Kargil divas 2021

Kargil Vijay Diwas 2021

President Ram Nath Kovind visited Drass on Monday to pay homage at the memorial, located on the foothills of Tololing. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat also participated at the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations,

Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed in honour of Kargil's war heroes, the lives that were lost as a result of the war; soldiers who died in the line of duty serving their motherland. On this day every year, the Prime Minister pays his tributes to the armed forces at the 'eternal flame', Amar Jawan Jyoti, at India Gate in Delhi. Celebrations are also conducted in the Kargil sector and elsewhere across the country to commemorate the contributions of the Indian Army. It is estimated that as many as 527 Indian soldiers died in the war, while more than 1,300 were injured.

Kargil Vijay Diwas During the Pandemic

Kargil Vijay Diwas 2021 arrived in the backdrop of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic in India, for which the celebrations had to be toned down this year, army officials told news agencies. A solemn ceremony was organised in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur to sound the bugle of celebrations of 22 years of victory of Kargil War, but all Covid-19 protocols were strictly followed during the entire event.

The epic battles of Tololing, Tiger Hill and others were recalled on Sunday and 559 lamps lit at the Kargil War Memorial in the Drass area of Ladakh, in a tribute to the martyrs. Top military officers, family members of the army personnel and others were present to mark the commencement of the 22nd Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations.

Why did the Kargil War take Place?

In 1999, the infiltration of the Pakistani Armed Forces into the Indian territory was codenamed "Operation Badr" with an aim to cut off links between Kashmir and Ladakh forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Initially, Pakistan pinned the blame of the attack on Kashmiri insurgents but the documentary evidence from the casualties proved Pakistan Army's direct involvement in the attack. 

The armed conflict between India and Pakistan in Kargil and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC) took place just months after the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif signed the Lahore Declaration in February 1999. The February conference was aimed at deescalating the tensions that had existed since May 1998 over the Kashmir issue, but the issue further flared up after the Kargil War. 

Three phases of the 1999 Kargil War 

In the three phases of the Kargil War included infiltration by Pakistan so as to occupy strategic locations to bring NH1 within its control. In the second phase, India was seen identifying the infiltration and responding to it while the third phase saw major battles between Indian and Pakistani forces.

Due to the inhospitable conditions in the area, which has mountains up to 18,000 feet high with harsh wind and -60 degrees Celsius temperatures in winter, it was part of a "gentleman's agreement" that the armies of India and Pakistan will not occupy posts from 15 September to 15 April each year. But Pakistan breached the trust to gain an upper hand in the Kashmir conflict.

Websites Referred - https://zeenews.india.com/india/kargil-vijay-diwas-2021-what-happened-22-years-ago-and-how-indian-forces-crushed-pakistan-in-high-altitude-warfare-2379108.html

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kargil-vijay-diwas-2021-india-to-honour-fallen-heroes-559-lamps-lit-in-ladakh-101627256690029.html