It is the highest war "ground" in the world and a perfect example of mountain warfare.
It has been a battlefield for more than 27 yrs and still is! It costs around Rs.
5 crore/day for the Indian government to run the show at this altitude; close to a thousand soldiers have lost their lives trying to survive in this harsh environment.
After so many years of initiating "Operation Meghdoot" and the conflict for ownership the Indian government wants to put an end to this "expenditure" and demilitarize the area.
On his recent visit to the area PM Manmohan Singh has called for this "peace treaty" (yawn...
yes i know, yet another) with Pakistan, and as always they aren't agreeing (surprise surprise!).
The other thing that is fascinating is the present Indian Army General, has written a request letter to the PM, which can be summarized as "we are willing to abandon Siachen right away, but please don't change your mind and ask us to go back".
Now based on such a revelation, just imagine the climate up there.
(No, you wont need a ice box for that beer!) However, one question that can always be prickly is whether Siachen could be such an important place that both the countries are pumping in so much money to acquire that land? Sadly, the answer is a big NO! But, Why? The area is over 22,000 feet high, offers no military advantage to either side, cannot be either a viable defense line or a launch pad and has no habitation and obviously no economic significance.
Strategically, tactically and economically it is a useless piece of real estate.
The cost incurred is horrendous, a chapathi delivered to a soldier can cost Rs 500 (you got to be kidding me, we could have spent a low expense weekend folks).
And guess what the excreta (or simply shit) of soldiers manning these posts is done (no sir, there aint no toilets here) so yes, the "potty" has to be lifted by helicopters and brought to base for disposal and some really sophisticated biodigestors are also being used, even after all this horrifying facts, the most important and shocking fact is that more soldiers have died in Siachen due to weather and avalanches rather than enemy action! Then why are the two nations fighting for this piece of land when there is no concrete advantage? What should India do? Is "peace park" the solution for this battle? Can this war end amicably and stop the deaths of soldiers and also the wildlife of the area? As of now, these questions seem to have no answer, certainly not until we find an Indian rather than an Italian to lead our country!