Kargil Vijay Diwas- 26 July.

 Hello Readers. Today we shall read about the golden day in the history of the country. The Kargil Vijay Diwas which is celebrated every year on 26 July. 

The Kargil war between India and Pakistan ended on July 26, 1999. The war lasted two months with loss of more than 500 soldiers. The day is celebrated to mark the victory of Indian Army and in the honor of the heroes of the Kargil war. 

This year, in 2021, it is the 22nd anniversary of India recapturing the mountain heights and evicting the Pakistani troops from our land. 

Indian Army was joined by the Indian Air Force in the mission named as Operation Safed Sagar secretly. The war was fought in Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir from May 3 till July 26, 1999. This is the day to pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and to respect the sacrifice made by our brave soldiers who don't worry about their life in order to safeguard the integrity of the nation. 

About two lakh fifty thousand shells, bombs, and rockets were fired. Approximately 5,000 artillery shells, mortar bombs, and rockets were fired daily from 300 guns, mortars, and MBRLs while 9,000 shells were fired the day Tiger Hill was regained. It is said that this was the only war after World War II in which such a large number of bombardments were carried out on the enemy army. India launched “Operation Vijay” to remove Pakistani infiltration the area. Finally, India achieved victory.

It is said the Pakistan initiated the war by sending its troops in the high altitude snow clad region under the instruction of General Musharraf without informing the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Indian Intelligence found out the location of the terrorists and started the mission to remove Pakistani footprints from the Indian land. Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India at that time. The Indian Flag was hoisted in the mountains to mark the glory of the Indian Armed Forces. The Prime Minister announced the victory in advance in a rally in Haryana. This shows his immense faith in the army and its soldiers. We all know that India is safe because of the brave members of the army, air force and navy. 

Though the services of the Air Force were still unsure, Lt. General Chandra Shekhar, the vice chief of army during the war confirmed that the pilots were ready in six hours to fight the battle. The navy chief at that time was Admiral Sushil Kumar said that this made sure that India be victorious in the war. 

The Kargil war Memorial in Dras, Ladhakh has all memories of lost military men along with documents, pictures and recordings in the museum. 

We can never forget the sacrifice of the men who lost their lives to save ours. Wars are never good. Lets hope and pray that there is peace and nations do not fight over issues which are less valuable than life of our citizens and people. Let's salute our strong, mighty, trained warriors. 

Jai Hind!