Kargil Vijay Day will be commemorated on July 26 this year. It is being celebrated every year on this date, to honor the courage, determination and sacrifice that our brave and patriotic soldiers incurred to safeguard the nation from foreign enemies.
It is specially done to acknowledge the soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Kargil war. Many memorials, statues, books and films have been built and created to honor the soldiers who bravely fought to defend the nation in its time of need. The ordinary civilians must never forget the historic event that served as a turning point just before the arrival of the new millennium.
The war took place between May and July in 1999. On July 26, 1999, the Army declared the mission a success. But of course, the cost of victory was high, which included casualties and sacrifices in the Indian army. Captain Vikram Batra was one of the brave soldiers who had been martyred during the Kargil war.
Recently, a movie called Shershaah, was made to honor the sacrifice of Captain Vikram Batra.
Other films based on the Kargil war include Dhoop, LOC Kargil, Lakshya, Tango Charlie, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil girl and a few more.
During the war the Indian Army evicted the intruders of the enemy and succeeded in recapturing Tiger Hill, a feat and location perhaps symbolic of the fierce, agile and dexterous tiger like persona and motto of the venerable Indian army.
The successful operation was thus christened as Operation Vijay. Factually, the armed conflict continued for more than 60 days in the freezing and sometimes sub zero conditions of Ladakh.
Just the thought of that is a little frightening for civilians as being in sub zero conditions is formidable enough, let alone fighting a fierce conflict or war in those conditions!
Initially, in the first phases of the war, the enemy forces captured various strategic points in the Indian controlled sections of Kashmir. These were crucial locations from where they had a head start and an upper hand in the war.
However, in the second phase of the war, the Indian army rallied by securing and capturing strategic transportation routes. They did so with the help and counsel of local shepherds! This was known to be one of the turning points in the Kargil war.
Pakistan’s direct instigation and aggression for the war was subsequently proven with the release of intercepts (by intelligence agencies) of communication between their senior military officials. It is recorded that in the final phase of the war, with help from the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army concluded the conflict in the last week of July.
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