What lessons did the Indian security establishment learn from the Kargil conflict?
There are a number of important strategic lessons that have emerged from the Kargil war. 1) There are smaller chances of full-scale nuclear or conventional war between two nuclear weapon states. But as long as there were territory-related disputes, the adversary may indulge in a proxy war leading to a conventional war or a limited border war. 2) Loss of territory is unacceptable to the public or political authority in India. This is a strategic handicap and a risk in a conventional-war setting, which increases in a limited-war scenario. It implies greater attention to surveillance and close defense of the borders or lines of controls. 3) The successful outcome of a border war depends on the ability to react rapidly to an evolving crisis. The military would be expected to react quickly in order to localize, freeze, and reverse the situation, arrest the deterioration, enhance deterrence, and prevent escalation on the ground. 4) A war may remain limited because of credible deterrence or e
