By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, July 27:
The homage was paid to martyrs on the occasion of 23 rd Kargil Vijay Diwas by organizing programs by different Defence establishments across the country on Tuesday.
The Kargil Victory Day is commemorated on July 26 every year, to observe India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil war by ousting Pakistani Forces from their occupied positions on the mountain tops of Northern Kargil district in Ladakh in 1999. It is the saga of gallantry and valour of a battle fought in the most inhospitable terrain in the World in the area of the Kargil-Drass Sector of Ladakh.
On July 26, 1999, the Indian Armed Force braving the most difficult terrain, battling extreme weather conditions fought valiantly on the steep slopes of icy peaks with grit and valour thus defeating the evil designs of the enemy and throwing the intruders out from Indian Soil. The Kargil War- “Operation Vijay” was fought at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet.
Mumbai
In Mumbai, a solemn wreath-laying ceremony with a tri-service guard of honour was conducted at Shaheed Smarak at Colaba, in South Mumbai to commemorate the victory of the Indian Armed Forces and to pay tribute to the supreme sacrifice of the Bravehearts.
The wreaths were laid by Lt Gen HS Kahlon, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Maharashtra Gujarat & Goa Area, Vice Admiral K Swaminathan, Chief of Staff Western Naval Command, Veterans, and other senior officers from all three services and Coast Guard.
Nagpur
Group Captain Brijesh Kumar Chauhan (IAF) (Group Commander NCC Group) laid the wreath at a memorial at Vayu Sena Nagar in Nagpur. Similarly, Major General Dinesh Hooda, General Officer Commanding, Uttar Maharashtra, and Gujarat Sub-Area along with Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers, Other Ranks, and Veterans laid a wreath at the war memorial at Kamptee, Nagpur. On the solemn occasion, the General Officer interacted with the soldiers and veterans, while remembering the deeds of the brave soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice on the icy heights to protect their motherland.
Besides, a blood donation camp was organized by Central Ammunition Depot, Pulgaon in Wardha. In all 278 volunteers attended the camp and donated their blood.
On the occasion, Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said that “I was in Southern Command at that time and a major portion of the task was carried out by the Northern Command. Our troops faced the challenging task valiantly and recaptured all the posts intruded by the Pakistani troops. We lost many Bravehearts. Manoj Pandey, Mohammed Hanif, Krishnakant Dharashivkar, and Anuj Nayyar were my batch mates at National Defence Academy, Khandakwasla, and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Salute to all the Bravehearts”.
Col (Retd) Vinay Dalvi “ The 1999 Indo-Pak war fought in the jagged heights of Kargil War jolted the nation and its military up from the illusionary peace promised by the Lahore Peace Declaration between the Indian Prime Minister and his counterpart. The conflict thrust upon India to regain its territory in the treacherous mountainous Kargil district well inside the Line of Control (LoC) that Pakistani forces had occupied during the winter months of 1998/1999 at an unparalleled cost of life and limb. How we landed ourselves in this situation is a result of negligence, how we came out from is a saga of gallantry!”.
