Kargil Vijay Diwas 2022: 10 things to know about India's great victory over Pakistan
Kargil Vijay Diwas: Here are 10 things to know about India's great victory over Pakistan in 1999
The 1999 Kargil war is imprinted in every Indian's mind. The Kargil operation was launched by the Indian Army to recapture the Indian territories from Pakistan intruders in the Kargil-Drass sector in 1999, and India came out victorious on July 26, 1999.
Since then, this day is marked as the Kargil Vijay Diwas to show respect and gratitude to the brave servicemen of the armed forces sacrificed their lives to earn back the positions that were unlawfully seized by Pakistan Army.
The Kargil War took place between May 3 and July 26, 1999, in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LOC). While the 60-day long war resulted in the loss of several lives on both sides, India eventually won the war by regaining control of all the previously held territory, re-establishing the status quo ante-bellum.
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The Kargil war was fought in 1999 between India and Pakistan in Kargil, Ladakh which was initially Baltistan district, separated by the Line of Control, LoC post the first Kashmir war.
'Operation Vijay' was launched by India to clear the infiltration Kargil sector from Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants on the Indian side of the Line of Control.
Kargil was the first war between India and Pakistan after the one in 1971.
Kargil is one of the most recent and infamous examples of high-altitude warfare i.e wars that are fought on mountainous terrain. Such wars are considered more dangerous due to the rough terrain and natural habitat.
The war occurred even after both India- Pakistan had signed the Shimla Agreement that stated that no armed conflict shall take place on the said boundary.
The operation was declared successful by the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 14, the operation was officially closed on July 26 when India won a decisive victory.
Safed Sagar, the Indian Air Force's operation, was a major part of the Kargil war. It used air power at the height of 32,000 feet for the first time. Despite just one week of training, polits and engineers performed well.
It was one of the few instances when war was fought between two nuclear states. It was also the first war between the two countries widely covered in the media.
India lost more than 500 military men on the Kargil territory while reports from Pakistan claimed that more than 3000 of their soldiers, mujahideens and infiltrates died.