Kargil Vijay Diwas | 26 Jul 2025

Source: BS 

India celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas every year on 26th July to honour the bravery of Indian soldiers who fought in the 1999 Kargil War.  

• On 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas in 2025, the Indian Army launched three initiatives to honour soldiers’ bravery. 
  •  These include an e-shradhanjali portal, a QR code-based audio app sharing Kargil war stories, and a new Line of Control (LoC) viewpoint at Batalik sector. 
• The Kargil War began shortly after the Lahore Declaration (1999), when Pakistani troops secretly occupied strategic heights in the Kargil district, Ladakh vacated for winter.  
  • In response, the Indian Army launched Operation Vijay to reclaim the heights in the Kargil region of Ladakh.  
  • The IAF carried out Operation Safed Sagar, targeting enemy positions on rugged peaks, while the Indian Navy launched Operation Talwar to exert pressure in the Arabian Sea.  
  • The war was fought in challenging terrain across key areas like Tololing, Tiger Hill, Drass, and Batalik. 
• The Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Ladakh was built in 2000 to honour the success of Operation Vijay.  
• The National War Memorial in Delhi honours soldiers from major conflicts, including the Sino-Indian war in 1962, Indo-Pak wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, Indian Peace Keeping Force Operations in Sri Lanka 1987-90, and the Kargil Conflict in 1999.