Book Review: The Kargil War Surgeon’s Testimony by Arup Ratan Basu
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Shevlin Sebastian reviews The Kargil War Surgeon’s Testimony by Arup Ratan Basu (Bloomsbury India, 2025), observing how the book feels in the line of life and death.
In his book, The Kargil War Surgeon’s Testimony, Arup Ratan Basu offers a gripping first-hand account of what it was like to serve on the frontlines during the Kargil conflict.
Arup Ratan Basu was deputed as a general surgeon to the field hospital in Kargil. To reach Kargil, Arup was flown from Chandigarh to Leh and then drove to Kargil on May 19, 1999. The surgeon on duty, Major RPS Gambhir, was going on a two-month leave.
One of the first things Arup did when he reached Kargil was to buy a hardbound notebook at the town bazaar. The aim was to note down his experiences. With just a month’s surgical experience, Arup felt understandably nervous about the assignment. By this time, the skirmish between the Indian and Pakistan armies had begun in the heights near Kargil. On Arup’s first night itself, casualties were brought to the hospital. At first glance, he realised that they were wounds from bullets or artillery shell splinters. They hit limbs, necks, and shoulders. Thankfully, Major Gambhir did all the necessary surgical procedures.
