The Indian Army on Monday began the two-day celebrations of the 12th anniversary of its victory in the 1999 Kargil war in the Drass sub-sector of Jammu and Kashmir. A presentation, marking the beginning of the two-day fiesta, was held at the Umpa La ridge. The ridge provides a panoramic view to most of the battlefields around Drass town, 150 kms from Srinagar, where Indian and Pakistan forces battled each other in rough terrain and extreme conditions in 1999.
'There was not a moment when the guns were out of action.'
'Ladakh has become a hollow UT.' 'Bureaucrats from Delhi rule Ladakh and there is no attention paid to the grievances of the people.'
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf kept such a tight lid on intrusions by Pakistani troops into Indian territory in Kargil in 1999 that the Inter-Services Intelligence learnt of the development when it intercepted Indian Army communications, a retired general says in his new book.
Twenty years ago, over 50 days in the summer of 1999, the Indian Army fought some of the toughest battles in the annals of military history to evict the Pakistan army from Kargil. The battle to recapture Tiger Hill was a major turning point in the Operation Vijay campaign, points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'If the situation escalates, then mini-scale firing might happen.'
Besides revealing this closely guarded secret, Sharief also admitted that Pakistan was defeated in Kargil.
Rahul Gandhi and the Bharatiya Janata Party sparred today with the Congress leader reminding it that while in opposition his party had supported the ruling National Democratic Alliance on the Kargil issue but with roles reversed, it was not reciprocating on national issues.
He claimed that the move was in response to activities on the Indian side.\n\n
Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh paid homage to Kargil martyrs in Drass sector of Kargil on Friday.
Sharif said that he was not aware of what Vajpayee was saying to him and promised to get back after talking to the then chief of the Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Leh and Kargil in his second trip to the state ahead of the polls
Summarily ruling out the possibility of China engineering a 'Kargil-type' misadventure along the Indian border, government sources in New Delhi said on Wednesday that Chinese incursions into Indian territory have progressively decreased over the last five years.
When Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits the White House on Wednesday, it will be his first encounter with an American president since that turbulent meeting with Bill Clinton when the Kargil war was raging 14 years ago.
The renowned education reformist said the end of the hunger strike is the beginning of the new phase of the ongoing agitation.
The PM hailed the armed forces in context of Kargil Vijay Divas and paid tributes to the fallen heroes.
'The UPA government will take every step to resolve the Kashmir issue through dialogue and reconciliation,' she said.
When Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits the White House on Wednesday, it will be his first encounter with an American president since that turbulent meeting with Bill Clinton when the Kargil war was raging 14 years ago.
The LAB leaders said they will continue with their struggle in a peaceful manner through chain hunger strikes and protests.
Of late, war films -- particularly those that tell stories of the 1971 War and Kargil -- have been produced.
Upset over "callous attitude" of authorities in taking up the issue of torturous death of his son in the hands of Pakistan army during Kargil war, a slain army Captain's father has filed an RTI plea over the steps taken by the Union government in this regard.
The Supreme Court has slammed the Centre for "insulting" soldiers who fought the Kargil war in 1999 and blaming them for being "sluggish" in their initial response to Pakistani incursions.
Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel paid tribute to his parents for their sacrifices.
"It cannot go on like this," the Supreme Court tersely told the Centre on Monday while rapping it for not taking action against officials allegedly involved in the multi-crore scam in the purchase of defence equipments in 1999 Kargil operations.
Shakuntala Devi, wife of Naik Chaman Singh who laid down his life at Torling Peak, was promised land to construct a petrol pump.
The disclosure of information related to casualties suffered by army during Kargil war and number of terrorists killed cannot be made public as it would "affect morale of nation", Central Information Commission has held in an order 14 years after the war.
Has the Kargil victory, like so much else, fallen prey to petty, partisan politics?
The Centre has formed three task forces for Leh, Kargil and Jammu to examine the developmental needs of the regions, with particular reference to deficiencies in infrastructure and make suitable recommendations. The Union Home Ministry has finalised the three teams in consultations with the state government, which will go into the details of the developments in these three regions, official sources said on Tuesday.
They try to hide behind the smokescreen that these are works of fiction inspired by real events. So, you can pick and choose from facts and fictionalise to push the right triggers with your audience or appease the powers that be, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Before going to battle, Captain Anuj Nayyar gave me the engagement ring and photograph of his fiance.' 'I told him, "Why don't you keep it? It will motivate you to fight'.' 'He said he did not want the photograph to fall in the dirty hands of the enemy.' 'I wondered why he was giving it to me. Did he feel he would not return?'
The report is to be filed in four weeks.
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Light snowfall was recorded in the famous tourist resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir and areas in the higher reaches, including places near Amarnath cave shrine overnight while other parts of the Valley witnessed a drop in minimum temperature.
No loss of life has, however, been reported so far.
Gurmehar lost her father Captain Mandeep Sing in the 1999 Kargil War at the age of 2. Her video, posted by Voice of Ram, is the story of her personal struggle with hate and her realisation that Pakistan didn't kill her father; war did.
The government of India is doing little to keep the honour and dignity of the officers and jawans of the armed forces intact and continuing to talk peace with Pakistan when it should be showing aggression, says Dr N K Kalia, father of Kargil hero Capt Saurabh Kalia, who was captured by the Pakistan Army in 1999 and subjected to brutal torture.
With the Armed Forces Tribunal indicting a top officer for falsifying Kargil war reports and showing bias towards a brigadier, the army said it will take action on the issue after analysing the verdict.
The Central Information Commission has directed the Army to disclose if any such inquiry ever took place as per records and disclose the information as per provisions of the RTI Act.
