Vijay Diwas or Kargil Victory Day is celebrated every year on July 26 to commemorate the historic victory of India over Pakistan in the Kargil war in 1999. During this war, the Indian Army successfully evicted Pakistani intruders who illegally captured Tiger Hill and other posts on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) as a part of “Operation Vijay”. This armed conflict lasted for more than 60 days at Kargil in Ladakh and the country lost more than 500 soldiers. Every year, this historic day is observed to pay a tribute to those Indian soldiers who were martyred in the war initiated by Pakistan. The war went on from May 8 to July 26 in 1999 when India successfully completed Operation Vijay. Initially, Pakistan denied its involvement in the war and blamed Kashmiri militants. But later, the statement by Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and then Pakistan Army Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf indicated their involvement. Pakistan secretly sent its forces into the Indian territories under “Operation Badr” and captured an area in Kargil. The agenda behind this intrusion was to cut off Ladakh from Kashmir and starve Siachen Valley residents to compel India to accept Pakistan’s terms. Nearly 30,000 troops were moved into the Kargil area along with the special forces to secure Kargil under Operation Vijay against Pakistan. The Indian Air Force successfully destroyed Pakistan’s illegal posts and on July 26, India evicted the Pakistani troops from its territory. This monotonous day is celebrated as the Kargil War Kargil Vijay Diwas to pay homage to the soldiers who lost their lives serving the country during the war. Let’s take you back to the story behind Kargil Vijay Diwas. Since the Indo-Pak war in 1971, there have been several armed engagements. In the 1990s, there was rising tension between India & Pakistan about the militant activities in Kashmir. Also, nuclear tests were carried out by both nations in 1998. To address the issue, both India & Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration in February 1999 to defuse the situation. In the meanwhile, Pakistani armed forces were covertly sent to India’s side of LOC under Operation Badr. Indian troops weren’t aware of the scale of the Pakistani intrusion. As a response, the Indian Army sent 30,000 troops for the nearly two-month-long battle under Operation Vijay.Initially, Pakistan captured several strategic points. But in the second phase of the war, India successfully occupied strategic transportation routes and identified the points of invasion with the help of local shepherds. In the final phase, the Indian army concluded the war in the last week of July with the help of the Indian Air Force. On 26 July 1999, the Indian Army declared its victory over Pakistani intruders. But the cost of the victory was high.
