Atinder Pal Singh
In October 1949, the Hindu Civil Code bill was for the first time tabled for debate in the Parliament by a renowned leader of the time, Law Minister Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. The discussion amid protests proved out to be futile. After the Indian constitution came to force in 1950, the bill was again tabled, this time backed by the interim prime minister of India, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehruji. The provisions of the bill, as alleged by the fundamentalists, were a threat to the customs that had continued since time immemorial and an unnecessary intrusion into the internal family matters of the hindus. Nehru was so particular about the passing of this bill that for once he said in the Parliament, either this bill would be passed or he will retire from active politics altogether.
What was the bill intended to change? Why did Nehru and Ambedkar push it so hard? and the biggest political controversy, why only hindus? That is, why did the congress top brass gave it a communal spin?
Dr.Ambedkar was of the view that political democracy was an empty vessel without social democracy and further he argued that the social democracy in the present hindu society could only be established by a legitimate decision of the soverign of the country on peoples behalf, that is the parliament in our case. Therefore, according to him, it was a moral responsibility of the parliament to ensure social reform in a religion that had been for long guided by biased, exploitative and decaying customs, which the upper caste hindus haven’t dealt with or rather haven’t considered it as a moral obligation to remove them. His view also appealed to the notion of gender equality in the strongly patriarchal society of that time. The fundamentalists outside were questioning the authority of the parliament to induce such a change?
The question of the fundamentalists was bogus as  it collided head on with the concept that had been born with the dawn of the modern era, the concept of sovereignty. The concept states that the sovereign(in case of monarchy a king and the Parliament in the case of a representative democracy like India) had absolute and perpetual authority of controlling and guiding the internal and external affairs of the state and once the sovereignty is inducted as in the case of the Indian constitution, it was irrevocable. That is, once we submitted our natural rights to the authority of the sovereign, in our case the natural rights were oppression of the weak by the strong in Hinduism, the patriarchy etc, the sovereign (parliament) had the full authority to make any change what so ever desired, to bring about the social betterment of the society and its decision would not be challengeable and will be binding on all. This is the meaning of the word sovereign written in the preamble of the Indian constitution. The parliament derived its authority from the constitution of India and it has been clearly mentioned in article 44, in directive principles that the state shall endeavour to secure all its citizens, a uniform civil code and this statement brings us to our second question that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of the janata dal raised in the Parliament in 1951, ” if the provisions have been laid in the constitution with ample clarity for a uniform civil code, why only Hindu customs are being codified?” In this view, he said the bill was communal.
Nehruji’s answer to this question was quiet obvious, in the light of the partition of the country only on religious grounds, the time was not ripe for a uniform civil code and it would be best at this time to create a platform by passing the hindu code bill and then trying to take the muslims of the country in confidence. But despite  the logical testimony of Ambedkar and the support of perhaps the greatest leader of the time Nehruji, the bill couldn’t advance amid protests both in and out of the assembly. The bill was stalled and its considered to be the major cause for Ambedkar’s apprehension and leaving Nehru’s cabinet.
But in the elections the congress got an overwhelming mandate and came to parliament with an absolute majority. The hindu code bill was broken into parts and was successfully sailed across the lower and upper houses of the Parliament. Divorce was declared legal, polygamy abolished and shorty after this in 1956, several other bills including Hindu succession act, hindu adoption and maintenance act, Hindu minority and guardianship act etc were passed. All these acts were aimed at weakening the chains of patriarchy in one way or the other. Thus social justice had been done and social democracy established in hindus. The labours of Ambedkar had borne fruit.
Now 66 years after independence the time has become ripe for the passing of the Uniform civil code bill. The time has come for the sovereign, the Parliament, yet again to clip the wings of obscurantist narrow minded fundamentalists, foster real secularism and to wipe the slur which had been thrown at its face for being communal regarding Hindu Code Bill. Will the Parliament win the battle or will it kneel down as it had  in the past during the NDA coalition in this context, to the religious fundamentalists keeping aside its authority as a sovereign, only time will tell.

Col J P Singh, Retd
Kargil heights are associated with one of the most treacherous episodes of military history of independent India. They evoke painful  memories of deep and traumatic national tragedy. In the military  terms ‘Op Vijay’ was a small tactical battle with 2 to 3 Divisions  involved on both sides. Why remember this small conflict after 15  years? Because we are seeing similar dangers looming large in the  Northwest horizon in a manner that it is cause of serious national  concern. Our problem since long has been sheer incompetence and  ineptitude of political and military leadership particularly of that time  and their assessment that this would not happen. Hence a word of  caution to the current leadership to be vigilant and watchful.
Mountains have traditionally been a heaven for people seeking peace  and spiritual solace. No where does this hold more true than the Himalayas. How ironical that it is here that a treacherous war was  fought by India and Pakistan in 1999 for some mysterious gains, still  unknown, except for butchering each other. It was in Kargil that armies of both sides fought over the rugged mountains. It is here that  we recapitulated that a nation without heroes is a nation without  future. For a nation which had patronised Bollywood Actors and  Cricket Players as inspirational icons, Kargil brought us a surfeit of  real heroes, unwavering leaders and unflinching followers of  insurmountable resolve.
On 3rd May1999, a shepherd of border area reported to a nearest unit that Pakistani soldiers were seen in bunkers on our side of the LOC. To verify it, a reconnaissance patrol led by Capt Saurabh Kalia, was dispatched. On 5th May, they were ambushed. They were brutally tortured to death against all norms of Geneva Convention. Their mutilated bodies were returned. This front page news shocked the nation. This otherwise an act of  border skirmish turned into a full-fledged war due to Pak treachery. An unfriendly and treacherous neighbour forced a 4th  War on a peace loving neighbour in 1999 which came to be known as ‘Op Vijay’. ‘The good won over the evil’. It happened soon after Indian Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee had travelled to Lahore by bus in February 1999 to sign  ‘Lahore Declaration’ to promote peace.  This ‘big peace initiative’ was clear indication of India’s willingness to resolve simmering issues. Follow up Kargil war was ‘a big betrayal’. It was repeat of 1947 and 1965 wars with raiders surreptitiously sent across the LOC. They occupied dominating heights which had been vacated by the Indian troops during winters. It necessitated large mobilisation of Indian Army from outside J&K. Indian Air Force also got involved in this operation in a big way.
(26 July 1999 will go in the annals of Indian history as a day when Indian Army achieved a glorious victory over the retreating Pakistan Army)
Kargil is a District town 205 kms away from Srinagar.  During winters temperature often drops there down to – 50 degree C. NH 1D connects Srinagar to Leh. It cuts across Kargil. 180 Kms stretch along the Highway, from Dras to Batalik,  was occupied by Pak intruders. The posts on these ridges were between 16000 to 18000 ft which used to be held during the summers and vacated during winters. The reason why Kargil was chosen was its vulnerability to pre-empt seizure.  Hence Pak elite SSG and Seven Northern Light Infantry Battalions backed by Kashmiri insurgents and Afghan mercenaries occupied the vacated heights. They were sure of cutting off Leh from Srinagar and altering the LOC. But two Divisions of Indian Army backed by 10,000 paramilitary forces, 250 Arty Guns and 3,600 civilian porters foiled their designs.
High peaks with strongly fortified defences gave the intruders an advantage of a fortress. They also heavily mined their positions. Any assault on such impregnable posts would require a far greater ratio of troops. ‘Mountains eat troops’ is taught in mountain warfare. For the carriage of ammunition, rations, defence / war like stores and preparing defences after recapture, additional troops were required. This task was earlier done by ‘Pioneer Coys’. They were disbanded after 1971 war.  Hence 6 ‘Porter Coys’ of 600 each were raised post haste. Rising to the occasion, K P Singh, a social activist exhorted youths, formed teams of volunteers and by end June got 3000 volunteers enrolled as fighting porters. This youth brigade was named  ‘Tanda Tiger Force’ since enrolled in Tanda Military Cantonment.
Army’s first priority was to recapture dominating posts closer to NH1D. Hence Tololing and Tiger Hill were captured first. Their capture, tilted the combat in India’s favour. Army mounted direct frontal attacks on many posts as high as 18000 ft. As per military tactics, frontal attacks are better avoided. Army could have gone behind, cut off Pak lines of communication, blocked supply routes and virtually created a siege. Such manoeuvres would have involved crossing the LOC which would have led to expansion of theatre of war and reduced international support for its cause.
Army launched its final assaults in the last weeks of July after Dras sector was cleared of Pak intruders. Fighting came to an end on 26 July 1999 and Army declared the war won. The day has since been marked as ‘Kargil Vijay Divas’. 527 brave Officers and Men laid down their lives. 1,363 were disabled / wounded. Grateful nation acknowledges their sacrifices. 8 civilian Porters of ‘Tanda Tiger Force’ were also martyred besides 150 wounded in shelling. Kargil War Memorial has been built at Dras at the base of Tololing. Every year a grand function is held at the memorial on 25 & 26 July to commemorate Indian Victory over Pakistan.  Pak casualties were 700.  8 POWs were repatriated on 13 August 1999. By crossing the LOC and occupying Kargil heights, Pak wrecked the bilateral peace process for which it got a stringent rap from international community. US President appreciated India for not escalating the conflict.
Media played a remarkable role in telecasting Kargil War live from the battle zone in a style reminiscent to the coverage of Gulf War by CNN.  This conflict became first ‘live war’ in South Asia. Besides getting valuable diplomatic support for its restraint, it evoked tremendous nationalism among  young boys and girls due to remarkable impact of mass media on the public psyche.  Craze for joining armed forces suddenly surged.
Importance of Kargil victory will go unjustified if the heroic deeds and sacrifices of thousands of Indian soldiers are not recounted. But the space constraint inhibits such narrations. Hindi Film ‘LOC Kargil’ recounted entire Kargil conflict. Abhishek Bachan portrayed Capt Vikram Batra of ‘Dil Mange More Fame’ and other veteran actors portrayed other warriors. When Gen. V P Malik, met Sh. G L Batra, he said, “had your son returned from Kargil, he would be sitting in my chair after 20 years”. Other distinguished heroes of the war are Capt Anuj kumar Pandey, Rfn Sanjay Kumar, Gdr Yogendra Singh, Capt Anuj Nayyar, , Maj R S Adhikari, Maj Sarvanan, and Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja besides hundreds more. Nation will never forget them who gave their today for our tomorrow.      Contrary to the popular belief that a soldier is a war monger, a soldier has the greatest stakes in peace. More than any one else, he is the one who suffers the ravages of war. He sustains the deepest of the wounds. He is called upon to make greatest sacrifices. If he survives, he lives horrid scars, artificial limbs and memories of his comrades. The parents who lose their sons, the wives who lose their husbands and the children who lose their father live in a trauma and never fully recover to lead a happy normal life. Can we, if we don’t pay them tributes on ‘Vijay Divas’. For the cost of it, wise leadership should win the wars diplomatically, least militarily.
Having heard gory tales of Skardu, Gilgit and Chitral battles from forefathers, the survivors of those wars, and being in HQ Northern Command , it was but natural for me to take keen interest in this conflict so that I could narrate the stories of war realistically whenever an opportunity arose.