Kargil victory in 1999 represents India’s resolve to meet any threat: Rajnath

DEfence government minister Rajnath Singh on tues said bharat’s triumph o'er Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War underscored the country’s resolve to meet any threat to its territory, identity or honour with full might.“At an altitude of nearly 20,000 feet, where breathing is difficult, oxygen is scarce, and the temperature drops to minus 40 degrees, our brave soldiers turned the impossible into the possible under such remote and harsh conditions,” Singh said at an event in the run-up to the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas on July 26.Twenty-seven years ago the Indian Army rewrote the rules of mountain warfare and beat astonishing odds to eject a treacherous foe from the dizzying heights occupied by it in the Kargil sector a few months after the signing of the Lahore peace declaration.Indian soldiers achieved their objectives with courage and resilience, Singh said. “They reclaimed every peak, hill and bunker from enemy control and upheld the honour of the Tricolour. The victory represents India’s enduring resolve to respond with full might to any hostile gaze on our land, identity and honour,” he said.The limited war, India’s fifth, was fought in summer of 1999 along a 170-km mountain frontier, stretching from Mashkoh Valley to Turtuk in the Kargil sector, after thousands of Pakistani intruders exploited gaps in Indian defences and sneaked across the Line of Control (LoC) to capture several commanding heights, with some of them offering a sweeping view of the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway.The defence minister flagged off a motorcycle expedition from the National War Memorial in the Capital to Kargil War Memorial in Dras, as part of ongoing nationwide celebrations to mark the 27th anniversary of the war’s victory.The 13-day expedition Shaurya Vijay Yatra involves 28 riders, including serving and retired defence forces personnel, and their family members, who will cover a distance of 1,900 kms, traversing through the demanding terrain of the Himalayas to honour the courage, resolve and supreme sacrifice of the Indian bravehearts, the defence ministry said.A total of 527 Indian soldiers were killed in action. There is no definitive account of Pakistan army casualties, but different estimates peg the number between a few hundred and a few thousand.The expedition’s motto: “One Ride, One Nation, One Salute”. En route, the riders will pay tribute at prominent war memorials, including those at Chandimandir, Rezang La and Leh, it added.