Kargil
Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed to mark the end of the Kargil War. The
war that lasted about two months was fought mainly in the Kargil sector of
Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Both sides lost many soldiers and
the war came to an end when on July 26, 1999 India fought and took command
of the outposts that had been lost to Pakistani intruders. Kargil Vijay Diwas
is observed not just in the Kargil-Dras sector but also in New Delhi where the
Prime Minister of India pays homage to the war heroes at Amar Jawan Jyoti
at India Gate
The cause of the war was
the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on
the Indian side of the LOC, which serves as the de facto border
between the two states. During the initial stages of the war, Pakistan blamed
the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left
behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces,
led by General Ashraf
Rashid. The Indian
Army, later supported
by the Indian
Air Force, recaptured a
majority of the positions on the Indian side of the LOC infiltrated by the
Pakistani troops and militants. Facing international diplomatic opposition, the
Pakistani forces withdrew from the remaining Indian positions along the LOC
