India Holds War Games Near Pakistan

The Washington Post
Mar 20, 2008

POKHARAN, India -- The Thar desert boomed with artillery guns as tanks kicked up dust and fighter aircraft flew on bombing runs. It may have looked like war, but it was actually an elaborate simulation to demonstrate to international observers that India has become a major military power. Observers from 60 countries watched Wednesday's war games, code-named "Brazen Chariots," in Pokharan, the site in the western desert of Rajasthan where India conducted a series of underground nuclear tests in 1998. The area is 60 miles from Pakistan, but officials said the war games were not directed at their neighbor. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars since independence in 1947. "We are not sending out any message," said Indian army chief Deepak Kapoor. "It is purely to see what kind of synergy the Indian air force and the army are able to achieve when put together."