L E T T E R S    T O    T H E    E D I T O R

A brave Army

Reference to the article “The sheer force of blood and honour” by Dinesh Kumar (Sunday Tribune, July 20), Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was a visionary and a peace loving statesman. And that is why he undertook the bus journey to Pakistan. Our combat forces are better than the best in the world, if given tactical, strategic and quality military hardware support. Pakistan misadventure was planned much in advance and we were caught napping, but our forces wrote a new chapter in bravery and supreme sacrifice in the most difficult terrain in the world.

BM Singh, Amritsar

Letting them down

The article “A war fought and won with an arm tied” by Raj Chengappa (Ground Zero; Sunday Tribune, July 20) was a hair-raising account of the Kargil War. It is amazing to read how journalists risked their lives to bring out ground realities of war to readers. It is a shame that our soldiers fought the war without “sufficient clothing and glacier gear”. Yet, they fought valiantly and won the war. The article is a tribute to the great Indian armed forces.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

II

Despite overwhelming odds, India won the Kargil War at a heavy expense of men, material and money. This hard-fought victory jolted our military and political leadership from deep slumber to revamp the country’s defence mechanisms. But not much has been achieved due to shoddy implementation of government decisions. Faced with internal and external security challenges posed by Pakistan and China, India should build adequate border infrastructure, develop indigenous fighting apparatus and improve ties with its neighbours.

DS Kang, Hoshiarpur