New Delhi: General Ved Prakash Malik, who was the Army Chief during the Kargil War, said that during the 1999 Kargil War, the Indian Army did not have enough weapons and suitable clothing for the soldiers. Due to budget constraints since the beginning of the 90s, the army had to rely on the minimum necessary things, but despite these challenges, the soldiers showed indomitable courage and bravery to win the war. General Malik said that even the US did not share intelligence with India due to nuclear testing.
This challenge was there before the deployment of soldiers
General Malik told The Print that the political and military leadership of the time was surprised by the intelligence failure that led to the sudden attack by Pakistan. Apart from this, the challenges of high mountains and glaciers also came up. Special uniforms and equipment were needed to fight these conditions, which we had very little of. General Malik said that getting the soldiers used to living at high altitudes before deploying them was also a challenge. Also, the army in that area did not know which mountain peaks were occupied by the enemy.
'The army had to depend on minimum essential items'
General Malik, who was the Army Chief during the Kargil war, further said that due to the cold, the aerial surveillance operation could not detect Pakistan's occupation. Because at that time there were no drones, radars or ground surveillance equipment. There was also a shortage of weapons, ammunition and other equipment. Due to budget constraints in the early 1990s, the army had to rely on the minimum essentials.America did not give information to India in time
Explaining the challenges posed by Western sanctions imposed after India's nuclear tests in 1998, he said that the US did not share its intelligence with us. He said, I must admit that some of our ammunition factories immediately produced the required ammunition on this occasion. Today, it is good to see that emphasis is being laid on self-reliant India in this field.
Today China is a bigger threat than Pakistan
He said that in today's situation China is the main threat and the external threat from Pakistan on the borders has reduced. I don't think they will dare to launch a big attack like Kargil again. He said that there have been tremendous changes in defense technology, capability and principles. Looking at the threats and conflicts present today, political thinking is more active than in my time, which is a good thing.
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