New Delhi (NVI): It was this day 21 years ago when India emerged victorious in a three-month-long battle with Pakistan as its armed forces evicted Pakistani troops perched on mountain tops of Kargil in Ladakh.
The Kargil war was fought between India and Pakistan between May and July 1999 in the Kargil sector of Line of Control (LOC). During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing the Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of ‘Operation Vijay’.
It was on this day in 1999 that the Indian Army had declared successful culmination of ‘Operation Vijay’ after recapturing the peaks occupied by Pakistan Army and hoisted the national tricolor.
To commemorate the supreme sacrifice of brave Indian officers and soldiers, Kargil Day or Vijay Diwas is observed every year on July 26.
The Indian troops fought the months-long battle under one of the toughest conditions and difficult terrain. Therefore, the war is the most recent example of high-altitude warfare in mountainous terrain, and as such posed significant logistical problems for the combating sides.
The War
The war took place from May 3 to July 26 in 1999 as the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders– both regular troops and mujahideens (intruders)- from the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC). The whole world was concerned as the armies of the nuclear-armed nations fought the war. India launched Operation Vijay to clear the posts in the Kargil sector, which was occupied by the Pakistani soldiers and infiltrators on the Indian side of the LoC.
The Pakistani soldiers and intruders had positioned themselves at higher altitudes, which gave them an advantage over their Indian counterparts as they could easily shoot down on them. Due to this height advantage, two Indian fighter jets — one Mig-21 and one MiG-27 were shot down by Pakistan.
Pakistan had also asked the US to intervene in the war. However, the international diplomatic community stood with India. As a result, Pakistan started withdrawing its troops after India continued to chase the intruders despite heavy losses. The Indian armed forces attacked the rest of the outposts and July on 26, the Indian Army had managed to conquer back the last of these posts.
In the war fought along Line of Control (LoC), the country lost nearly 490 Army officers and soldiers, while flushing out militias and regular troops of Pakistan. Pakistan also lost a number of its regular and irregular troops.
Among the brave hearts of the war are Captain Vikram Batra, Captain Anuj Nayar, Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav, Colonel Sonam Wangchuk, Major Vivek Gupta, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, Naik Digendra Kumar and Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari.
-ARK
