JAMMU AND KASHMIR: The Indian Army has fought a different kind of war in Kashmir—a war not against an enemy, but against failing eyesight.
At an underground operation theatre near the shelling-prone Tangdhar area, close to the Line of Control (LoC), Army eye surgeons carried out 220 sight-restoring surgeries in just two days, giving poor and elderly residents a chance to see clearly again.
The effort, called “Operation Drishti”, was part of the Army’s humanitarian work alongside its operational responsibilities in the hinterland and along the LoC and International Border (IB). The first phase was held on September 24 and 25 at an underground Army facility in Tangdhar, Kupwara district. The camp was led by Brigadier Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Head of Ophthalmology at Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantonment.
Tangdhar’s difficult terrain and vulnerability to Pakistani shelling and firing made the setting unusual for a surgical camp. After Operation Sindoor last year, Pakistani troops targeted Tangdhar and other border areas in Jammu and Kashmir, causing civilian casualties, damaging infrastructure and forcing residents to leave their homes for safer areas.
In that environment, the Army created an equipped underground surgical facility. Instead of fear and disruption, the facility brought doctors and medical care and the possibility of a better quality of life to residents who had limited access to specialised treatment.
Brigadier Mishra said the camp was aimed at poor and elderly patients who did not have access to good healthcare facilities. The process began about four months before the surgeries, when Army medical teams, including specialists from Delhi, held screening camps across Kashmir in Tangdhar, Uri, Bandipora, Khanabal, Kangan, Dawar and Baramulla.
Around 6,000 people were screened and nearly 400 patients were identified as requiring immediate surgical intervention to regain their eyesight. For many, advanced treatment had remained beyond reach because of inadequate medical infrastructure in the border areas.
Taking the hospital to Tangdhar was itself a logistical exercise. The surgical teams needed specialised equipment for phacoemulsification, vitreoretinal procedures and glaucoma surgery. Brigadier Mishra said the equipment was first airlifted to Srinagar and then taken by road to Tangdhar. Much of it was highly sensitive and required careful handling.
“When we screened the patients, the situation was not good. The stages of cataract were difficult. They were hard cataracts and it was not easy to operate them,” Brigadier Mishra said.
Yet his team completed 220 surgeries in two days in the underground facility. Most were cataract operations, while some patients underwent retinal procedures and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries.
For residents, the camp meant access to treatment without the cost and difficulty of travelling to Srinagar or elsewhere. Mohammad Maqbool of Dildar village said his wife had suffered from an eye ailment for two to three years.
“Due to our limited income resources, we could not take her to Srinagar for specialised treatment. The holding of eye surgical camp close to our homes in Tangdhar reduced the burden of travelling to distant hospitals and ensured best medicare at our doorsteps with no worry of expenses on transportation and accommodation,” he said.
Maqbool also thanked the Army for providing surgery, medicines, food and transportation support to beneficiaries.
After two days in Tangdhar, the camp moved to 92 Army Base Hospital at Badamibagh Cantonment, Srinagar. Army eye surgeons conducted another 144 surgeries there. “In four days, we carried out 364 successful surgeries,” Brigadier Mishra said.
A resident of Tangdhar, Ghulam Jeelani, said his patient underwent an eye surgery at the camp after being screened by a team of doctors.
He said residents of the border area, many of whom belong to economically weaker sections, were deeply grateful to the Indian Army for organising the eye surgical camp in a region that often remains cut off and is vulnerable to shelling.
The initiative, he said, has provided much-needed medical care free of charge, saving poor patients the time, travel and expenses associated with seeking treatment elsewhere.
Sarwar Mir, who underwent an eye surgery at the camp, said each patient had saved at least Rs 50,000 through the free surgical services conducted by the Army surgeons.
Army chief General Dhiraj Seth and DG AFMS Air Marshal Sandeep Thareja visited the camp and appreciated the surgeons and local medical team for their exceptional skills and efforts.
Brigadier Mishra called Operation Drishti a unique initiative that demonstrated the humanitarian role of the armed forces and their ability to provide medical assistance in difficult locations. “It shows the humanitarian face of the Indian Army that we are ready to help you anywhere and under any circumstances,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also praised the initiative, describing it as an example of the armed forces reaching beyond their conventional responsibilities to serve local communities. He said it had helped strengthen trust between the Army and people in the region, underlining the armed forces’ role not only in defending the country but also in extending medical support and assistance to civilians.
By restoring sight, the LG said, the Army had given patients a new vision of peace, trust and togetherness.
For the residents who underwent the surgeries, however, the meaning was simpler: Operation Drishti gave them the possibility of seeing the world around them clearly again.
Operational duty
The effort was part of the Army’s humanitarian work alongside its operational responsibilities in the hinterland and along the LoC and International Border. The first phase was held on September 24 and 25 at an underground Army facility in Tangdhar, Kupwara district. The camp was led by Brigadier Sanjay Kumar Mishra.