Despatches from Kargil

The Kargil war in the summer of 1999 was a tale of brutality and courage. Here was war in its essence: barren, icy peaks held by a strongly entrenched enemy, and the only way to dislodge the intruders was to climb up in the face of overwhelming fire. By the end of the war many more heroes were added to the list of the nation’s brave: Saurav Kalia, Vijayant Thapar, Yogendra Singh Yadav, Mariappan Sarvanan and Vikram Batra, to name only a few. Their exploits in this harrowing battle read like the stuff of legend. In Despatches from Kargil, Srinjoy Chowdhury, who covered the war for the Statesman, recounts what it was like for journalists to battle against deadlines, shellfire–and particularly vicious bedbugs–to transmit their reports. He draws graphic pictures of the major assaults, such as in Drass and Batalik, relying heavily on the first-hand accounts of those who took part in the action. There are memorable portrayals of the soldiers and officers too–sometimes of the other side as well. This is war reportage at its best: observant, objective, and ultimately, for all the wry understatement, extremely moving. If I don’t inform the platoon commander (about the presence of the enemy), he will be overrun, I thought. And all because of me. I was wounded. I couldn’t walk. I must have been hit about fifteen times, in the leg, the chest, the groin and arm…I began crawling down…–Param Vir Chakra, Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav