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Surgery and Healing in the Developing World - Dartmouth-Hitchcock

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46<br />

468 <strong>Surgery</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Heal<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>World</strong><br />

India may have is staggered by <strong>the</strong> sheer size of <strong>the</strong> largest nation on earth—<strong>the</strong> one<br />

<strong>and</strong> a quarter billion Ch<strong>in</strong>ese—toward which India has to keep flex<strong>in</strong>g its military<br />

muscle to discourage any adventurism over <strong>the</strong> dismembered Tibetan borders.<br />

Now, about that Pakistani border across which we were look<strong>in</strong>g today—over <strong>the</strong><br />

Khardungla highest mounta<strong>in</strong> pass on earth <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> site of <strong>the</strong> highest warfare ever<br />

conducted—I had been mus<strong>in</strong>g when look<strong>in</strong>g over at K-2 that it was not that long<br />

ago that I had been at Muree <strong>in</strong> Pakistan look<strong>in</strong>g back <strong>in</strong>to India over <strong>the</strong> pass from<br />

<strong>the</strong> flanks of <strong>the</strong> same K-2 <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Karakorum Range. There has been a fair amount<br />

of saber rattl<strong>in</strong>g—not to mention actual shoot<strong>in</strong>g of heavy guns—across <strong>the</strong> disputed<br />

territories of Pakistan <strong>and</strong> India <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> unresolved matter of <strong>the</strong> Kashmir that<br />

both claim. The most recent events <strong>in</strong> this unresolved war are <strong>the</strong> matter of Kargill.<br />

The longest last<strong>in</strong>g consequence is that matter of <strong>the</strong> “Bomb.”<br />

Kargill is not far from us here at Leh. If we do not turn south on <strong>the</strong> 472 km road<br />

to Manali we will be tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> ano<strong>the</strong>r day, we would be go<strong>in</strong>g straight to reach<br />

Kargill near <strong>the</strong> prom<strong>in</strong>ent feature beh<strong>in</strong>d me here-Stok Khangri—<strong>the</strong> pretty<br />

snow-capped mounta<strong>in</strong> that is 6,400 meters at my backdrop, begg<strong>in</strong>g to be climbed<br />

with a probable three day up <strong>and</strong> two day down brief excursion on crampons—<strong>and</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> namesake of our hotel Khangri. Kargill is <strong>the</strong> reason <strong>the</strong> imm<strong>in</strong>ent Indian photojournalist,<br />

Raghu Rai, was last up here to cover <strong>the</strong> battles of Kargill.<br />

Kargill was <strong>the</strong> “world’s highest altitude turkey shoot” that went on from <strong>the</strong><br />

July until October of this past year 1999. The Pakistani army encroached <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

high mounta<strong>in</strong> passes <strong>and</strong> set up reenforced bunkers with accurate artillery pieces<br />

set up to shoot down on any army com<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>the</strong> Indian side. The officers of <strong>the</strong><br />

Indian army were lead<strong>in</strong>g forces of proud predom<strong>in</strong>antly Punjabi troops, <strong>and</strong> urged<br />

<strong>the</strong>m to not be <strong>in</strong>timidated by <strong>the</strong> “high ground advantage” of <strong>the</strong> Pakistani positions,<br />

but to approach <strong>the</strong>m on a steep climb head on. This resulted <strong>in</strong> a huge<br />

number of casualties, s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong> Pakistani gunners had all <strong>the</strong> time <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> advantages<br />

of a precise ballistic pattern <strong>the</strong>y could work out as many different regiments<br />

of Indian army came <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> Kargill valley <strong>and</strong> marched <strong>in</strong>to certa<strong>in</strong> doom from<br />

<strong>the</strong> high gun placements which could not even be seen. In a case of superb lower<br />

rank<strong>in</strong>g army <strong>in</strong>genuity over arrogant officers’ stupidity, <strong>the</strong> Indian army eventually<br />

climbed h<strong>and</strong> over h<strong>and</strong> to <strong>the</strong> fixed Pakistani gun placements <strong>and</strong> blew <strong>the</strong>m up,<br />

after a very high casualty rate. The Indian army won, but not without casualties that<br />

were horrific—-<strong>and</strong> that is all with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> last year.<br />

This belligerence escalated with global implications when <strong>the</strong> sabers that were<br />

rattled went nuclear. While talk<strong>in</strong>g a good nonproliferation game, <strong>the</strong> Pakistanis<br />

blew <strong>the</strong>irs (<strong>the</strong> first “Islamic Bomb”) first to show <strong>the</strong> superior number of Indians<br />

did not <strong>in</strong>timidate <strong>the</strong>m. With an enormous US pressure on India not to follow<br />

suit, <strong>the</strong> recently <strong>in</strong>stalled BJP party could not tolerate this loss of face, <strong>and</strong> only a<br />

few days later, India blew its nuclear bomb (it never really confessed to hav<strong>in</strong>g previously)<br />

underground <strong>in</strong> Rajasthan. So with<strong>in</strong> a week, <strong>and</strong> solely for domestic political<br />

purposes with enormous <strong>in</strong>ternational implications, <strong>the</strong>re were two new<br />

members of <strong>the</strong> “Nuclear Club” of Nations, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>se freshly blooded from fir<strong>in</strong>g<br />

conventional warheads at each o<strong>the</strong>r. So, this is <strong>the</strong> global background for events <strong>in</strong><br />

this area of <strong>the</strong> Roof of <strong>the</strong> <strong>World</strong> as a context for a few of <strong>the</strong> recent events that had<br />

heightened tensions for quite o<strong>the</strong>r reasons.<br />

Kill<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> “O<strong>the</strong>r” Islamic Revenge on Buddhists <strong>and</strong>

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