Remembering Kargil: On eve of Operation Vijay Diwas, harking back to India's great victory against Pakistan 21 years ago

A reason for the Kargil War is considered to be the escalating military tensions between the India and Pakistan following the 1971 war between the two countries, which aggravated over time and more recently, culminated in the nuclear tests in 1998.

The direct cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers disguised as Kashmiri mujahideen militants into positions on the Indian side of the LOC, which serves as the de facto border between the two states. The infiltration was codenamed "Operation Badr", its aim was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the Siachen Glacier, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. 

On May 10, the infiltrations were first noticed in Dras, Kaksar, and Mushkoh sectors. In mid-May, the Indian Army moved in more troops from Kashmir Valley to the Kargil Sector and soon after, the Indian Air Force launched airstrikes against the infiltrators.

As Pakistan stepped up the attacks, the Indian Army recovered documents indicating the Pakistan government's official involvement. On June 6, the Indian Army launched a major offensive in Kargil. Throughout the month, the Indian Army fought bravely and launched a three-pronged attack in Kargil, which forced the Pakistani army, bereft of food and supplies, to back down as India's soldiers approached Tiger Hill.

The Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with Indian Army ground troops during the war was aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control.

This particular operation was given the code name Operation Safed Sagar. recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC infiltrated by the Pakistani troops and militants. Facing international diplomatic opposition, the Pakistani forces withdrew from the remaining Indian positions along the LOC.

The war is the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such posed significant logistical problems for the combating sides.

It is also the sole instance of direct, conventional warfare between nuclear states (i.e., those possessing nuclear weapons). 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 the second series of tests by India.

On July 14, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declares Operation Vijay a success, and days later, the Indian Army announced complete eviction of the Pakistani intruders.