Honoring Heroes: 25 Years After Kargil War

Lt Gen (Retd) Mohinder Puri reflects on the bravery and sacrifice during the Kargil War, 25 years after leading the 8 Mountain Division. National celebrations marked the silver jubilee of Kargil Vijay Diwas, honoring the efforts of veterans and fallen soldiers. Patriotic fervor and poignant memories characterized the event.

Post retirement, Lt Gen (Retd) Mohinder Puri plays a lot of golf to keep himself fit and busy, but 25 years ago the Kargil War hero led the crucial 8 Mountain Division that played a key role in securing and restoring the LoC, and capturing dominating heights in the most inhospitable terrain of Ladakh.

On Friday, the nation marked the silver jubilee of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, as celebrations culminated in Dras amidst patriotic fervor.

Lt Gen (Retd) Puri and several other Kargil veterans who had played a decisive role in the 1999 war were felicitated by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan in Delhi recently.

Speaking at the 'Kargil Diwas Honours' hosted earlier by TV9 Network here to mark the 25th anniversary of the war, the CDS had said that besides recalling memories of a war, it was also important to look at its aftermath and draw the ''right lessons'' for the future.

Asked about his memories of the war, Lt Gen (Retd) Puri said, ''There are so many memories. But the first success we got, that is the biggest memory. The officers and men we lost are a disturbing memory. Every day, more or less, we remember them because they fought with you, for you, under you,'' he said.

Lt Gen (Retd) Puri, who commanded the 8 Mountain Division, recalled the major role it played. ''The 8 Mountain Division played a fantastic role in securing and restoring the Line of Control (LoC), capturing very dominating heights in the most inhospitable terrain. That was due to the bravery, courage, and determination of our young officers and men. I salute them for the honor and dignity they brought to the country,'' he told PTI.

The general said he would like the youth of India to develop the discipline that the Army represented, even if they didn't join it.

Capt (Retd) Yashika Tyagi, who was part of the logistics unit, also recalled defining moments during the war. ''For me, personally, it was just to be there in that location to tell myself to be resilient, to see people performing against all odds. Every time I saw a casualty coming, your heart ... we say, never cry or feel sad for a martyr but I actually felt it there in the battlezone that one has to be so proud of that human spirit,'' she said. Capt (Retd) Tyagi, who was pregnant during the war, said both her sons felt proud of her.

She recalled a moving tale from the 1999 war days, ''When the battle was in full swing, the commanding officer told me, 'Yashika, keep a minimum of 25 coffins ready at any time.' Because, in my ordnance unit, we were preparing coffins from plyboards. So, this instruction ensured we could send them in real time. When I called my team of carpenters and shared with them the instructions, they told me, 'We will not make coffins beforehand.'' Because, making coffins beforehand would mean 'we are expecting the death of our soldier brothers. We don't want to. We will make coffins by working day and night and at short notice but we will not keep them ready beforehand.' ''

Brig BM Cariappa, another Kargil hero from the 5 Para Regiment (Special Forces), said the lesson for him from the war was that one needed to be fit and prepared for any eventuality, all kinds of contingencies, at all times. ''There was always a way to defeat tactics brought in by the enemy. They had laid landmines all over the place, but the way we actually walked through those landmines, despite so many being laid over there,'' he told PTI.

Special honors were conferred posthumously on two war heroes of Kargil. Neha Dwivedi, daughter of Maj CB Dwivedi, received it on behalf of the family. Dwivedi, the co-author of ''Vijyant At Kargil: The Biography of a War Hero,'' said, ''Essentially, every braveheart who laid down his life is an equal contribution to the victory of the Kargil War and the nation, so to speak.'' A doctor, Dwivedi said she recalled the day with ''some sadness'' but also with ''a lot of pride.''

''Twenty-five years is a long time, and a good chunk of those 25 years, we recalled it with a sense of loss, sadness perhaps. Because we were so young. I was only 12 when we lost him ... my mother herself was just in her 30s. We processed the story, retold his story, lived with it, cried with it. And now is the time, on a day like this, I can speak without breaking down,'' she said.

''But we remember him like he was with us yesterday,'' she said.

(With inputs from agencies.)