NEW DELHI, July 26:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the valour and sacrifice of the Indian armed forces as was witnessed during the 1999 Kargil conflict, and said the war was not only fought on the border but every village and city contributed to it.
“In Kargil, each of our soldier proved more than a 100 of the enemy. I salute the brave soldiers who thwarted the evil designs of the enemy without caring for their own lives. The Kargil war was not fought only on the border but every village, every city contributed to it,” the Prime Minister said in his radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ on the Kargil Vijay Divas being celebrated today.
“This war was fought by those mothers and sisters whose sons and brothers were in the battlefield. It was fought by those girls, who had just been married, those fathers who gave their sons and felt young themselves, and those sons who had not even learnt to walk properly holding the finger of their father. It is because of their sacrifices that India can move in the world holding its head high,” he said.
Earlier in a tweet, Modi said “I salute the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the beloved nation.”
The Kargil Diwas reminds us of the valour and sacrifices of the Indian armed forces, he said.
The Kargil war, which began in May 1999, lasted for more than two months before Pakistani soldiers, a bulk of them drawn from its Northern Light Infantry, and irregulars, withdrew from the mountain tops they had occupied overlooking the Srinagar-Leh highway.
In the conflict, the Indian Army lost 490 officers, soldiers and jawans.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today led the nation in paying homage to the Kargil war heroes by laying a wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti here.
Along with Parrikar, Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy Vice Chief P Murugesan also paid tributes to the martyr’s on the 16th anniversary of India’s victory in the Kargil war.
Several events are planned at Army centres across the country to celebrate the Kargil victory and pay respect to the over 400 soldiers who were martyred in the Kargil war.
Suhag who had yesterday visited the Kargil War Memorial in Drass had said the armed forces will not let another Kargil-like conflict to take place.
Though the celebrations to mark the 16th anniversary of India’s victory in the Kargil War, also called Vijay Diwas, began on July 20, the main functions are planned for today. (PTI)
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