26th july,2009
Ten years since india s victory in kargil..and we have forgotten that already.
In our country,we pride ourselves in celebrating birthdays or anniversaries of film stars,politicians and the lot,but no one takes the time to remember the "amar jawan" ,the fallen hero,because of whose sacrifice,we can live comfortably in our homes
During the winter of 1998 -1999, some elements of the pakistani army were covertly training and sending Pakistani troops and paramilitary, some allegedly in the guise of mujahadeen, into territory on the Indian side of the LOC. The infiltration was code named "Operation Badr" its aim was to sever the link between Kashmir and Ladakh, and cause Indian forces to withdraw from the siachen, thus forcing India to negotiate a settlement of the broader Kashmir dispute. Pakistan also believed that any tension in the region would internationalise the Kashmir issue, helping it to secure a speedy resolution.
During the winter season, due to extreme cold in the mountainous areas of Kashmir, it was a common practice for both the Indian and Pakistan Armies to abandon some forward posts on their respective sides of the LOCand to reduce patrolling of areas that may be avenues of infiltration. When weather conditions became less severe, forward posts would be reoccupied and patrolling resumed.
During February 1999, the pakistan army began to re-occupy the posts it had abandoned on its side of the LOC in the Kargil region, but also sent forces to occupy some posts on the Indian side of the LOC.By the second week of may, of an Indian patrol team led by Capt Saurabh Kalia,[who acted on a tip-off by a local shepherd in the Batalik sector, led to the exposure of the infiltration. Initially, with little knowledge of the nature or extent of the encroachment, the Indian troops in the area assumed that the infiltrators were jihadis and claimed that they would evict them within a few days. Subsequent discovery of inflitration elsewhere along the LOC, and the difference in tactics employed by the infiltrators, caused the Indian army to realize that the plan of attack was on a much bigger scale. The total area seized by the ingress is generally accepted to between 130 km² - 200 km²;
The Indian Army's first priority was to recapture peaks that were in the immediate vicinity of NH1a. This resulted in Indian troops first targeting the Tiger Hill and Tololing complex in Dras, which dominated the Srinagar-Leh route. This was soon followed by the Batalik-Turtok sub-sector which provided access to Siachen Glacier. Some of the peaks that was of vital strategic importance to the Pakistani defensive troops were Point 4590 and Point 5353. While 4590 was the nearest point that had a view of NH1a, point 5353 was the highest feature in the Dras sector, allowing the Pakistani troops to observe NH1A. The recapture of Point 4590 by Indian troops on June 14 was significant, notwithstanding the fact that Point 4590 resulting in the Indian Army suffering the most casualties in a single battle during the conflict.Though most of the posts in the vicinity of the highway were cleared by mid-June, some parts of the highway near Drass witnessed sporadic shelling until the end of the war.
On May 27 1999, Flt. Lt. Nachiketa developed engine trouble in the Batalik sector and bailed out of his craft. Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja went out of his way to locate his comrade but was shot down using a shoulder-fired Stinger missile. According to reports, he had bailed out of his stricken plane safely but was apparently killed by his captors as his body was returned riddled with bullet wounds
.Two months into the conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges they had lost;[ according to official count, an estimated 75%–80% of the intruded area and nearly all high ground was back under Indian control.
By the end even thought india had won,500 soldiers had to lay down their lives.
And today we find ourselves not even remembering their gallantry..
so let us all pray on this day for them..
