Bhubaneswar: On this day, 19 years ago, India fought an intrusion in Kargil which witnessed heavy bloodshed. The attack on India was carried out in the proxy war mode with Pakistan sending in soldiers as Mujahideens.
Indian army attained victory, forcing out every trespasser from our motherland, for which many soldiers lost their lives.
Here are 10 things to know about the war:
1. Kargil in Ladakh, where this war was fought, was earlier known as Baltistan district and separated by the Line of Control after the first Kashmir war 1947-1948.
2. Before this war in 1999, India and Pakistan had fought a war in 1971 that led to the formation of Bangladesh.
3. During the war, the NDA government led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was at the helm of affairs in India.
4. India launched ‘Operation Vijay’ to clear the Kargil sector of infiltration by Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants on Indian side of the LoC.
5. Major part of the Kargil war was India Air Force’s ‘Safed Sagar’. It used air power at the height of 32,000 feet for the first time.
5. The war took place despite the Shimla Agreement signed between India and Pakistan, according to which no armed conflict should have had taken place.
6. Pilots and engineers performed all actions, including identifying Pakistani troops and Mujahideens with only one week of training.
7. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared the operation successful on July 14, 1999, and official declaration was made on July 26, 1999.
8. More than 500 Indian soldiers attained martyrdom, while Pakistan lost more than 3000 soldiers, mujahideens and infiltrators.
9. It was one of the most dangerous war because of the high-altitude and rough terrain.
10. It was a war between two nuclear states and covered extensively by the media.
We pay our respect to all the soldiers. Jai Hind!
