look news india
Kargil Vijay Diwas is not just a day to celebrate India’s military might and historic victory, but it is also a sacred occasion to remember the indomitable courage, sacrifice and untold memories of those countless brave sons who sacrificed everything for the country. Border defense is not limited to battlefields only, but this great responsibility of protecting the nation is performed every single day and every moment of the year. On this special occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the stories of those brave army veterans and martyrs who sacrificed their youth for the country give goosebumps.
‘Soldier is like the skin of the motherland’, says Kargil fighter Pramod Tripathi
Pramod Tripathi, who served in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) branch of the Indian Army during the Kargil conflict, recalls that his main responsibility during the war was to provide technical support and equipment to the soldiers on the front lines. He worked in extreme cold and harsh conditions in various areas like Samba Sector, Chak Dayala, Dera Baba Nanak, Nagaur and Jodhpur. He believes that there is no caste or language difference in the army, there is only one identity here and that is ‘Soldier of Mother India’.
He becomes emotional while sharing a memory from Dera Baba Nanak sector of Punjab. He tells that when his ten-member team had set up a tent amidst the mustard fields, an elderly mother had arrived with hot rotis, pulses and vegetables smeared with ghee for them. That food not only had taste but also the immense love and unwavering trust of the entire country. At that moment he realized that a soldier of a country whose mothers and sisters treat soldiers like their sons can never feel alone. He also told that once during a train journey, when the general public came to know that the passenger standing in the compartment was a soldier of the country, they put pressure on the TTE and made special arrangements for his seating. This incident teaches that this love of the countrymen is the real strength of the soldiers, provided the respect for the soldiers remains the same not only in times of war or crisis, but also in normal times.
‘Even after 26 years, it seems like it happened yesterday’, experiences of Subedar Raj Bahadur Singh
Subedar Raj Bahadur Singh, who was posted in 63 Engineer Regiment LRW in Jammu during the Kargil War, was only 21 years old at that time. When his unit got the order to go directly to the sensitive RS Pura sector bordering Pakistan, he had a huge enthusiasm to do something for the country. As an engineer regiment, their work was to lay mines in the border areas, prepare roads, repair bunkers and build bridges to facilitate the movement of other troops.
He recalls that when he reached Korli village of RS Pura at night and stayed in bunkers, the local villagers left no stone unturned in providing him food and all possible help even at midnight. The Lassi served to him by the people there and his immense love for the army is still fresh in his mind. After Operation Vijay, when Operation Parakram started, he lived in bunkers for years, but it was the immense love and support of the general public of the country that inspired him to serve the country in the Army for 30 years. Even today, 26 years after the incident, it still feels as if it happened yesterday.
The immortal story of Havildar Birsa Oraon, the brave son of Gumla
On Kargil Vijay Diwas, the example of patriotism of the martyr Havildar Birsa Oraon of Barri Jatratoli village located in Sisai block of Gumla district of Jharkhand fills the heart of every youth. Born to Budu Oraon, Birsa Oraon used to dream of wearing the prestigious uniform of the Indian Army since childhood. In 1983, while playing football while studying, he was selected in Bihar Regiment. Without informing his family, he went to Danapur and took rigorous training and when he returned home after six months, his family got the news of his becoming a soldier.
On the strength of his excellent devotion to duty and courage, he got promoted from an ordinary soldier to the rank of Naik and then Havildar. After rendering distinguished service in Nagaland, Punjab, Assam and United Nations Peace Keeping Mission (South Africa), he braved the enemies on inaccessible and snowy peaks during the Kargil War of 1999 and made the supreme sacrifice while protecting the motherland. For his bravery and indomitable services, he was awarded many prestigious honors like General Service Medal, 9 Year Long Service Medal, Army Service Medal, UN Overseas Medal and posthumously Vishisht Seva Medal. Today the whole country feels proud of his martyrdom and to keep his memories alive, there is a demand to build a road and archway in his name in his native village so that the coming generations can take inspiration from the story of this great brave son.