KARGIL VIJAY DIWAS

• On 26^th July 2022, the 23rd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas is being observed.
• It is to observe India's victory over Pakistan in the Kargil War for ousting Pakistani Forces from their occupied positions on the mountain tops of Northern Kargil District in Ladakh in the year 1999.
• The day is dedicated to the martyred soldiers of the Kargil war.

About Kargil war

• There had been many military conflicts after the Indo-Pak war of 1971.
• The tension has been escalated by the nuclear test conducted in 1998 by both the country and finally lead to the Kargil war in the year 1999.
• Kargil War is also known as the Kargil conflict which was fought between May-July of 1999 in the Kargil (presently a district in the UT of Ladakh) district of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control in which India got victory.

Operation Vijay

• In the year 1999, India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Agreement to mutually resolve the Kashmir issue cooperatively and peacefully.
• However, the Pakistani troops began infiltrating toward the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) under Operation Badr which also resulted in a conflict from India’s side too.
• In India, the conflict is also referred to as Operation Vijay, which was the name of the Indian military operation to mainly clear out the Kargil sector.
• The Indian Air Force's role in acting jointly with Indian Army ground troops during the war was aimed at flushing out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistan Army from vacated Indian positions along the LoC.
• When the Indian Government got the information about it, ‘Operation Vijay’ was launched by the Indian army to throw back the intruders who had treacherously occupied the Indian Territory.

This particular operation was given the codename Operation Safed Sagar.

About the National War Memorial

• A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or edifice to celebrate a war or victory or to commemorate those who died or were injured in the war.
• The design of the main memorial exemplifies that the supreme sacrifice made by a soldier in the line of duty not only makes him immortal but also depicts that the spirit of a soldier remains eternal.
• It was Inaugurated in 2019 and it is around 400 meters from India Gate.
• The layout of the structure comprises four concentric circles which are named as:
• the "Amar Chakra" or Circle of Immortality.
• the "Veerta Chakra" or Circle of Bravery.
• the "Tyag Chakra" or Circle of Sacrifice.
• the "Rakshak Chakra" or Circle of Protection.

• The proposal for a National War Memorial was first time made in the year1960 The memorial is dedicated to soldiers who laid down their lives in defending the nation during:
• Sino-Indian war in 1962
• Indo-Pak wars in 1947, 1965 and 1971
• Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Sri Lanka 1987-90
• Kargil Conflict in 1999.

Significance of the memorial

• It represents the soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who have made the supreme sacrifice to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
• The National War Memorial thus represents the gratitude of a nation to its Armed Forces
• It also helps to strengthen the sense of belonging, high moral values, sacrifice, and national pride in our citizens.