20th Anniversary of victory at Kargil

The celebrations of 20th Anniversary of the victory in Operation Vijay at Kargil has begun by illuminating the Victory Flame at National War Memorial.

The theme of the 20^thanniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas is‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’. The teme underlines that “we remember our martyrs by revisiting their sacrifices, we rejoice by celebrating the victory in Kargil and we renew our resolve to safeguard the honour of the Tricolour.”

Operation Vijay

Operation Vijay is the code name of the operation undertaken by the Indian Army to clear the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers disguised as Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control.

During the initial stages, Pakistan refused any its role and blamed the fighting as an act of independent Kashmiri insurgents. But documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces.

Indian Army supported by the Indian Air Force recaptured a majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC infiltrated by the Pakistani troops and militants. The Pakistani forces withdrew from the remaining Indian positions along the LOC facing international diplomatic opposition.

National War Memorial

National War Memorial is built as a tribute to the soldiers killed during the Indo-China War in 1962, the Indo-Pak Wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971, the Kargil Conflict in 1999, and the Indian Peace Keeping Force operations in Sri Lanka.

The memorial has been built in the form of four concentric circles, each chakra signifying different values of the armed forces

• Amar Chakra (circle of immortality): The innermost tier ‘Amar Chakra’ comprises a15-metre tall obelisk and the eternal flame.
• Veerta Chakra (circle of bravery): The ‘Veerta Chakra’ is about the six important battles of the army, air force and navy, which have been depicted in bronze.
• Tyag Chakra (circle of sacrifice): The ‘Tyag Chakra’ holds the names of about 25,700 battle casualties which have been written on a 1.5-metre wall.
• Rakshak Chakra (circle of protection): The outermost tier is the ‘Suraksha Chakra’, comprising 695 trees depicting ‘standing soldiers guarding.

The structure draws inspiration from the ‘Chakravyuh’ formation.