20TH Anniversary of The Victory at Kargil

The year 2019, marks the 20th anniversary of victory in ‘Operation VIJAY’ popularly known as the ‘Kargil War’. The Kargil War is a saga of strong political, military and diplomatic actions. The Nation shall be celebrating the 20th anniversary of victory this year in Kargil War with pride, honour and inspiration.

The Kargil War will always be remembered for its strategic and tactical surprises, the self-imposed national strategy of restraint in keeping the war limited to Kargil – Siachen Sectors and swiftly executed tri-services military strategy and plans. The Kargil War will also be remembered for the determination and daring junior leadership and the raw courage of our jawans at tactical level.

This year, 20th anniversary of victory in ‘Operation VIJAY’ is being celebrated with the theme ‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’. We ‘remember’ our martyrs, by revisiting the sacrifices and instilling pride and respect among us, we ‘rejoice’ by celebrating the victory in Kargil and we ‘renew’ our resolve to safeguard the honour of the Tricolour.

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. The events are planned to highlight the stories of valour by our brave soldiers and rekindle the pride among the youth of the country, inspiring those who were too young and those who were not yet born, to form part of the Nation’s resolve.

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 events being organised, include expeditions by the units, which participated in the Kargil War, to their respective battlefields at super high altitude locations such as Tololing, Tiger Hill, Pt 4875 to name a few. The events and programmes spread over July 2019 will include a Special National Integration Camp, for the NCC Cadets hailing from various States and Union Territories of the country. This unique event will last for 12 days at Leh. Essay and drawing competitions are being organised for the school children all across the Ladakh region with topics related to the event being celebrated.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is a special occasion for the people of Ladakh. People of Ladakh shall be participating in the run ‘Ek Daud Shaheedon Ke Naam’ which would include the citizens from the remotest corner of the region, and the brave war veterans from far-flung villages of Ladakh. Popular sports and competitions like polo and archery for the local populace is scheduled along with other festivities. A ‘T-20 Cricket Championship’ is being organised in the Ladakh region in the NDS Memorial Stadium which is situated at an altitude of 11500 ft. The event is also aimed at nurturing the cricket talent among the youth in the region. The tournament will see teams form Indian Army, Indian Air Force, ITBP and local clubs from the entire Ladakh region.

A ‘Wreath Memorial Ceremony’ will be organised at the ‘Kargil War Memorial’ in Dras on the Kargil Vijay Diwas (26 July 2019) to honour the brave-hearts who laid down their lives during the ‘Operation VIJAY’.

The celebrations in the National Capital begins on 14 July 19, with the illumination of a Victory Flame from the National War Memorial, New Delhi, which would traverse through eleven towns and cities, to finally culminate at Dras wherein the flame will be merged with the eternal flame at the ‘Kargil War Memorial’. The torch relay team will conduct educational and patriotic talks and will interact with the prominent personalities and students in various educational institutes.

A ‘Commemoration Ceremony’ is being organised at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi, where a panel discussion with the war veterans and serving officers will be conducted. The event will be followed by ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas Evening’ a cultural extravaganza, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on 27 July 2019, which shall be graced by the dignitaries.