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Rajnath Singh to attend Kargil victory celebrations in Dras
Top military officials, including army chief General Dhiraj Seth, will attend the event to commemorate victory in the limited war
Defence minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Ladakh on July 26 to attend the 27th Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations at Dras, highlighting how Indian soldiers overcame daunting odds to drive out a treacherous enemy from the strategic heights it had occupied in the Kargil sector in the summer of 1999, people aware of the matter said on Sunday.
Top military officials, including army chief General Dhiraj Seth, will attend the event to commemorate victory in the limited war—India’s fifth—fought along a 170-km mountain frontier, stretching from Mashkoh Valley to Turtuk in the Kargil sector, the people added.
Kargil war heroes and the families of those killed in action will be among the attendees. As many as 527 Indian soldiers were killed during the Kargil war. While there is no definitive account of Pakistan army casualties, different estimates peg the number between a few hundred and a few thousand.
Also Read:Guest column | July 4: The day India recaptured Tiger Hill in 1999
Last week Singh said India’s victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War underscored the country’s resolve to meet any threat to its territory, identity or honour with full might.
A few months after the Lahore peace declaration was signed, thousands of Pakistani intruders exploited gaps in Indian defences and sneaked across the Line of Control (LoC) to capture several commanding heights. Some of these positions offered a sweeping view of the strategic Srinagar-Leh highway.
The lessons learnt from the war and the events that led to it resulted in the overhaul of India’s intelligence set-up, far-reaching military reforms, modernisation of the armed forces and vastly improved border management.
At last year’s celebrations, then army chief General Upendra Dwivedi used the platform to highlight the ongoing restructuring in the army aimed at boosting its ability to deliver decisive outcomes in battle. At the landmark 25th anniversary celebrations in 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strong warning to Pakistan, stating that the Indian Army will crush terror emanating from that country with full force while reminding it of its past defeats and failures.
