In the Kargil war, 527 brave soldiers of Indian army had laid down their lives so that our motherland and her people live a life of honour, dignity and freedom. On July 25, the nation paid tribute to them on the 14th Vijay Diwas at Drass, Udhampur and several other places across the country. The occasion inspired the entire nation with a sense of pride and sacrifice for the country.
Despite vehement denials by Pakistani official sources, it became increasingly impossible for them to hide the truth that the Kargil attack was conspired by their agencies. Pakistani Army Generals had most secretly planned the Kargil attack without taking the civilian Government or the Pakistani Air Force and Naval Chiefs into confidence. Planning had been made in advance and taking the advantage of Indian troops having vacated the strategic posts during winter months, something that was a common practice with both sides, nearly 200 Pakistani regulars clad in mujahideen dress were deployed to capture around 140 Indian posts along the Kargil mountain spur of Saltoro. By the end of April 1999, they had intruded ten miles inside Indian territory in Kargil sector and established their camps. General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani army chief claims to have visited the newly established camp and spent one night in it.
Soon after getting the wind of Pakistani intrusion in Kargil, Indian Army began its retaliatory action. The enemy was strongly entrenched and had brought sufficient ammunition to hold on to the occupied posts with all tenacity. The Bofors guns deployed by Indian Army relentlessly pounded the enemy and with it Indian soldiers made the charge. For next two weeks our troops could not make much headway owing to the enemy having taken position at some height. But then our gallant soldiers not entertaining an iota of fear made fiercest attacks on the enemy so much so that at some places hand-to-hand fighting ensued. The strategy of the enemy was to cut the Srinagar – Leh route somewhere near Drass and Kargil and thus pave the way for taking Kashmir by force of arms. But contrary to their expectations, Indian Army once again proved far more superior to them. The consequences of Kargil war brought humiliation to Pakistan and her army. Civilian Government led by Mian Nawaz Sharif was ousted and the deep divide between Pakistani army and the civil society came to fore. Pakistan’s Kashmir cause was immensely weakened because the entire world came to know that there were no jihadis or so called Kashmiri freedom fighters fighting in Kargil but it were Pakistani regular forces fighting at the command of their seniors in GHQ. Thus today the entire world recognizes Kashmir turmoil as naked terrorism and not at all a freedom fight as was orchestrated by the terrorist leadership. Another important lesson that Pakistan ought to learn from Kargil war is that Indian Army and policy planners cannot be hoodwinked by them in any case and more particularly in the case of Kashmir. J&K is integral to the Indian Union and soldiers including those from J&K have shed their blood in defence of integrity and solidarity of the country. No power on earth can take Kashmir away from India. It is so because the people of Kashmir have legally, formally and without pressure from anybody voluntarily acceded to the Indian Union. It is the duty of the Indian Union to maintain its territorial integrity.
No army in the world is more disciplined than our Army. It has an enviable record of performing its duty with dedication and honesty. Thousands of Indian soldiers and officers have laid down their lives while fighting terrorism, separatism and conservatism in Kashmir. The only dispute about Kashmir is that the part of the State illegally occupied by Pakistan and China has to be taken back as stated in Parliament resolution on 22 February, 1994. We salute the martyrs of Kargil war. Their memory is our cherished treasure and we shall keep it for all times to come
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