22 years ago, on 26th July 1999 our Indian Army recaptured all the posts in Kargil belonging to India that have been seized by Pakistani army. Since then, July 26 every year has been observed to commemorate the supreme sacrifice made by our soldiers in the war.
The Kargil war took place between May and July of the year 1999 in J&K’s Kargil district. The war is believed to have been planned by the then Pakistan’s army chief General Pervez Musharraf without the knowledge of the then Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif.
The conflict started with the infiltration of both Pakistani soldiers and terrorists into Indian territory. They positioned themselves in significant locations that gave them strategic upper hand during the start of the war. Based on the information from local shepherds, the Indian Army was able to find out the points of incursion and launched “Operation Vijay”.
India released intercepts of conversations between top Pakistani military brass as proof of its involvement in the infiltrations. Pakistani PM flew to Washington flew to Washington DC and asked the US to intervene. However, the then US President Bill Clinton declined to do so until Pakistani troops withdrew from the Line of Control.
The Indian Army declared mission being successful on 26th July 1999, since then this day every year is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas.
President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to Drass in Ladakh cancelled due to inclement weather. It is for the second time that the President could pay visit to Drass for Kargil Vijay Diwas. Instead, he visited Baramulla War Memorial in north Kashmir to pay tribute to the fallen heroes of Kargil War.
