Hrishabh Tiwari
19/01/2022
Ever since the Britishers left the subcontinent, India and Pakistan haven't seen each other eye-to-eye, their animosity with its roots based on border altercations has over the years turned into a dangerous arms race. The bitterness between these bordering nations has escalated to war more than 4 times in the last 7 decades whilst numerous skirmishes taking place all year long. The first of the four major battles broke out just after the partition over the authority of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir. Pakistan had always been on the hunt to bring Kashmir into its camp, either by hook or by crook. The irregular Pakistani Forces and Tribal militias were made to intrude into the princely state, they had crossed over to Kashmir and were pacing towards the state capital Srinagar. Maharaja Hari Singh sighting the violence and the plunder in his territory decided to place a plea of assistance with the Government of India. The Indian Armed Forces intervention was however subject to Maharaja Hari Singh signing the 'Instrument of Accession', to which he agreed, thus melding J&K into Independent India. Indian soldiers were thence swiftly airlifted to Srinagar to fight the Irregular Pak Forces and the Pakistani Army. The war ended on January 1, 1949, with the declaration of ceasefire and the soldiers of both nations congealed near present-day LoC.
1965 Indo-Pak War witnessed the same old tactics of Pakistan to infiltrate Irregular Forces to destabilize the government and then bring the Regular Army into the scene, however, despite suffering a great loss in the 1962 Indo-Sino War, India launched a full-fledged attack on West-Pakistan(Present day's Pakistan) after unmasking and humiliating Pak with the failure of Operation Gibraltar(Pak Army's covert mission of causing uprising among Muslim population). In 1971, yet again the foe nations were on the battlefield, Indian Armed Forces once again showed its prowess and liberated Bangladesh whilst forcing the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani troops.
In 1998, India tested its nuclear warhead that impelled Pakistan to follow the suit. Within a month, despite severe International pressure, both the countries had carried out the test for their Nuclear programme. Two rival nations now armed with nuclear weapons were once again inching towards a violent faceoff, and this time its epicentre fibbed in the celestial land of Kashmir Valley. It seemed that the clock had ticked back to the partition days. Although J&K had always been an area of a short fuse, the flare-ups, however, had never reached the scale of the '99 war. The Kargil-Dras sector was at the helm of the affairs. Despite being at the receiving end from the Pak Army's well-prepared offensive posts atop the peaks, Indian intrepid soldiers managed to dislodge the enemy and recapture the lost posts. After a fierce fight that lasted close to two months, on July 26, the Indian Armed Forces had fully retaken the Kargil heights. Furthermore, Pakistan accepted its defeat and declared a ceasefire, in addition, summoned its troop to withdraw from the Indian territory.
The war was over but the grudge and the enmity were far from ebbing, Pakistan was lurking for an opportunity to avenge the humiliation and trounce it suffered at the hands of the Indian Armed Forces. Desperate to take the edge off the Indian Forces, yet again, Pakistan triggered a strange confrontation in the Rann of Kutch. The salt marshy land of Kutch, sometimes mossy green and other times muddy brown, just like Kashmir had experienced the tussle between India and Pakistan. Naliya Air Base of the IAF is a single tarmac air station located about 20 km offshore in the Naliya town of Kutch district. August 10, 1999, marked a perfect sunny morning at the Air Base, it seemed the calm breeze from the shore brought the much-needed tranquillity after the war. The Air Force Base, although quite active since the Kargil War began, had comparatively less of the hustle and bustle of the crew. Two officers of the No. 45 Squadron, Squadron Leader Prashant Kumar Bundela and Flying Officer S Narayanan getting ready for their regular flying sorties certainly had no idea what was in store for them.
At around 11 am, the alert beacon at the Naliya AF Base began to blare at its peak, 'Pakistani Bogey!! Scramble for Intercept', the call came for Sq Ldr Bundela and Flying Officer Narayanan to quickly hop in the MiG-21 Bisons and get the unwanted guest to land for further debriefing. Swiftly launching on the tarmac Sq Ldr Bundela and his wingman Flying Officer Narayanan closed in towards the Pakistani Navy's reconnaissance aircraft Breguet Br.1150 Atlantique that had entered the Indian airspace. The French-built maritime patrol aircraft was equipped with an advanced electronic system and was believed to have violated the Indian Airspace in order to gather crucial electronic intelligence.
On intercepting the Pak Navy's aircraft, Sq Ldr PK Bundela tried to force the intruder to land, however, the Atlantique veered suggesting a combative posture. Seeing the enemy aircraft in no mood to follow protocol, Sq Ldr Bundela fired a Russian built R-60 missile, and in no time the Atlantique was down on the ground. 16 Pakistani crew members including five Naval Officers were killed in the incident. Both the MiG-21 returned back to the Air Base to receive a hero's welcome. The story didn't end here, the very next day, IAF's Mi-8 helicopters carrying 50 journalists came under missile attack by Pakistani ground Forces. The attack was launched when the journalists were being taken near the carcass site to show evidence of an airspace breach. It was the skills and years of training of the IAF pilots that led to a narrow escape from the incomings. All the three choppers along with 50 journalists quickly returned back to safety. It is also to be noted that the Pak Navy's aircrafts had violated Indian airspace more than 50 times since January 1999. IAF pilots had taken the last resort since the patrol aircraft Atlantique posed a potential threat to the Indian warships. All being said, the job was done, Pakistan was served a dose of its own medicine. Sq Ldr Prashant Kumar Bundela, the MiG-21 Bison pilot, Wing Commander VS Sharma(the flight control officer who tracked down the Atlantique) along with the Mi-8 Helicopter Unit's commander Sq Ldr Pankaj Vishnoi were honoured with the prestigious Vayu Sena Medal for exhibiting exemplary skills and courage in the time of adversity.
Despite their cultural, linguistic, geographical, and economic connections, the relationship between India and Pakistan has been tangled by a number of political and historical events. Right from the violent days of partition to the modern day's surgical strikes, Indo-Pak relations in a nutshell is defined by the military conflicts that have taken place over the years. Be it the Indo-Pak war of 1947-48 that merely took months after partition or the 1965 war that witnessed the infamous Battle of Asal Uttar that remains the largest tank battle since World War II. In both these wars, Pakistan had been the aggressor that employed quite the similar tactics of intruding irregular forces to cause an uprising among local people and then enlist the army to fight the Indian Forces. On both occasions, the region of conflict had been the areas of Kashmir. Despite having a decisive ceasefire line i.e. Line of Control, Pakistan had been in covetousness to accede the land of Kashmir into its territory. But to its dismay, it only suffered dire defeat and humiliation at the hands of the Indian Armed Forces.
East Pakistan(Present day's Bangladesh) became the reason for the 1971 war, the conflict between East and West Pakistan aroused after the Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, an East-Pak based leader who won the majority seats was disallowed to continue the premiership of the country. India's involvement in the conflict came after Pakistan launched a pre-emptive airstrike on the airfields of the Northeast. Pakistan once again got dust on its face as the Indian Forces overpowered the Pakistani Army and forced the surrender of more than 92,000 troops and helped liberate Bangladesh.
It may have seemed like the amalgamation of all the past defeats ought to have taught Pakistan a lesson to not fiddle with the Indian Armed Forces, but it wasn't the case. Pakistan was desperate and it knew, intimidating India wouldn't be an easy hand. To counter the Indian Forces, Pakistan literally travelled half the world acquiring equipment to build a Nuclear Bomb. Pakistan moved to Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany and UK in pursuit of the bomb-making supplies, In his book 'The Unending Game', former R&AW chief Vikram Sood reveals that it was only after Pakistan acquired twenty high-frequency inverters essential for enriching uranium, did they come to know about Project 706(Codename for Pakistan's clandestine nuclear programme). The inverters were acquired from a West German firm in the garb of using it in the textile manufacturing plant. After the 1971 war, it took Pakistan a further 8 to 10 years to get hold of all the equipment that was mostly banned for sanction by all the western-world Nuclear countries.
In 1998, after the general elections, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power and within a month of swearing-in as Prime Minister of the country, he started lobbying for the Nuclear test and stated that "There is no compromise on National Security". His words were crystal clear, he knew if India doesn't carry out the tests now, Pakistan would surely go ahead. From May 11 to 13, India tested five of its Nuclear warheads successfully at Pokhran, under the codenamed 'Operation Shakti'. Almost 15 days later, Pakistan simultaneously tested five of its nuclear bomb in the Chagai district of Balochistan Province. Although both India and Pakistan were now among the exclusive countries having Nuclear capabilities, it didn't go well with the rest of the world, a lot of sanctions were imposed on both the nations that were later uplifted.
"हम जंग ना होने देंगे... तीन बार लड़ चुके लडाई, कितना मेंहगा सौदा... हम जंग ना होने देंगे...," these were the words of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that reverberated as he set his foot in Lahore. In February 1999, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee travelled to Lahore via bus(through newly opened Delhi-Lahore Bus service) and met Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. The visit was believed to be 'special' as it aimed at improving the bilateral relations between the two nations. The two prime ministers signed the Lahore agreement and agreed to undertake several 'Confidence Building Measures' to improve the India-Pak relations. But little did anyone know, these two nations would be face to face on the battlefield, embroiled in the 'Jung of Kargil'.
While the bus diplomacy did not yield the fruits of peace, one thing became crystal clear; 'Pakistan is a hostile state that can never be trusted'. After Pakistan intruded into the Indian side of the LoC in Kargil, captured six Indian Army soldiers and mutilated their bodies, India was prompted to take it as a provocation of war. Starting May 1999, the Kargil conflict broke out and after an intense battle, the Indian Armed Forces succeeded in pushing back the Pak troops from the Indian territory. In the Kargil war, India lost three aircraft; 1 fighter jet and 1 chopper were shot down while 1 fighter jet crashed. The Indian airspace along the border areas was being constantly monitored by the IAF, even the slightest intrusion was being considered an incitement. The airspace remained a field of the cat and mouse game for the Air Force of both countries. Since January, Pakistan had actively violated Indian airspace more than 50 times, their aircraft would stray across the border and turn back before things get messy. Prior to the Kargil war, these intrusions were ignored and not being considered a threat, however, things changed once the war began. It was clear, not only in Kashmir but also outside Kashmir, the airspace breaches would escalate to major confrontations.
On July 26, the ceasefire was declared marking an end to the dreadsome Kargil war. 559 Indian soldiers had fallen in the line of duty while more than 1000 Pakistani troops were believed to have been killed. 249 dead bodies of Pak soldiers were recovered from Indian territory. Although the war had ended, there remained an uneasy peace between the two nations. The bilateral relations were dangling by a thread, while Indian Forces and government were lauded worldwide for their efforts to keep the war limited to a geographical area, Pakistan was humiliated diplomatically and militarily and feared the possibility of international isolation.
Hundreds of miles from the cold deserts of Kargil, on August 10, 1999, as the Runn of Kutch baked in the scorching heat of the sun, Pakistan was eyeing for espionage. Being the western front and pretty close to the warring Pakistan, the areas along the international border were kept on high alert. One of the Forward Base Support Units of the IAF, Naliya Air station tasked to look after the security of the western front too was actively buzzing with pilots carrying out multiple sorties in a day since the Kargil conflict began. More than fifteen days passed without provocation from Pakistani forces. 'They seem to have learnt their lesson, next time we'll grab them even harder,' said Squadron Leader PK Bundela as he and Flying Officer S Narayanan pulled up their g-suits to get ready for a flying sortie. Both the IAF officers belonged to the No. 45 Squadron(Flying Daggers) of IAF, stationed at the Naliya Air Base. Naliya AF station is a crucial base of the Air Force on the western front not only due to its proximity to the international border but also strategically as in the 90's it functioned as a Forward Base Support Unit(a fully-operational base which could scramble jets in no time).
At around 10.51 am, unusual activities were noticed by the flight control officer Wing Commander VS Sharma at the Naliya base, IAF's ground radars picked up an aircraft flying path near Badin inside the Sindh region of Pakistan. The aircraft was approaching the Indo-Pak international border on a south-easterly course. The ground radars had picked up the aircraft 100 km before it closed in towards the International border, giving the flight controller enough time to ascertain the speed and the flight pattern to accurately predict it was a Pakistani aircraft about to intrude the Indian airspace for gathering intelligence. In the next five minutes, the Pakistani aircraft was knocking at the doors. Within walking reach from the Naliya Air Base, the aircraft violated the Indian airspace twice and allegedly violated the 1991 air agreement between India and Pakistan. The 1991 air agreement requires the aircraft(other than helicopters) of both countries to maintain a distance of at least 10 km from the international border.
At 10.55 am, the alert beacons were turned on articulating a state of emergency. Quickly reckoning the situation, the flight control officer Wing Commander VS Sharma informed the MiG-21 pilots, Sq Ldr Bundela and Flying Officer Narayan about the intruding aircraft and asked them to quickly scramble for getting hold of the aircraft before it meanders back into Pakistani airspace. Without wasting a single moment, Sq Ldr Bundela and his wingman Flying Officer Narayanan paced towards the MiG hangar and in the next minute throttled the Bison's engine on the 1.8 km protracted tarmac to launch in the sky only to be seen gushing the bluish-orange flame from the afterburners. As soon as the MiGs scrambled in the air, the Pak Navy's Atlantic-91 aircraft strayed away from the Indian airspace and flew parallel to the borderline, however, in a puzzling move, the aircraft once again yawed left and entered the Indian airspace, this time it moved as much as 15 km inside the Indian territory. Within 2 minutes, the two birds roared towards the intruder, by the heat signatures and the markings of the aircraft, Sq Ldr Bundela could identify the aircraft, however, he waited for a confirming sight before passing it back to the base.
At 10.59 am, Sq Ldr PK Bundela intercepted the Pakistani aircraft and relayed to the airbase over the radio that it was Pak Navy's Atlantique aircraft. Sq Ldr Bundela was asked to force-land the Atlantique for further debriefing. As the MiGs established radio contact with the Atlantique and asked it to land, it swivelled and came in the flight path of the MiG jets. To get the aircraft to land, Sq Ldr Bundela asked his wingman Flying Officer Narayanan to get at the rear of the aircraft and he himself flew beside the intruder. As Sq Ldr Bundela's MiG positioned itself to the side, the Atlantique veered towards the border, it was a bad move. In Air Force parlance, the straying posture is considered combative. Sq Ldr Bundela quickly relayed the Atlantique's combative gesture to the airbase. Seconds later his radio crackled with the orders to launch the missile and take the aircraft down.
Owing to the aggressive tactics by the intruder, Sq Ldr Bundela positioned himself in the hindmost and fired the Russian built R-60 homing missile. The infrared missile hit the Atlantique at the port side, causing it to burst into flames before twirling down in the Kori Creek wasteland. Both the MiGs turned back and safely landed at the Naliya Air Base to receive a hero's welcome. "It was just my day", said Sq Ldr Bundela while commemorating the successful engagement with the Atlantique. In the incident, all the 16 occupants of the Atlantique aircraft had been killed including five of Pakistan's Naval officers. Pakistan as expected cried foul, stating that the aircraft was flying over Sir Creek and not inside the Indian territory.
Sir Creek is a 96 km of disputed water strip between India and Pakistan. Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujarat from the Sindh province of Pakistan. Originally named as 'Ban Ganga', the disputed area was rechristened after a British representative. The entire Sir Creek is claimed by Pakistan based on a 1914 agreement between the government of Sindh and the rulers of Kutch. The Indians claim the boundary lies mid-channel, as depicted in a 1925 map and marked by pillars erected to mark the location. Likewise, the creek's course has changed considerably over the years. By agreeing to the other country's traditional position, the former will lose a large amount of its EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone), which contains gas and mineral deposits. Neither of the countries wants to lose the goldmine, hence the dispute.
A near miss
Pakistan claimed that the aircraft was allegedly flying over Sir Creek while Indian fighters barbarically shot it down. To clear the air, the Indian government decided to take a group of Indian and international journalists to the debris site, which happened to be spread on either side of the border. The motive to take the journalists near the carcass site was to give clear proof of the airspace breach. The following day, a total of 3 Mil Mi-8 choppers from the IAF's 119 Helicopter Unit under the command of the Unit's commander Squadron Leader Pankaj Vishnoi took off from the Naliya Air Base. The choppers were carrying 50 journalists hence 2 MiG-21 accompanied them. It was five minutes flying time from the crash site, approximately four kilometres from the international border when all hell broke loose.
As the helicopters approached Sir Creek, a Surface-to-air missile was fired towards the chopper flown by 119 HU Commander Sq Ldr Vishnoi. Quickly assessing the incoming from the ground, Sq Ldr Vishnoi made the call for formation, "Hard left, duck down." All of a sudden, the helicopters lost a lot of elevation. The Mi-8 choppers plunged towards the ground. Some of the journalists who were standing at the time fell and had to clamber back onto the benches mounted along with the cabin of the Mi-8. "All three choppers dropped from 2,000 feet to less than 50 feet," said one of the journalists on board the Mi-8.
The Indian helicopters had been attacked by a shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missile fired by Pakistani forces, possibly a US Stinger or Swedish RBS-70, widely considered one of the most potent weapons of this type in the world. Only a month earlier, a Pakistani stinger missile had brought down an Indian Mi-17 chopper. It was a narrow escape from the SAMs, a disaster was in waiting, however, the skillset of our able pilots made sure no foreign delegate or journalist was hurt. Keeping the safety of the occupants in mind, the Unit's commander Sq Ldr Pankaj Vishnoi decided to return to the base.
For Squadron Leader Pankaj Vishnoi, it was the second close call within the span of two days. Within hours of the Pakistan Navy Atlantique being shot down, he had been ordered to fly into the area, spot the debris, and collect it. "The wreckage was easy to spot. The area was completely barren flat land," said Sq Ldr Vishnoi. The IAF's Quick Reaction Team reached the debris site and rapidly got out of the helicopter to collect the aircraft's carcass and load it into the helicopter. "The ground may have been soggy. I was holding on to the power while the helicopter wheels were lightly touching the ground. We flew to Lakhpat and landed the helicopter where we were ordered to return to the crash site again and pick up more of the wreckage," said Sq Ldr Vishnoi.
While going back to collect the debris, there was Medium Machine Guns fire from across the border. The 45-50 minutes gap between the two sorties had given the Pak Forces enough time to lay ambush for the Indian choppers. There were two Pakistani soldiers hiding behind a bush, very close to the landing site. As the Sq Ldr Vishnoi positioned the chopper for docking, both the Pakistani soldiers in hiding opened fire. Two bullets hit the chopper's body, one had hit the door while another bullet hit the trailing edge of one of the tail rotor blades creating a one-inch hole. With no authority to fire and engage, Sq Ldr Vishnoi disengaged and moved back to the base.
Pakistan knocked at the doors of ICJ but to no avail. International Court of Justice denied hearing the 'Atlantique' incident stating, it wasn't in its jurisdiction. While Pakistani Forces faced yet another dire humiliation at the hands of the Indian Armed Forces, brave Indian officers were heralded for their gallant. Squadron Leader Prashant Kumar Bundela, Squadron Leader Pankaj Vishnoi and Wing Commander Vijay Suman Sharma were honoured with the prestigious Vayu Sena medal for the courage and skills they exhibited at the time of crisis. Unfortunately, for Sq Ldr PK Bundela, the bliss of the successful operation didn't last long. On April 4, 2002, Sq Ldr Bundela's jet crashed after the aircraft's engine stalled at supersonic speed. The ejection wasn't clean as he hit the side of the cockpit and suffered a grievous spine injury. Sq Ldr Prashant Kumar Bundela like a true fighter fought the death for 4 months before succumbing to his injuries on August 19, 2002. Sq Ldr Bundela may have left us but his fighting attitude lives on with the No. 45 Squadron, the Flying Daggers.
Sources: NDTV/Vishnu Som; India Today; BBC; IAF