Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth and senior military officers on Sunday paid tributes to the country’s bravehearts at a dedicated war memorial in Dras, marking the 27th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas. The occasion marks the glorious victory in 1999 when Indian soldiers, braving snow-clad peaks and relentless firing by Pakistani troops, reclaimed the heights of Kargil.
The sun shone bright in the morning in the Dras Valley as Singh laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial, offering his homage to the fallen heroes.
Before him, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Army Chief General Seth, and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, laid wreaths at the war memorial, among other senior officers of the force.
Three helicopters in arrowhead formation, led by an advanced light helicopter and followed by two Cheetals, showered floral petals on the memorial. The defence minister, who arrived in Dras on Saturday, was the chief guest at the ‘Shradhanjali Samaroh’ – wreath-laying ceremony – at the Kargil War Memorial. On a rain-soaked evening in Dras, the Army on Saturday hosted a ‘Shaurya Sandhya’ at the war memorial, honouring the indomitable courage displayed by the Indian soldiers during Operation Vijay in 1999 and paying rich tributes to the fallen heroes.
The defence minister participated in the solemn event and also handed a ceremonial ‘kalash’ to some of the family members of Army personnel who laid down their lives in the Kargil conflict. The Army is hosting a series of events here to mark the 27th anniversary of Operation Vijay.
The occasion marks the glorious victory in 1999 when Indian soldiers, braving snow-clad peaks and relentless firing by Pakistani troops, reclaimed the heights of Kargil.
Operation Vijay was the name given to India’s limited war after the neighbouring country’s infiltration.
Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorates the culmination of Operation Vijay on July 26, 1999.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year on July 26 in India to observe the nation’s victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War, successfully ousting Pakistani forces from occupied positions on the icy mountain tops of Northern Kargil District in Ladakh. Initially, the Pakistani army denied its involvement, claiming the intrusion was executed by Kashmiri militants. However, documents retrieved from casualties, testimony from POWs, and subsequent statements by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief Pervez Musharraf clearly established the involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces led by General Ashraf Rashid.
Observed annually on July 26, Kargil Vijay Diwas honors the courageous soldiers who fought in the conflict. Across India and in the national capital, New Delhi, commemorative events take place, where the Prime Minister pays homage to fallen heroes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate. Following the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, direct armed conflicts between the two neighbors remained limited, save for military skirmishes over the Siachen Glacier in the 1980s. However, escalating tensions due to Kashmir insurgency and the 1998 nuclear tests created a hostile environment leading up to the war.
In February 1999, both nations signed the Lahore Declaration promising a peaceful, bilateral resolution to the Kashmir dispute. Simultaneously, during the winter of 1998–1999, elements of the Pakistani Armed Forces covertly trained and dispatched troops into Indian territory across the Line of Control (LOC) under “Operation Badri.” The objective was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, force an Indian withdrawal from Siachen, and internationalize the Kashmir conflict.
Initially unaware of the scale of the infiltration, Indian troops assumed the intruders were a small group of jihadis. However, as further incursions were discovered across the LOC, the Indian Army mobilized 200,000 troops under “Operation Vijay” to reclaim an estimated 130 to 200 square kilometers of occupied territory. The war officially concluded on July 26, 1999, with the complete eviction of Pakistani forces. On the anniversary of Operation Vijay, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying tributes to the 527 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Official records indicate that Indian casualties stood at 527 dead, 1,363 wounded, and 1 prisoner of war, Flight Lieutenant K. Nachiketa, whose MiG-27 was shot down during an airstrike. Over two months of intense mountain warfare, the Indian Armed Forces drove out intruders and successfully recaptured critical strategic outposts, including Tiger Hill.
The clashes occurred at daunting altitudes of 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) amidst active diplomatic engagements. Talks on June 12 between Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz and Indian counterpart Jaswant Singh yielded no results, prompting international pressure on Pakistan to respect the LOC. On July 11, 1999, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a withdrawal, setting a deadline of July 16, though skirmishes persisted until the Indian Army announced complete victory on July 26, 1999.
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