Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 26: The Army today commemorated 21 years of its victory over Pakistan in the Kargil war of 1999 as it joined the nation in remembering the heroes of “Operation Vijay”.
“Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding of the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps laid a wreath at the iconic Kargil War Memorial in Drass on behalf of the nation and paid tributes to the gallant heroes,” Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said. He said the occasion commemorates the glorious victory of the Indian armed forces against the Pakistan Army intruders in the Kargil, Drass and Batalik sectors in 1999.
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Meanwhile, Srinagar-based Chinar Corps joined the nation in remembering the gallant soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice, serving soldiers and veterans on this occasion, an Army spokesman said here. He said GOC Chinar Corps, Lt Gen B S Raju, on behalf of all ranks of the Corps paid homage to the Kargil War heroes in a solemn ceremony at the War Memorial in Badami Bagh Cantonment here.
The proceedings included a brief narration of the Kargil War highlighting the saga of courage and valour of the soldiers who lost their lives in battle, prayers by religious teachers and laying of wreath in proud remembrance of the valiant heroes who participated in the operations, the spokesman said.
The solemn function at Badami Bagh Cantonment is a part of celebrations held across the Kashmir valley to commemorate the occasion, he said, adding that the events rekindle the pride and valour of the soldiers who took part in “Operation Vijay” and honour their exemplary courage and sacrifices.
Meanwhile, to commemorate the victory of Indian Army in Kargil in the 1999 War with Pakistan, various educational institutions as well as social and political organizations and their leaders across the UTs of J&K and Ladakh paid rich tributes to heroes of ‘Operation Vijay’.
The Freedom Fighters’ Memorial Association (FFMA) paid floral tributes to Kargil martyrs and lit candles in their honour at Dogra Shaurya Sthal, Ampbhalla under the chairmanship of Ved Gandotra and Rajiv Mahajan. A two-minutes silence was also observed.
Former Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Kavinder Gupta, while paying tributes Kargil War heroes, said that one such soldier from Jammu, Udaymaan Singh made supreme sacrifice while giving befitting reply to the enemy in Kargil at the young age of 19 years only and earned pride for his village, parents and the people of Jammu. His sacrifice has set an example for the young generations and would inspire them to contribute in defending the country and be ready to make any sacrifice.
On the occasion, J&K BJP vice president Yudhvir Sethi along with Corporator Anil Masoom, Parveen Kerni, president East Mandal and Hari Om Sharma paid tributes to the gallant martyrs who made a supreme sacrifice for the nation. Floral tributes were paid to the martyrs and candles were lit in their honour. A two minutes silence was also observed. BJP IT Cell incharge Jaidev Rajwal, Pawan Sharma, Arun Sethi, Sudhir Anand, Vipin Sharma, Suresh Bharti, Vishal Kohli, Asif Gill, Vipul Sharma, Sharda Kumari, Ashwani Charak and others also paid tributes to the Kargil War heroes.
Former Minister Thakur Randhir Singh, while paying rich tributes to heroes of Kargil War, said that our soldiers gave their today for our tomorrow and dragged back Pakistan raiders who entered in Drass area inside Indian Territory and constructed permanent bunkers. He appealed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to raise more Dogra Battallions. He further said that the country should have compulsory military training for its youth like USA, UK, China and other foreign countries as a second defence.
Remembering the Kargil martyrs and paying them floral tributes, former Member Legislative Council (MLC), Ch Vikram Randhawa, said that our jawans are real heroes who fought enemies with courage at high altitude and recaptured all Indian posts again. Bharat Bhushan (Mandal Pradhan), Nitish Mahajan, Arun Khosla, Jyoti Prakash, Amit Gupta, Subash Chander, Mandeep Choudhary, Ankush Dogra and several others were also present.
Shiv Sena Bala Saheb Thackeray J&K unit saluted the martyrdom of the Kargil heroes on Kargil Victory Day. In a video conferencing event held at the party office here today, Shiv Sena leaders paid a heartfelt tribute to the Kargil martyrs and warned China to stay in limits. J&K president of the party, Manish Sahni and president Mahila wing Meenakshi Chibber also joined this event.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) paid rich tributes to Kargil Martyrs on Vijay Divas at New Rehari Office under the chairmanship of party convener Manish Sahani. Floral tributes were paid to the martyrs and candles were lit in their honour. A two minutes silence was also observed.
Dogra Samaj Trust Mumbai celebrated ‘Kargil Victory Day’ by organizing an online discussion on the theme ‘Liberation of Himalayas from the illicit occupation of China’. Indresh Kumar, member of All India Executive Committee of RSS, Shankar Ji Gaikar, regional secretary (organization) of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat Region) and Brigadier (retd) Suchet Singh, Sangha Chalak of Jammu-Kashmir participated in the event. Krishna Pandit, president of the Trust, on behalf of Nidhi Dogra, chief advisor of the Trust, Mukesh Rishi, (film actor), Preeti Saproo (advisor of the trust), Nidhi Sharma (trustee), Renu Dogra (head of women wing), Balbir Singh Chib (social worker), also participated in discussion.
A function was organized at Gujroo Nagrota by BDC Chairman Abay khajuria to pay tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in Kargil War. Advocate Pankaj Basotra (BJP leader) along with many Sarpanchs, Panchs and BJP activists participated in the function. While paying tribute to Kargil heroes, Basotra said that their sacrifice for the sake of nation will never be forgotten.
An online webinar was organized for entire NCC cadets of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh to pay tributes to Kargil martyrs. The webinar was organized by Colonel Dharmendra Pandey, Commanding Officer of 1 J&K Armoured Squadron, NCC Jammu. A total of 250 cadets and ANO’s from NCC Directorate Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh participated. Various videos on Kargil war, highlights of Param Vir Chakra, self narration of Kargil war fought by Col Lalit Rai, Vir Chakra, were shown during the webinar.
NCC Unit of Government Degree College, Poonch organized a 90-minute webinar to remember the success of Operation Vijay and the sacrifice of our Brave Hearts in 1999 Kargil War. Col Amitabh Verma Commanding officer, 1 J&K Arty Bty NCC Poonch was the chief guest. The highlights of webinar were motivational lectures, showing inspirational Kargil war videos, poster making, etc.
Kargil Vijay Diwas was also celebrated by NCC unit of Government MAM College Jammu under the guidance of Principal Prof G S Rakwal. A webinar was organized which started with Kargil Song by NCC Cadets. Various clips on Kargil war were also shown to the NCC Cadets. Cadets were educated and motivated to join Indian Army and were also shown a video on War Memorial at India Gate. NCC cadets also presented patriotic songs and poetry.
2 J&K Girls Battalion NCC, Jammu organized a number of activities on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The activities to commemorate this day included poster making, speech and poem writing competitions. An online webinar and interactive session was also organized wherein more than 100 NCC cadets of Jammu and Srinagar Group including cadets from Leh participated.
On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, a number of activities were organized by GGM Science College, Jammu to pay homage to the Kargil War heroes. The activities to commemorate the day included poster making, speech and poem writing competitions. An online webinar and interactive session was also organized.
A programme on Kargil Vijay Diwas has been held at Government Degree College, Billawar. The programme was organized by the NCC cadets of GDC Billawar, Government High School Dewal and Government Higher Secondary School Durang in collaboration with Dogra Society Billawar. Retd Col Mahan Singh was the chief guest while other several retired army officers and police personnel and locals attended the programme.
Jammu Province People’s Forum (JPPF) remembered the Kargil War heroes in a programme wherein rich tributes were paid to the martyrs of Kargil War by all the members of the Forum. Prominent Forum members present were Pavitar Singh, M S Katoch, Avinash Bhatia, Surender Veer, Pritam Sharma, Gurmit Singh, Resham Singh and Balwan Singh.
Social activist Narinder Sharma paid rich floral tributes to Kargil Martyrs Pritam Lal, Davinder Singh and Balvinder Singh at Kotli Shah Doula, RS Pura in Jammu. Speaking on the occasion, Sharma said the sacrifices made by soldiers of the Indian Army during the 1999 war will always inspire the country’s youth to become more patriotic. Gurmeet Singh, Mangat Ram, Rakesh Bhagat, Rattan Lal and Doulat Ram also paid floral tributes to martyrs.
To mark the occasion, a formal interaction was organized by Sialkot and Dangiwacha COB with Zarina Akhtar wife of Lance Naik late Ghulam Mohd Khan (Vir Chakra) and Shamima Begum wife of Lance Naik Rafiq Ahmed Khan (ex-161 TA and Prathvi Pal Singh father of late Ravindra Singh (ex-12 JAK LI) at their respective residences. Maj Rakesh Ranjan, and Maj Abhishek Kumar asked about the well being of the Veer Naris and their families.
‘Kargil Balidaan Diwas’ was celebrated with the children of rural community at Ikhani, a mountainous belt of Shiv Khori hills in Zone Pouni in which children along with Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, a teacher posted at primary school of the hamlet, visited door to door and made them aware regarding history of Kargil Diwas. Children presented patriotic songs and poems on the theme and gave salute to the Kargil War heroes.
Members of Bicycle for Change Club took a long ride of 100 km on Kargil Vijay Diwas as a tribute to the martyrs. The ride started from Kalibari (Kathua) and after passing through Palli Morh, Barnoti, Rajbagh and many other areas, culminated at Kathua. The ride was also undertaken to promote the culture of cycling.
Ex-servicemen Welfare Association Kathua organized a wreath laying ceremony for Kargil martyrs at Shaheedi Chowk, Kathua. A numbers of ex-servicemen led Association chairman Captain Gian Singh Pathania and president Manohar Lal participated in wreath laying ceremony. They paid floral tributes and saluted to 12 Kargil heroes of Kathua district who had sacrificed their lives while fighting with Pakistani Army in Kargil.
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