The day of 26 July is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas to pay homage to our brave soldiers for their bravery and sacrifices. This year India will celebrate the 21st anniversary of the victory of India over the Pakistani army in the Kargil war. This is a day that will make every Indian proud of the generation to come.
Situation Before The Beginning Of War
After the Indo-Pak war of 1971, there have been many military conflicts and differences between India and Pakistan. And the nuclear test conducted by both the countries further escalated tensions. To resolve the differences and disputes two countries signed The Lahore Declaration; a bilateral and peaceful agreement in February 1999. This agreement was signed to provide a peaceful and bilateral solution to the Kashmir conflict.
Despite this agreement, one of the prominent wars between India and Pakistan, the Kargil war took place between May 3 and July 26 of 1999 in the Kargil district of J&K. The conflict is believed to have been instrumented by Pakistan Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf without the knowledge of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.
The Kargil conflict started with the infiltration of both Pakistan’s army troops and terrorists into the Indian Territory, and they positioned themselves in key locations which gave them a strategic advantage in the initial period of the conflict. Based on the information from local shepherds, the Indian army was able to discover the points of invasion and started the process of retaliation with launching Operation Vijay.
The Kargil War
The Pakistani armed force penetrated the Indian side of Line of Control and this process of invasion is named Operation Badr which aimed at severing the link between Kashmir and Ladakh and force the Indian army to withdraw its troops from the Siachen Glacier. However, the Indian government responded with Operation Vijay. And the Kargil conflict came to an end on July 26, 1999. Thus this day is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas.
As the Pakistani soldiers and terrorists positioned themselves at higher altitude or height they got the advantage in the conflict as by this they were able to fire down to the Indian troops. In the war, Pakistan shot down two fighter jets of India while the other one crashed during the operation.
During the Kargil conflict, Pakistan asked the USA to intervene but the then president of the USA Bill Clinton declined to do so until Pakistan withdrew its troops from the LOC. As the Pakistani troops were withdrawn the Indian army attacked the rest of the outposts and become victorious on 26th July and regained all the places and territories of India which were occupied by the Pakistan army.
Kargil war had been the one where a war was fought between two nuclear nations. A large number of weapons were used by both the countries, the IAF (Indian Air Force) used MiG-27 and MiG-29 against Pakistani troops, and several bombs were also dropped on the Pakistani soldier occupied area. With the use of MiG-29, several targets of Pakistan were attacked with R-77 missiles. Also, IAF’s MiG-21s and Mirage 2000 were highly used in the Operation Safed Sagar.
A huge number of rockets and bombs were used in this conflict. About two lakh fifty thousand bombs were fired and at the same time more than 300 mortars, cannons, and rockets were used to fire 5000 bombs. It is said that after World War 2 the Kargil War is the only war in which a large number of bombs and weapons were used by the force.
Finally, India won the war but the victory came at a high price, the official death toll from the Indian side was 527 while from Pakistan’s side it was between 357 and 453. After the war, India increased its defence spending in the budget. It also resulted in procurement irregularities such as the one in the purchase of coffins for the soldiers who died in combat. Many soldiers were awarded for their bravery with various awards.
- Param Vir Chakra
- Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers
- Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, 13 JAK Rifles
- Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, 1/11 Gorkha Rifles (posthumous)
- Captain Vikram Batra, 13 JAK Rifles (posthumous)
- Maha Vir Chakra (posthumous):-
- Captain Anuj Nayyar, 17 JAT Regiment
- Manoj Rajesh Singh Adhikari, 18 Grenadiers.
- Vir Chakra (Posthumous):-
- Captain Haneef-u-ddin, 11 Rajputana Rifles.
- Manoj Mariappan Saravanan, 1 Bihar.
- Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja, IAF
- Hawaldar Chuni Lal, 8 JAK LI, Vir Chakra. Also awarded as Sena Medal for gallantry and posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra as Naib Subedar.
“The Kargil war was not a war; India never declared an emergency during this period and never classified it as a war. At the peak of the conflict, the then PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, the situation of Kargil was war-like but it always remained a limited conflict, because of which the Indian military was ordered not to cross the LOC, which resulted in maintaining peaceful situation along the International Border in Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat.”
Conclusion
India has always been a peace-loving country and has never initiated a war. Indian army always has safeguarded the country from alien forces and sacrifices for the motherland. And in the Kargil war, India showed its power and strength by defeating the counterpart. War is never a good option as it always causes major losses to both sides.
Our country also lost many lives of its brave soldiers and it won’t be wrong to say that without the sacrifices of our brave and fearless soldiers it won’t be possible to achieve this success. And to pay homage and tribute to the real heroes of our nation, the Kargil Vijay Diwas is organized every year. This day celebrates the victory of Operation Vijay.
