War history: How India fought against Pakistan’s military attack in the Rann of Kutch in 1965

Since Partition in August 1947, Pakistan had laid claim to the northern half of the Great Rann of Kutch, up to the line of 24 degrees north latitude, covering an area of more than 9,000 square kilometres, on the following grounds.

The first argument was that the Rann of Kutch could either be considered a landlocked sea or a boundary lake, and therefore the international boundary should run through the middle.

The second argument was that the northern half of the Rann had been administered by Sindh since its annexation by the British in 1843. Several pre- and post-Partition documents were cited in support of this claim.

In the third week of January 1965, a patrol of Gujarat Police discovered a newly built 30-kilometre-long track running from Surai to the east inside Pakistan to Kanjarkot in the west inside Indian territory. For most of its length, the track ran more than 2 kilometres inside Indian territory. The fort at Kanjarkot was briefly occupied by Pakistani Rangers, but they vacated it after a short stay. India launched a diplomatic protest about this incursion, which was followed by a counter-protest by the other side.

Pakistan launched Operation Desert Hawk I in January 1965. The aim of this...

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