The Prime Minister today led the nation in paying homage to the Kargil martyrs. At a solemn ceremony at the India Gate this morning to mark the Kargil Vijay Diwas, Dr Manmohan Singh laid the wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti. He was accompanied by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal PK Barbora and the Vice Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Noble Thamburaj. Also present on the occasion were the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony and Minister of State for Defence, Dr MM Pallam Raju.
On his arrival at the war memorial at 6.30 AM, Dr Singh was received by Shri Antony. As the Prime Minister laid the wreath, a contingent of the tri-services guards presented the Salami Shastr (salute) and Shok Shastr (salute with reverse arms). Buglers sounded the Last Post as the Prime Minister stood in rapt attention. A two minute silence was observed in memory of the 610 officers and men, including five Air Force personnel and two civilians, who laid down their lives. A grateful nation today pays tribute to these young men whose indomitable courage and supreme sacrifice achieved victory this day ten years ago in the icy and rugged mountains of Kargil region.
On July 26, 1999 the Indian armed forces broke the back of a Pakistani misadventure in the forbidding heights of Batalik, Kargil and Drass sectors after a 59-day war. Pakistan paid a heavy toll for its folly, as the intruders, most of them Pakistani regulars, either fled or suffered huge casualties. The war, fought on what is often termed as one of the highest battlefields in the world, brought the people together as never before and the nation emerged stronger. Inspite of heavy losses suffered while fighting the well entrenched enemy perched on strategic heights, India allowed the Pakistan Army to withdraw behind the Line of Control and like a responsible army, later handed back safely the Prisoners of War through the International Red Cross. The Indian Air Force achieved a rare feat, flying missions for the first time at altitudes of over 18,000 feet and without violating the LoC in a narrow air corridor. The Indian Navy was not directly involved in the Kargil operations but like a silent sentinel secured the Arabian Sea and deterred the Pakistan Navy, which had mobilized its forces in Ormara, Passni and Wada West, from escalating the conflict into a full-scale war.
