Roots · सुरक्षा Security

What each war won and what each one taught.

Vijay (विजय) means victory. Anubhav (अनुभव) means experience: a setback the country learned from. Some were both. Credit goes to those who did the work, on every side of politics.

From Kashmir 1947 to Operation Sindoor.

  1. Oct 1947 – Jan 1949 · Jammu and Kashmir (both). Troops airlifted to Srinagar saved the Valley. A UN ceasefire froze a line that left about a third of the state across it. PM Jawaharlal Nehru; Lt Gen K.M. Cariappa; Major Somnath Sharma, the first Param Vir Chakra. 1,104 killed, 3,152 wounded. Speed won the Valley. Taking it to the UN froze the map. PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, 5 Dec 2001
  2. 18–19 Dec 1961 · Goa · Operation Vijay (vijay). Four and a half centuries of Portuguese rule ended in about 36 hours when the governor-general surrendered. PM Nehru and Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon. Joint action ends what talks cannot. Business Today, 15 Aug 2026
  3. 20 Oct – 21 Nov 1962 · China (anubhav). China kept about 38,000 sq km of Aksai Chin. Major Shaitan Singh and his men fought to the last at Rezang La. 3,250 killed by the 2001 official count. Policy ran ahead of readiness. India rebuilt its army in the next three years. PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, 5 Dec 2001 · Britannica
  4. 5 Aug – 23 Sep 1965 · Pakistan (both). Pakistan’s plan to take Kashmir failed. Haji Pir, captured by India, was returned at Tashkent. PM Lal Bahadur Shastri; Gen J.N. Chaudhuri; Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh; Air Marshal Arjan Singh. 3,264 killed. Hold what you take at the table, not only on the ground. PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, 5 Dec 2001 · Britannica
  5. Sep – Oct 1967 · Nathu La and Cho La (vijay). Indian troops held the passes in Sikkim and pushed the PLA back at Cho La. Maj Gen Sagat Singh; PM Indira Gandhi. High ground and artillery deter. The Week, 7 Sep 2026
  6. 3–16 Dec 1971 · Bangladesh · the 13-day war (vijay). Lt Gen A.A.K. Niazi surrendered to Lt Gen J.S. Aurora in Dhaka with about 93,000 men. Bangladesh was born. PM Indira Gandhi; Gen Sam Manekshaw; Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram. 3,843 killed. Diplomacy, timing and three services moving as one. PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, 5 Dec 2001 · Britannica
  7. 13 Apr 1984 – today · Siachen · Operation Meghdoot (vijay). India took the Saltoro Ridge first and holds the glacier still, at the cost of soldiers lost mostly to weather. PM Indira Gandhi; Lt Gen P.N. Hoon. Getting there first works. Staying costs every year.
  8. 1987 – Mar 1990 · Sri Lanka · Operation Pawan (anubhav). The Indian Peace Keeping Force left without its aims achieved. 1,157 killed. PM Rajiv Gandhi sent it; PM V.P. Singh withdrew it. Never deploy without a political end state. PIB, Rajya Sabha reply, 5 Dec 2001
  9. 3 Nov 1988 · Maldives · Operation Cactus (vijay). A coup reversed within hours by paratroopers flown in overnight. PM Rajiv Gandhi; Brig F.F.C. Bulsara. Speed makes a regional power trusted.
  10. May – 26 Jul 1999 · Kargil · Operation Vijay (vijay). Every post regained without crossing the Line of Control. PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee; Defence Minister George Fernandes; Gen V.P. Malik. Param Vir Chakras: Capt Vikram Batra, Capt Manoj Pandey, Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar. The Ministry counts 545 killed. Restraint won the world’s support. The intelligence gap led to the Kargil Review Committee. PIB, Jul 2025
  11. Dec 2001 – Oct 2002 · Operation Parakram (anubhav). Full mobilisation after the attack on Parliament. No war. The pressure faded as months passed. Slow mobilisation loses the moment. It led to thinking about faster, smaller options.
  12. 28–29 Sep 2016 · Surgical strikes (vijay). Launch pads across the Line of Control hit after the Uri attack. The first cross-border punitive raid India announced publicly. PM Narendra Modi; Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Owning a response changes the calculation across the border. The Quint
  13. 16 Jun – 28 Aug 2017 · Doklam (both). Indian troops stopped a Chinese road on the Bhutan plateau. Both sides pulled back; China built up nearby. Firmness works locally, not regionally. The Wire
  14. 26–27 Feb 2019 · Balakot (both). The Air Force struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Pakistan after Pulwama. Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman was shot down, captured and returned. The damage done and India’s claim of downing an F-16 are disputed. Ministry of External Affairs via Deccan Herald
  15. 15 Jun 2020 – Oct 2024 · Galwan and eastern Ladakh (both). 20 Indian soldiers including Col B. Santosh Babu were killed holding the line; China admitted four. The Kailash Range move gave India leverage. Patrolling was restored at Depsang and Demchok in Oct 2024. Roads and troops at the border decide outcomes. Tribune · All India Radio
  16. 22 Apr – 10 May 2025 · Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor (both). 26 people were killed at Pahalgam. On the night of 6–7 May India struck nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and later air bases and air-defence nodes. The Air Chief said five Pakistani fighters and one large aircraft were downed. The CDS admitted early losses without giving numbers. Firing stopped on 10 May after talks between the two DGMOs. PM Modi; Defence Minister Rajnath Singh; NSA Ajit Doval; CDS Gen Anil Chauhan; Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh; Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai. Air defence and long-range precision now decide wars. Pakistan’s claims differ and are not independently verified. PIB, Lok Sabha, 28 Jul 2025 · All India Radio, 9 Aug 2025 · ThePrint, 31 May 2025