A Homage to Our War Heroes on Kargil Victory Day
26th July, 1999: On this day, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been lost to Pakistan.
This Day is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas, named after the successful Operation Vijay, is celebrated in India on 26 July, every year.
Significance
Kargil Vijay Diwas or Kargil Victory Day is a day when the country pays homage to the Kargil War heroes and celebrates victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War. ‘Operation Vijay’ was the name given to India’s limited war against Pakistan after it occupied the high outposts in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kargil in 1999.
On July 26, 1999, India successfully regained command over all the high outposts. The Kargil War went on for more than 60 days.
Under ‘Operation Vijay’, the Indian government had mobilized two lakh troops. In the Kargil War, 527 soldiers from the Indian Armed Forces sacrificed their lives. The Kargil War Memorial, built by the Indian Army, is located in Dras, about five kilometres from the Tiger Hill.
The War
It was on this day 21 years ago that the Indian Army recaptured all the Indian posts in Kargil that had been occupied by Pakistan's army. Since then, July 26 has been observed annually to commemorate the sacrifices made by soldiers in this war. Here's all you need to know about the Kargil war:
* The war took place between May and July of 1999 in Jammu and Kashmir's Kargil district.
* The conflict is believed to have been orchestrated by the then Pakistan army chief General Pervez Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
* It began with the infiltration of both Pakistani troops and terrorists into Indian territory.
* The infiltrators positioned themselves in key locations that gave them a strategic advantage during the start of the conflict.
* Based on information from local shepherds, the Indian Army was able to ascertain the points of incursion and launch "Operation Vijay".
The Martyrs
The victory came at a high price. The official death toll on the Indian side was 527, while that on the Pakistani side was between 357 and 453.
Because the Pakistani soldiers and terrorists had positioned themselves at higher altitudes, it gave them an advantage in combat, as they could fire down at advancing Indian troops.
* Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets while another fighter jet crashed during the operation.
* Pakistan asked the US to intervene, but then President Bill Clinton declined to do so until Pakistani troops were withdrawn from the Line of Control.
* As Pakistani troops withdrew, the Indian armed forces attacked the rest of the outposts, managing to get back the last of them by July 26.
Captain Vikram Batra sacrificed his life fighting Pakistani forces during the Kargil War. At the age of 24, Captain Batra became the face of the Indian soldier at Kargil, whose words reverberate even today
‘Yeh Dil Maange More..’
The soldier took this advertising slogan and elevated it to a motto for life.
Another Kargil War hero, Captain K Nachiketa, was captured by the soldiers of the Pakistani Northern Light Infantry during the Kargil War. He was brutally beaten and tortured. The fighter pilot had been assigned the task of hitting Pakistani posts in Kargil at altitudes in excess of 17,000 feet.
He was captured by the Pakistani Soldiers and after intense efforts made by the government of India to secure his release, Captain Nachiketa was handed over to the Red Cross, which brought him back to India after eight days. He was greeted by the then President KR Narayanan and former Prime Minister Vajpayee.
Captain Nachiketa could not return to fighter flying because of an injury to his back when he ejected over Kargil but he was able to enter the Indian Air Force’s transport task force and continues to fly giant Il-76 transports!
Civilian Porters
We often tend to overlook the people who are not in the forefront but are a critical support system in a significant and historic event. Similarly, through the course of the Kargil war, civilian porters played a pivotal role. Braving constant shelling by the Pakistani side, hundreds of them ferried supplies and ammunition to Indian troops during those two months of battle. Years later, some of them spoke about their experience:
Mohammed Isaq, 37, a resident of Dras, who was a porter for the Army when the war broke out, and continues to work with them even today, said they could not turn their backs on the troops.
“I was very young then. Before the war also, I was doing the job of a porter. When the Army sought our help, we could not back down. For nearly two months, we would leave in the night and arrive back to our bases again in the morning,” he said.
“The fear was such, and the shelling was so intense, that no one was allowed to come out of their houses during the day,” he added.
Mohammed Ali, 45, remembers a particular close shave he had.
“I still remember, one night, a shell fell into an area where we were staying with the Army at a post in the mountains. The shell killed Army men but the porters survived. There were several times (throughout the war) when shells landed close to us. When I meet some of the Army men now, after so many years, they say, we are alive now because of your help then,” said Ali.
Barely a year after India and Pakistan officially went nuclear with the Pokharan-2 tests, India was posed with the unenviable challenge of possible use of nuclear weapons in case of an unintended escalation during the Kargil War. With no experience to fall back upon, it was in the heat of the conflict that India conjured up a ‘primitive’ air delivery system for nuclear weapons on Mirage-2000 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
With the war being limited to the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC), use of a nuclear weapon was highly unlikely, but the need to be prepared for any contingencies was incumbent upon New Delhi. Although India conducted five nuclear tests in May 1998 to become a declared nuclear power, the structures and processes for development, deployment and employment of nuclear forces were still being put in place.
In fact, New Delhi was to release even its first draft nuclear doctrine in August 1999 after the end of Kargil War.
But Indian officials, scientists and military officials dealing with nuclear forces accepted the challenge to be prepared for any eventuality during the Kargil conflict, should the need arise.
The day reminds the country of extreme valour, sacrifice and exemplary courage of Indian soldiers against an adversary which has the advantage of being pitched at an elevated position on the mountain peaks.
Kargil is a symbol of India's determination to fight terror and intrusion. Today, with extreme pride in our hearts we pay our humble tributes to the brave hearts who laid their lives to keep our Nation safe.
Jai Hind!
