Indian newspapers and their public believe--or say they believe--that the conflict in Dras-Kargil last year was a military victory for India. In fact, it was a war 'won' by briefings and a slavishly supportive media. The Indian public wanted to be assured of 'victory,' and every effort was made to provide that assurance. Kargil was disastrous for Pakistan in worldwide political terms, and was an important public relations coup for the Indian government, both internally (in the run-up to the election), and internationally. But militarily it was a shambles for India whose brave but ill-prepared soldiers suffered gravely and would have sustained even heavier casualties had the conflict continued. The prime minister of Pakistan was ordered by the president of the United States to withdraw his troops from a successful military operation and this was done in time to save the Vajpayee government from the wave of criticism that would have swamped it had the confrontation not been stopped.
There is no question about the courage of members of the Indian armed forces, but they are badly-equipped, have no support from government save when political points can be scored, and are not prepared for war, either tactically or in its higher direction. The army is as desperately short of 'teeth arms' officers as the air force is short of pilots. Senior officers seem to devote an inordinate amount of time seeking legal redress for alleged injustices, and there are over 1,000 cases waiting resolution, which is not a sign of a contented defence force--and a discontented defence force is unlikely to be an efficient one. Further, the services have to put up with unworkable equipment and systems foisted upon them by a defence research organisation that is an international joke. (This is slightly disconcerting when one considers that it is these people who are responsible for developing nuclear weapons systems.)
