Yeh Dil Maange More!!

June/July 1999 – This was the time when we had bought the new cable connection at our home – only after both of us; the siblings had crossed the 10th standard hurdle. The new cable connection provided about a debate amongst us and dad, which of the 3 to 4 options for news channel available were to be aired for news. Dad was loyal to the DD news, while we were fans of the Star News which were then produced by the NDTV team. (NDTV used to produce news segments for Star TV, before Prannoy Roy parted ways with Rupert Mudroch’s venture and launched a separate news channel – NDTV 24X7 in Apr 2003). Well I certainly don’t want to get an entry into the news channel TRP fights. Its just that I was not able to get as to how do I start with the topic of the day. This family debate certainly did close with the Kargil conflict. I don’t want to undermine the DD news, but the NDTV team (especially Barkha Dutt and Vishnu Som) did a fantastic job in covering the Kargil conflict. This particular conflict is still best described as India’s first war on TV. Back there in 1962, 1965 and 1971, there were no TVs and people relied on the Akashwani to get the news from the battle frontier. However in 1999, the image of Barkha standing besides the firing Bofors 155 gun and providing us information on the march of the Indian forces against some Pakistani infiltrators is still fresh in the mind.
The war is one of the most recent examples of high altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, which posed significant logistical problems for the combating sides. This was only the second direct ground war between any two countries after they had developed nuclear weapons, after the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969; it is also the most recent. There’s so much more to write home about the Kargil war – the cause of the conflict, the politics, dissect diplomatic moves, the saga of the battle and even apportion credit and blame.
But many people have written about all this, instead this manuscript would focus on the contribution of the bravehearts who gave us the famous victory in the summer of 1999, not that this portion is neglected by anybody. I am focusing on these jawans because back then as one who was aging into a tween from a juvenile teen, there was so much stuff around us to distract our mercurial minds and that it requires such an unwelcome battle to keep us - men now, boys then (no gender bias, this sounds better than women now, girls then) on track and lead us into the new century. We, as a budding generation, were really beginning to wonder what India was all about – Was India still only a land of snake charmers and full of poverty and destitute? Did the population nearing billion, the only manifestation for India? Was India only a land of distinct races, castes, communities, languages and what not – where each and every day was something like; one diversity class trying to outdo the other and there were politicians who were willing to breed this hatred? Was India only about the young talent who bid aideu to their kin and preferred the green cards to the ration cards? Was India only about the Khans and others who loved and romanced by dancing around the trees? Did India get together when the so called 10dulkar and the 10others (only for accompanying him on the cricket ground) brought about an out of the blue victory for the men in blue? Back then, there were mails and articles floating which boasted that about x% Indians work for American companies like NASA, Microsoft, Bell Labs etc – I still fail to understand why these facts made Indians proud?
The Indian officers led from the front and the jawans matched them in determination and courage to win us probably the most difficult wars fought by the Indian Army, by any army. About 400 brave warriors lost their lives in the battle on the most inhospitable terrains at an altitude of 17000 ft. Day after day, for eight weeks, NDTV (and of course the other channels too) was airing the exploits of the Indian army – the march up the various cliffs amassing bunkers and strategic points in the Drass and Tololing sectors. There were valor stories which featured stalwarts like Lt. Saurabh Kalia, Grenaider Yogendra Singh, RFN. Sanjay Kumar, Major Padmapani Acharya, Lt. Balwan Singh, Major M Saravanan, Lt. Kanad Bhattacharaya, Captain Saju Cherian, Lt. Keishing Clifford Nangrum, Captain R Jerry Prem Raj, Major Sonam Wangchuk and many more. But one 24 year old officer, Captain Vikram Batra stood apart with his ‘inspired’ slogan of Yeh Dil Maange More!! No he never ever wanted more Pepsis instead wanted more of the bunkers on the various peaks. He led his Delta to the capture of Point 5140 on Tololing which was strategically important in the recapture of points 5100 and 470, junction and the Three Pimples, ultimately leading to the fall of Tiger Hill. It was unfortunate that we lost him right in the slog hours of this hard fought battle.

For those eight weeks, the whole of India lived and breathed Kargil. This war helped India rediscover its underlying oneness. This was one moment when all of those divisions of caste, community and religion that have dogged the country were at least momentarily forgotten. Through out the whole length and breadth of India, there was this sudden eruption of the patriotism that did prevail as India entered the new millennium with a new resolve to become a superpower. I am not saying that victory in the Kargil conflict was the only turning point and I am not disregarding any other causality too, but Kargil did become an inspiration. Up above the peaks in and around Kargil, there must have been plenty of snow falls and there would be plenty more in the coming years – but none would be too strong to cover the blood of those bravehearts. My heart salutes those brave men who regained Kargil back for us, so that we can proucly proclaim our rights on it. OK guys, Yeh Dil certainly Maange More, but not the war and the blood shed, but more love and respect for our motherland - India.

26 Jul is being celebrated as Vijay Diwas, the day when Operation Vijay was completed in 1999.