Book on Kargil war memories

Hyderabad: July 26, 2019 marks the 20th Kargil Vijay Diwas, and the upcoming milestone has prompted a group of like-minded individuals to put together a commemorative book about the conflict.

Subsequently, all retired officers who were involved in the war have been asked to share their experiences considering there has been no book outlining the personal experiences of the veterans so far.

The Kargil war was initiated in May 1999 in an effort to displace Pakistani soldiers from the peaks that they occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC).

The combat lasted for approximately three months.

India wont the war, but lost around 500 soldiers in it. Every year on Kargil Diwas, the chief commanding officer pays tribute to those who lost their lives in the war.

Jagan Pillarisetti, Anchit Gupta and Angad Singh are exploring the idea of compiling personal experiences of Kargil veterans along with their photographs in a book and, to that effect, put out a note saying, “Time flies, and in what feels like just a blink, the 20th Kargil Vijay Diwas has almost arrived.

“This was the first war witnessed by the cable TV generation and had us spellbound throughout.

“Veterans are welcome to share personal experiences in connection with the conflict.

“These can be in the form of written accounts with photographs related to the struggle, not many of which have been published in the public domain yet.

“We’d like to focus on the key players. If you were witness to the phenomenon, then we request you to share your experiences with us on airforce@bharat-rakshak.com.”

There are many books on both the wars.

Defence historian Mandeep Singh Bajwa said, “Apart from Kargil war, due recognition must be given to the experiences of the veterans who participated in the wars which took place in 1962, 1965, and 1971.”