Yeh Dil Mange More’ resonated across the nation in 1999 when Captain Vikram Batra said this and asked his superiors to allow him to continue with his participation in the action during the Kargil war. Given the code name ‘Shershah’, he made the ultimate sacrifice the next day, fighting the Pakistani soldiers and militants.
His gallant action reclaimed Peak 5140. He, along with Yoigendra Yadav, Manoj Kumar Pandey, Balwan Singh and Rajesh Singh Adhikari, besides many others, became household names due to their gallant acts on the war front. The war, lasting nearly 60 days, ended on July 26, and the nation every year salutes the bravehearts during Kargil Vijay Diwas. Military action began after it was found that Pakistan soldiers and militants over the months had intruded into Indian territory in Kargil and built fortifications.
Indian army and IAF swung into action and launched Operation Vijay. However, the armed forces were ordered not to cross the Line of Control(LOC). Our soldiers had to climb the heights to evict the intruders, and several sectors like Tiger Hill saw fierce gun battles. The enemy had the advantage as they could easily detect our movement, as they had occupied the heights. It was sheer bravery and guts, besides excellent man management by the young officers, which saw the Indian armed forces overcoming this disadvantage in adverse weather conditions. Nearly 530 Indian casualties took place during the fierce fighting lasting nearly two months. The entire nation backed our troops. Pakistan refused to take back the bodies of its soldiers, claiming they were not part of its army. With the vast number of television channels operating by then, the Kargil war was brought right into the drawing rooms of India. Several television reporters risked their lives to cover the action live at the front line in harsh weather conditions.
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee dispensation set up the Kargil Review Committee after the war to tone up the defence and security apparatus. The committee was headed by K Subrahmanyam, father of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The report was tabled in Parliament in 2000. Following the Kargil Review Committee report, a Group of Ministers (GoM) was set up by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in 2000 to consider the recommendations in the Kargil Review Committee.
The GOM recommendations, like the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff(CDS), creation of additional tri-services organisations like Integrated Defence Staff, the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the Nuclear Command Authority, Strategic Forces Command, the Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, the Defence Technology Council and the Defence Acquisition Council, have taken place. Given the fast-changing nature of warfare, India has adopted a very flexible approach to deal with new challenges in terms of information technology, space and artificial intelligence.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in his message on Saturday, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the bravehearts on behalf of the nation. He stated that Kargil Vijay will forever remain a unique example of bravery for future generations. “Duty-Honour-Courage!” he added.