India is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of victory in
Operation VIJAY, which popularly known as the Kargil War. The
Kargil War is a saga of strong political, military and diplomatic actions.
The Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations for the year
2019 will be spread over three days from 25-27 July 2019 and will be
organized at Dras
and New Delhi. However, as part of the build up to the
main event, numerous activities are planned to be organized all over the
country with effect from first week of July 2019.
The theme of
the day is ‘Remember,
Rejoice and Renew’. The objective of these celebrations is to evoke feeling of nationalism
and patriotism through nationwide campaigns especially
amongst youth and to pay homage to the valiant soldiers.
Kargil
War:
♦ The Kargil War was an armed conflict between India and
Pakistan. It took place in Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC). In
India, the conflict was also referred to as Operation Vijay.
♦ Cause: The
Pakistani soldiers disguised as Kashmiri militants and infiltereted into
positions on the Indian side of the LOC.
♦ Based on information from local shepherds, the
Indian Army was able to ascertain the points of incursion and launch “Operation Vijay”
♦ The Army declared the mission successful
on July 26, 1999; since
then the day has been celebrated annually as Kargil Vijay Diwas.
♦ The victory came at a high price. The official
death toll on the Indian side was 527, while that on the Pakistani side was
between 357 and 453.
