If provoked, India ready to cross LoC: Rajnath at Kargil memorial
Kargil Vijay Diwas: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh says people should be psychologically ready for direct participation in future wars along with soldiers
On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday vowed to cross Line of Control if touched by the enemy and urged people to be psychologically ready for direct participation in future wars along with the country’s soldiers.
Singh laid the wreath on the 24th anniversary of Kargil War at Kargil War Memorial to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives in the two month conflict with Pakistan in 1999.
Addressing an event commemorating the fallen soldiers, Rajnath said the government has given freedom to the army to target the enemy in its own territory for the country’s safety.
“The government stands with the army. On Kargil Vijay Diwas, I want to tell my country people that we will go to any extent for the esteem of the nation,” he said.
The defence minister said despite winning the war on July 26, 1999, Indian soldiers didn’t cross the LoC. “It is because we love peace. We believe in Indian values and are committed to international laws. It doesn’t mean we couldn’t cross the LoC. We could, we can and, if need arises, we will cross the LoC in future,” he said.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated every year to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan on this day in 1999. Indian Army launched ‘Operation Vijay’ in May 1999 to evict the Pakistan intruders, who had occupied Kargil heights in an attempt to endanger the vital Srinagar-Leh National Highway. After over 60 days of war, the heights of Drass, Mushkoh, Kaksar and Batalik were cleared while the army lost 527 soldiers.
“We did try to resolve all issues with Pakistan through diplomatic channels, but were backstabbed. Late Prime Minister Atal-Ji had made sincere efforts to address and resolve all issues, including Kashmir, by visiting Pakistan. However, Pakistan sent its soldiers to capture some of our positions in Kargil,” said Rajnath
Earlier in the address, while citing the Ukraine-Russia war, Rajnath said future wars will stretch long, owing to participation of common people directly.
“In any war, armies take part directly while the common people like farmers, doctors, engineers or scientists also participate indirectly. That is why I believe that besides the army, citizens also fight wars indirectly. But recently, the way wars are stretching long; in future people not only will have to participate indirectly but will have to be ready for participating in a war directly,” he said.
Army chief General Manoj Pande also paid tributes to the soldiers. “Operation Vijay was a tough and high intensity operation which was fought on these high peaks... The victory achieved 24 years back is proof of bravery, valor and responsibility of our soldiers,” he said.
He said the soldiers are still deployed in these inaccessible peaks and are committed to the country’s security.
“In future, there are chances that future dangers and challenges will get more complicated and we need to ensure that our readiness is modern and appropriate to face such challenges. For this transformation, an adaptive, resilient and responsive process has been executed,” he said.
He said the army in future will be a modern, agile and technology enabled force to ensure “they are powerful and able enough to face any security challenge in future”.
