory is marked every year as Kargil Vijay Diwas.
What the paper can ask
- Fought over about two months in the summer of 1999 after infiltration across the LoC; India's Operation Vijay involved about 30,000 troops.
- Air Force operation Safed Sagar; Navy's Operation Talwar; key battles at Tololing, Tiger Hill, Point 5140 and Point 4875.
- Pakistan withdrew after the Washington Accord of 4 July 1999; India reported 527 killed, Pakistan 453.
- A Kargil Review Committee was set up after the war; both countries had tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
Why exams ask
The date of Vijay Diwas, the operation names, the peaks and the Param Vir Chakra winners are the usual questions.
The full story
In the summer of 1999 India found that Pakistani soldiers, disguised as militants, had crossed the Line of Control and occupied heights in the Kargil district (then in Jammu and Kashmir, now Ladakh). India's Operation Vijay, with air strikes under Operation Safed Sagar and a naval posture under Operation Talwar, recaptured peaks such as Tololing and Tiger Hill in two months of fighting, a year after both countries had tested nuclear weapons.
Test yourself
1.Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on which date every year?
Correct. It marks India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War (Operation Vijay).
Not quite. It marks India's victory in the 1999 Kargil War (Operation Vijay). It goes into your error book.