The first and last war of the country by a large part of India’s population is the Kargil war between India and Pakistan in 1999. From ‘LoC Kargil’ (2003) to ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ (2020), more than 10 films have put this last war of India on the screen from different angles.
In films, this war is mostly shown to highlight the battle skills of the Indian Army and heroes, in the form of ground fighting. But there are not much films on the contribution of the Air Force in the Kargil war. Apart from ‘Gunjan Saxena’, this part of the Kargil war was not exhausted in any film. But now a series of Netflix, Operation in Kargil War is going to explore the white Sea on screen.
The name of this series is ‘White Sea’. Its director is Oni Sen who has directed the Arshad Warsi starrer series ‘Asura’. ‘Munjya’ fame Abhay Verma in ‘White Sea’ is also going to work with South actor Siddharth, Jimmy Shergill and Dia Mirza. Let us tell you what happened in the Operation ‘White Sea’ of Kargil war on which Netflix is going to make the show now.
Air Force Operation White Sea in Kargil
During the Kargil War, the operations of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were named ‘Operation White Sea’. It started with the Reiki Mission of IAF’s cheetah helicopters. When infiltration in the Indian border started by Pakistan, the seriousness of the situation was found only through this mission. These helicopters used to have no camera nor sensor, they were not equipped with weapons and they had single engine. Pilots were flying them in areas where both oxygen and air density are very few.
After finding out the situation from Hawaii Reiki, IAF hired 8 MI-17 helicopters. Transporting army troops, taking weapons and many necessary supply was part of these helicopters. During one such mission, a Canberra aircraft of IAF fell victim to Pakistani hit. But the pilot, showing a great skill, got it landed in Srinagar with the help of an engine.
India was showing valor not only on the ground, but also in the air
Along with transport and supply, the injured soldiers were part of the IAF aircraft to return from engagement points. The army used to constantly need weapons to fight the war, but it was difficult to deliver them by road. IAF used to do this work. Group Captain Praveer Purohit (Retired) told about Operation White Sea in Financial Express that IAF was initially being used to support the army fighting war on the ground. But after getting political approval, the helicopters were equipped with weapons and they were used to chase the enemies occupying Indian areas.
As the intensity of war on the land increased, the aircraft of IAF were also increased. Fighter plans like MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 were also deployed to attack enemy positions. But making the mission effective between difficult geographical conditions and icy hills was becoming a challenge for IAF. And finally Mirage 2000 fighter plane was launched in battle, which played a big role in India’s Kargil Vijay.
This contribution of IAF in the Kargil War has never been launched on screen in many details and now Netflix will now bring it as an engaging show. The ‘White Sea’ will focus on the 47 -day operation in which the heroic pilots of IAF played an important role in chasing the Pakistani Army from the Indian part of the LOC (Line of Control). The having strong artists like Siddharth, Abhay Verma, Jimmy Shergill and Dia Mirza can also be expected to be strong.