Sanjeev Kumar Gupta
These famous lines from the poem written by Jagdamba Prasad Mishra ‘Hitaishi’ in 1916 are as relevant, as important and as significant even in 2025. Their essence and the ethos shall remain forever,as reverence to the supreme sacrifice made by the gallant sons and daughters in defence of our motherland.
The Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrates our victory over Pakistan achieved under Operation Vijay in 1999. The celebrations witness a series of important activities leading to the main event on 26 July. One of the regular features of these celebrations is, the yearly Kargil Yatra by Akhil Bhartiya Purv Sainik Seva Parishad (ABPSSP), which is a Tri-Services Ex-Servicemen (ESM) organisation recognised by Ministry of Defence. This year the Yatra was conducted from 02-06 July 2025. The 51 members delegation, led by Rear Admiral Rajvir Singh, included participants from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The UT of J&K was entrusted the overall responsibility of the Yatra. The participants from all the three Services, who were mostly above 50 years of age with the eldest being a 78 year old IAF veteran, included 03 Veer Naris, 29 ESMs out of which 19 were accompanied by their spouses.
A large number of participants of the Yatra travelled by Vande Bharat train from Katra to Srinagar. The engineering marvel designed to cover 272 Km route in three hours includes a series of 36 tunnels through the heart of Himalayas and 943 bridges and is a clear sign of the technological prowess of the rising Bharat. The gurgling waters of river Chenab below, the view of the majestic mountains and the knowledge that we are travelling over the highest bridge in the world, created a surreal feel.And when someone shouted Bharat Mata ki Jai, the whole coach just joined in, the response being instinctive, deeply genuine and with a clear tone of pride.
The visit started with the wreath laying ceremony at the War Memorial in Badami Bagh Cantonment Srinagar on 02 Jul. The memorial built in the memory of the martyrs of all the operations in the entire region, was a poignant reminder of the turbulent history of J&K. Adjacent to the memorial was the 10th century Shiva temple built in the centre of a perennial ground water lake and aptly named Pani Mandir. The next stop was Ibadat-e-Shahadat, a museum which proved to be a treasure house of history, culture, art and artefacts of Kashmir over the ages. What made the collection even more fascinating was that, some of the rare items were gifted by ordinary citizens as an effort to preserve the timeless legacy. The team interacted with the senior military officials and the ESM from Srinagar region.
On 03 Jul, the delegation departed for Drass. It was also the day that the Amarnath Yatra had commenced and there were security forces all around. The road passed through lush green forests,the mighty mountains with river Indus flowing along the route. The view was picturesque and everyone was busy capturing it in their mobiles. The approximately 12 Km long Sonamarg tunnel located at an altitude of more than 8650 feet, inaugurated on 13 Jan 25 was the next exciting part of the journey. And, once we exited the tunnel,the beautiful wide meadows surrounded by towering mountains covered by Alpine trees appeared.
The road from Sonamarg to Drass passed above the Baltal camp established for the Amarnath Yatra. The long queue of vehicles on the road, the streamlined arrangement of the colourful tents for the devotees and the meandering Indus River presented a mesmerising view from the top. The War Memorial at Zozi-La pass was the next attraction of this adventurous journey. Built in the memory of the gallant soldiers who reclaimed Zozi-La from Pakistan on 01 Nov 1948, it provided a deep insight into the saga of their bravery in the face of hostile weather conditions and a well-entrenched enemy. It was the unprecedented, tactical utilisation of tanks at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet by the Indian Army,under Operation Bison, which tilted the outcome of the battle in our favour. We paid our homage with a sense of deep gratitude and continued our road journey. We reached the Army Transit Camp at Drass, now renamed as Batra Transit Camp in reverence to CaptainVikramBatra (ParamVir Chakra) of the “YehDil Mange More” fame. The members of the Yatra were examined by a medical team to ascertain any effects of high altitude sickness.
04 Jul 25was the most important day of the Yatra, as we were planned to visit the Kargil War Memorial, located in Drass town itself, since the major battles were fought mainly in Drass Sector. Built in 2004in the memory of 543 defence personnel and two civilian porters, who made the supreme sacrifice by laying down their lives in defence of Bharat Mata, the memorial is a true and befitting tribute to their indomitable courage and bravery.
The visit commenced with an eight minute documentary on the Kargil War. The realistic visuals, the actual photographs of some of the brave hearts and the commentary in the famous baritone voice all mixed together, created a feeling which stirred every soul, filled every heart with pride and moistened many eyes. The fact that most of these martyrs were less than 25 years of age, was a clear testament to their deep sense of dedication and commitment even at such a young age.
Once outside the auditorium, a briefing was conducted by a young soldier from the local army unit to familiarise the audience about the various famous hill features. As he called out the names of Tiger Hill, Tololing, Point 4875 (Batra Top), the three Pimples etc and pointed towards them, we could visualise and were wonderstruck by the super human effort and raw courage displayed by them while climbing, in face of the relentless enemy fire from the top.
The main memorial located in the centre and made of pink sandstone has an Amar JawanJyoti, the eternal flame which burns in the honour of all the martyrs. The team leader on behalf of the entire team, placed a wreath as a mark of our respect. A large brass plate engraved with the names of all the 545 brave hearts is installed behind the main monument.
The Veer Bhumi located to the left of main memorial, contains the cenotaph of all the martyrs who laid down their lives in the sector in all the operations other than Kargil War. Each of these neatly placed cenotaphs was a testimony to the unique bravery displayed by these martyrs, who in the finest traditions of defence forces laid down their lives leaving behind a rich legacy. The cenotaphs also conveyed a deep message that, their bravery had been etched in stone for eternity. As a veteran, I was reminded of the famous quote,”It is good to be born as a human but it is a matter of pride to die as a soldier.”
The Hut of Remembrance on the right of the main memorial displayed the various items related to Kargil war. This included the Pakistani flags now displayed inverted, the identity cards of regular Pakistani soldiers, recovered from their dead bodies unfortunately left behind, which clearly proved the complicit involvement of Pakistan State in the war, and the Pakistani weapons. On a sombre note, the displayed items also included letters written during the war by some of the martyrs, assuring their respective families, located across the country, about their well-being. It again must have been an act of extreme courage, on their part to not to burden their families while they themselves fought the war.
After the visit at Kargil War Memorial at Drass, the team departed for Kargil town. The minds and thoughts of all the veterans still dwelled in the past, reminiscing about the war which happened while we were still in uniform and each one of us had contributed towards the war effort directly or indirectly. I, gently and with a great sense of pride, touched the Op Vijay Star Medal displayed on my chest and awarded for participation in the combat operations in Kargil war.
The War Memorial at Kargil though not as grand as the one at Drass, bore a testimony to the action that happened in the Kargil sector. The team leader placed a wreath in reverence to the brave soldiers. The team also visited Randhawa Top, the Indian army post located at an elevation of 13620 feet. The post directly overlooking the Pakistani posts has a glorious history. Captured for the first time during 1965 war under the courageous command of Maj BS Randhawa (MahaVir Chakra), it was returned to Pakistan as part of the post war treaty. However, owing to its strategic location overlooking the Kargil-Leh highway, it was recaptured during 1971 war and has been under our control since then. Despite the tough living conditions atop various such posts, especially in harsh winters when some of the posts are cut off for days, the josh of all the troops was very high. It is this deep sense of dedication, that has made Indian Army an invincible force.Post lunch, we commenced our return journey to Drass.
The true character of a nation is reflected in how it treats its serving military personnel and its veterans. It is a well-established fact that the Indian defence forces have very strong bonds developed through the guiding principles of Naam, Namak, Nishan. The affiliations continue even after retirement, rendering credence to the saying that, “You may take a soldier out of Fauz but you can never take Fauz out of a soldier.” Perfection is an attitude, and the Indian Army is true reflection of this. The entire visit was planned immaculately and conducted flawlessly. It was a personal honour to be part of the Kargil Yatra which not only offered us an unique opportunity to pay our homage to the martyrs but also made us look beyond.
(The author is Group Captain and a former Veteran)
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