In the blood-soaked shadow of Partition, two nations went to war—and never stopped fighting.**  

PART I: KASHMIR’S BLOODY DAWN (1947–1948)
As the British Empire collapses, India and Pakistan are born in a frenzy of communal slaughter. Trains packed with massacred refugees crisscross Punjab, while in Lahore, **Jawaharlal Nehru** and **Muhammad Ali Jinnah** duel over Kashmir’s fate. When tribal raiders storm Srinagar, the Hindu Maharaja signs away his kingdom to India in exchange for salvation. But Pakistan strikes back—capturing Skardu Fort in a brutal siege and igniting the first war over the Himalayas. Amidst the chaos, a young Sikh farmer, **Kartar Singh**, loses his family to a Muslim mob and joins the Indian Army, vowing revenge. As the UN draws ceasefire lines, Kashmir lies divided, and the seeds of eternal hatred are sown.  

PART II: CLASH OF TITANS (1965)
Eighteen years later, Pakistan launches *Operation Gibraltar*, infiltrating Kashmir to spark rebellion. When India retaliates, full-scale war erupts. In the skies, PAF legend **MM Alam** destroys five Indian jets in 30 seconds—an unmatched feat—while **Squadron Leader Sarfaraz Rafiqui** leads a suicidal raid on Halwara airbase. With guns jammed, Rafiqui stays airborne as a decoy so wingmen **Cecil Chaudhry** and **Younus Hussain** can escape, sacrificing himself to Indian flak. On the ground, **Major Raja Aziz Bhatti** defends Lahore’s BRB Canal for 120 hours without sleep, falling to a sniper’s bullet. As tanks burn at Chawinda and navies clash off Dwarka, both nations claim victory—but the Tashkent Agreement leaves Kashmir still bleeding.  

PART III: BIRTH OF BANGLADESH (1971)
East Pakistan explodes in revolt. After Pakistan’s *Operation Searchlight* massacres Bengalis in Dhaka, India trains the *Mukti Bahini* guerrillas. At sea, Pakistan’s submarine *PNS Ghazi* mysteriously sinks on its own mines while hunting the INS Vikrant, and *PNS Hangor* avenges it by torpedoing the Indian frigate *INS Khukri*. In the skies, trainee pilot **Rashid Minhas** thwarts a hijack by Bengali defector Matiur Rahman, crashing his T-33 rather than let it reach India—earning Pakistan’s only air force Nishan-e-Haider. On the western front, 120 Indian soldiers hold off 3,000 Pakistanis at Longewala using jeep-mounted guns. When Dhaka falls, 93,000 Pakistani POWs surrender—humiliating a nation and birthing Bangladesh.  

PART IV: FROZEN CONFLICTS (1984–1999)
In the icy hell of Siachen Glacier, India seizes the world’s highest battlefield by stealth. Soldiers freeze solid in their bunkers as Pakistan fuels insurgency in Kashmir. After Indira Gandhi is assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards and her son Rajiv falls to a Tamil bomb, nuclear tests in 1998 push the rivals to the brink. Then, in 1999, Pakistan infiltrates troops disguised as militants into Kargil’s peaks. **Captain Karnal Sher Khan**, the “Tiger of Tiger Hill,” decimates Indian assaults until an artillery shell tears him apart. **Lalak Jan**, a Pakistani soldier, fights alone for 24 hours with a machine gun, killing 12 Gurkhas before succumbing. When India storms Tiger Hill at point-blank range and the U.S. forces Pakistan’s retreat, soldiers are abandoned on the mountains—their bodies rotting in no-man’s-land. As General Musharraf seizes power in Islamabad, the war ends unresolved, leaving behind frozen graves and a question: *Will the next war go nuclear?*

18 May 1974: India conducts its first nuclear test at Pokhran, Rajasthan, code-named "Smiling Buddha."


Indian scientists celebrate, declaring it a "peaceful nuclear explosion."


International media breaks the news, praising India's scientific achievement but also raising concerns about South Asia's stability.


Indira Gandhi is hailed domestically as a strong leader, reinforcing her image as a decisive stateswoman.


Scene 2 – The Cabinet Shock in Islamabad


In Islamabad, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto calls an emergency cabinet meeting after hearing of the test.


Military and political leaders express shock and fear.


Bhutto delivers his famous resolve: "If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own."


Pakistani military leaders warn of an altered strategic balance; a sense of urgency spreads across government circles.


The U.S. and USSR respond cautiously; both concerned about nuclear proliferation.


Smaller states in the Islamic world quietly reach out to Pakistan, expressing solidarity against India's new power status.


China, already nuclear-armed, views India's test as a threat and shows subtle signs of supporting Pakistan in the long run.


Bhutto summons Pakistan's top scientists, including Munir Ahmad Khan and a younger Abdul Qadeer Khan (then still working abroad).


A confidential plan is laid: Pakistan must begin a crash program to achieve nuclear capability.


The chapter closes with Bhutto's determination, while in New Delhi, India celebrates—unaware of the chain of events its test has unleashed.


Chapter 43 - Pokhran’s Shockwave