Today, July 26th, we are celebrating the 25th Kargil Vijay Diwas. It was a great victory of the Indian Armed Forces over Pakistan during the Kargil War of 1999 and the sacrifice of the brave soldiers of the Indian Army. Every year on July 26th, martyrs are remembered as Kargil Vijay Diwas in the country. It is a matter of pride that Jalandhar is the only district from which eight officers attained martyrdom while serving the country. The Kargil War was fought between May 8 and July 26, 1999, between the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army. The Indian Army launched Operation Vijay to drive out Pakistani infiltrators from the hilly heights. The Indian Army succeeded in driving out Pakistani infiltrators from the Line of Control. Victory was formally achieved on July 26, 1999. That is why Kargil Diwas is celebrated with great pride every year on July 26th.
Since 1947, 147 soldiers and officers from Jalandhar have been martyred in various wars and operations. Among them, they have been martyred in the 1962 Indo-China War, the 1965 India-Pakistan War, Operation Rakshak, Operation Meghdoot, Rhino, Encounter, Operation Parikrama, Election Duty, Military Action, and others.
As per reports, Jalandhar is the only city from which eight officers have been martyred in the Kargil War, while a total of 82 soldiers have been martyred. During the Kargil War, many such operations were going on simultaneously, of which Operation Vijay was the most important. Out of the 8 officers from Jalandhar, Major Kewal Gulzar, Major Ajay Dutt, Captain Rupinder Singh Garcha, Captain Satnam Singh, Lieutenant Gurvinder Singh, Major Varinder Singh, Captain Mandeep Singh, Sepoy Diljit Singh Jasvinder Singh, Naik Rajnish Kumar, Gunner Sukhdeep Singh, and Naik Kulvinder Singh are also martyrs of Kargil. Many of them were martyred in Operation Meghdoot and Operation Rakshak. They are known as Kargil martyrs.