Why and When
The Indian Army built a memorial to commemorate sacrifices by over 500 soldiers after five years of the
1999 Kargil War. During almost 3-month- long war fought in Kargil District, the Operation Vijay was
launched to clean Pakistani infiltration on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC).
The Indian soldiers recaptured a number of places and peaks, including Tiger Hill and Tololing Hill.
Pakistan finally withdrew under international pressure and the war ended in the last week of July.Gallery, Museum
The in-house museum and war-gallery exhibit
army emblems, documents, ammunition and
weapons seized from Pakistan....Pink Sandstone Wall
Names of all the soldiers who showed
monumental courage during the high altitude
war are inscribed on the pink sandstone
commemorative wall.Inscriptions
The memorial pays a tribute with a pair of
apt poems by famous Hindi poets: Pushp
kii Abhilasha by Makhanlal Chaturvedi (चाह
नहीं मैं सुरबाला के गहनों में गूँथा जाऊँ...) andAgnipathby Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachaan (वृक्ष
हों भले खड़े, हों घने हों बड़े, एक पत्र छाँह भी,
माँग मत, माँग मत, माँग मत...)Monumental National Flag
On the 14th anniversary of the victory, a
monumental national flag weighing 15-kg was
hoisted at the memorial. The flag measures 37.5
feet by 25 feet, more than double the size of the
flags hoisted over Parliament House and Red
Fort in Delhi. The flag pole weighs three tons.
The knitted-polyester-flag has 101 feet tall pole
extending 15 feet below the ground.Kargil Vijay Diwas
India celebrates July 26, the last day of the high
altitude war, as Kargil Vijay Diwas ever year. This
year on the twentieth anniversary, the celebrations
would last longer than on the previous occasions.Where
Approximately five kilometers from the heart of
Dras, the memorial stands at Ground Zero, the
Tololing Hill beside National Highway 1 (NH1)
connecting Srinagar to Leh.320
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019