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The Siachen glacier is usually regarded as the
world's highest battlefield. With both India and Pakistan claiming the
glacier, thousands of soldiers from both countries are stationed in the
area. It borders the Pakistani- and Indian-administered portions of
disputed Kashmir. (All photos by Prashant Panjiar)The glacier has been
in the news recently with the deaths in April of about 140 people, most
of them soldiers, on the Pakistani side in an avalanche. Soon after,
Pakistan's army chief said Pakistan favoured talks with India to
demilitarise Siachen. The two countries have already held 12 rounds of
talks over the disputed glacier.
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Photographer Prashant Panjiar was given rare access to the Indian side
in 2005, when he took these photos.
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Weather is the biggest foe. Bone-chilling winds whip the landscape and
avalanches sweep soldiers into crevasses. The harsh sun burns the skin
and, combined with the thin air and sub-zero temperatures, can induce
acute depression.
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India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire over the Siachen glacier in
2003 but thousands of troops are still deployed in the region.
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Supplies must be flown in to the Forward Logistics Base by helicopter.
India believes that the glacier is of great strategic and diplomatic
value.
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Indian soldiers adjust to the high altitude by training on an ice wall
at the snout of the Siachen glacier.
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A sign at the snout of the glacier declares it to be the world's highest
battlefield.
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India's Siachen Base Camp. In 1984 the Indian army seized control of the
glacier, an area not demarcated by the Line of Control through divided
Kashmir. Pakistan made frequent unsuccessful attempts to capture the
area in the following years.
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More soldiers have died from the harsh conditions in Siachen than in
combat. A war memorial on the bank of the Nubra river is inscribed with
the names of all the Indian soldiers who have died on the glacier.
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There is a famous local saying: "The land is so barren
and the passes so high that only the best of friends and fiercest of
enemies come by.''
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Gallery Images Taken From Different Sources:
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