20 years of Kargil war: At Gwalior Air Base, IAF to ‘recreate’ Tiger Hill attack

New Delhi: Commemorating 20 years of the Kargil War, the IAF has planned several activities at the Gwalior Air Base on Monday, including a symbolic ‘recreation’ of the Tiger Hill attack and static display of Mirage-2000 and other aircraft used during ‘Operation Vijay’, officials said.

Ahead of the 20th anniversary in July of the India-Pakistan war, a function has been planned at the strategic base where Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa will be the Chief Guest.

 “As part of the commemorative event at Gwalior, several activities have been planned. There will be symbolic recreation of the Tiger Hill attack that took place during the Kargil War in 1999. And, there would be a static display of Mirage-2000 and other aerial assets used during the war,” a senior IAF official told PTI.

Several gallantry award winners, both serving and retired, who had participated in ‘Operation Vijay’ would attend the event at the Gwalior Air Base, he said.

Indian armed forces displayed exceptional valour to successfully dislodged the enemy from the strategic hill in the Drass-Kargil area.

Mirage-2000 aircraft played a crucial role in the battles fought during the war and also hit enemy targets bunkered in at the Tiger Hill.

A number of events has been planned by the Army in Delhi and Dras in Jammu and Kashmir next month to mark the 20th anniversary of the ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’, officials earlier said.

The anniversary celebrations for this year will be spread over three days from July 25-27.

 “However, as part of the build up to the main event, numerous activities have been planned to be organised all over the country from the first week of July,” an official said.

The celebrations in the national capital will begin on July 14 with the illumination of a ‘Victory Flame’ from the National War Memorial here, which would traverse through 11 towns and cities to finally culminate at Dras where it will be merged with the eternal flame at the ‘Kargil War Memorial’, he said.

The objective of these celebrations is to evoke feeling of patriotism through nationwide campaigns especially amongst youth and to pay homage to the valiant soldiers.

 “The Kargil War will always be remembered for its strategic and tactical surprises, the self-imposed national strategy of restraint in keeping the war limited to Kargil-Siachen sectors, and the swiftly executed tri-services military strategy and plans,” the Army had said.