Kargil Victory Day. This year, on 26 July, 24 years of Kargil victory are being completed. This day is a day to remember the moment of pride, when the brave sons of the country successfully executed Operation Vijay and chased away the infiltrators of the enemy country. Many of our soldiers were martyred in this war. This is the day to bow down to those martyrs. In the Kargil war, the brave sons of the country showed indomitable courage and bravery. Let’s remember the brave sons on this occasion…
Captain Vikram Batra
Captain Vikram Batra is one of those brave warriors who captured many strategically important peaks in the Kargil war. Vikram, a resident of the small town of Palampur in Himachal Pradesh, was also awarded the name of ‘Sher Shah’ by the Pakistani fighters for his bravery. Despite being injured in the fierce firing from the front, he attacked peak number 4875 with his delta troop, but while trying to evacuate an injured fellow officer from the battlefield, Vikram Batra, the darling of Maa Bharti, was martyred on the morning of 7th July. Amar Shaheed Captain Vikram Batra was posthumously awarded India’s highest military award ‘Paramveer Chakra’ for his indomitable courage and sacrifice.
Captain Anuj Nayyar
The brave Captain Anuj Nayyar of the 17 Jat Regiment was the hero of the battle of ‘One Pimple’, an important peak in the Tiger Hills sector. This post of Point 4875 was at an altitude of 6000 feet. It was very important to win it, so that the way forward could be made easier. Captain Nayyar along with a team started climbing on the night of 6th July. It was decided to face death at every step, but Captain Nayyar kept moving forward with his companions. Nayyar continued to hold the front even after six of his comrades were martyred in this battle. He was seriously injured, but he stood firm till his last breath. Eventually India got victory in this front. For this bravery, Captain Anuj was posthumously awarded the second highest military honor ‘Mahavir Chakra’.
Captain Manoj Pandey
The stories of the bravery of Captain Manoj Pandey of 1/11 Gorkha Rifles are still written on ‘Jubar Top’ of Batalik sector. During the Kargil war, his battalion was in Siachen and his three-month tenure was also completed, but at the same time the order came that the battalion had to move towards Kargil. With the slogan of ‘Kali Mata Ki Jai’ in the inaccessible hilly area, he freed the sixes of the enemies with his Gurkha platoon. Captain Manoj destroyed many enemy bunkers while fighting in extremely difficult terrain. Despite being seriously injured, Manoj kept fighting till the last moment. Manoj Pandey, who followed the ‘tradition of not leaving a partner behind’ of the Indian Army till death, was posthumously awarded ‘Paramveer Chakra’ for his bravery and sacrifice.
Subedar Major Yogendra Yadav
Yogendra Yadav, a resident of Bulandshahr, UP, is one of those heroes who were seriously injured during the Kargil War. At the age of only 16 years, five months, Yogendra Yadav was admitted to the 18 Grenadiers of the army. He was a member of the Ghatak Platoon of the 18th Grenadiers during Operation Vijay. This platoon was given the task of capturing Tiger Hill Top in Drass sector of Jammu and Kashmir. On July 3, 1999, amidst heavy enemy fire, Yogendra started climbing this icy rock and reached the top and destroyed the enemy’s bunker. In this operation, Yogendra Yadav was hit by 15 bullets, not one or two, but he did not lose courage and killed many Pakistani soldiers. Yogendra Yadav had to stay in the hospital for 14 months after the war. On conquering Tiger Hill, Yogendra Yadav got the honor of Paramveer Chakra at the age of just 19. He is the third living officer to have received the Param Vir Chakra, the army’s highest gallantry award.
Bofors cannon also played an important role
Bofors cannons played an important role in getting rid of the sixes of the Pakistani army in the Kargil war. These cannons forced the enemies to retreat by firing accurately on the peaks captured by the Pakistani infiltrators. Shells could be fired up to 27 kilometers with this deadly weapon bought from Sweden. Being light in weight, it was relatively easy to carry it from one place to another in the battlefield. Therefore, this cannon proved to be very useful in hilly areas. This cannon with a 155 mm long barrel can fire 10 shells in a minute and it has the ability to fire from -3 degree to a high angle of 70 degree.
other interesting things
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The Kargil war was fought between India and Pakistan in the Baltistan district of Ladakh in the year 1999.
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On May 3, 1999, 5000 Pakistani soldiers infiltrated into India and occupied the high hills of Kargil.
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On May 8, 1999, ‘Operation Vijay’ was started by the Indian Army to drive back the intruders, whose end was announced on July 26, 1999.
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The Kargil war was fought at an altitude of about 18 thousand feet and with a temperature of -10 degree Celsius.
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The country also lost many of its brave sons in the Kargil war. In this war, we lost more than 527 heroes, while more than 1300 soldiers were injured in it.