New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (July 26, 2020) paid tributes to the fallen soldiers on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Kargil war at the National War Memorial in Delhi.


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Rajnath Singh recounted the words of veteran BJP leader and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee after India had declared victory. 


Singh said that the Kargil war proved that India will not succumb to external pressures and that India is a responsible nation, quoting Vajpayee. 


"In the name of national security we have only defended ourselves under attack we have never attacked another country. While, the Kargil war also proved that when under attack we are able to give a befitting reply," he said.


Singh said that the sentiment that was witnessed 21 years ago is still the same in the country.


"We are a peace loving nation but in times of national crisis we will not shy from taking any big step to protect the unity of the country," he said.


Along with the defence minister, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh also paid tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the National War Memorial.


On July 26, 1999, the Indian Army had announced a successful end to "Operation Vijay" after a nearly three-month-long battle in the icy heights of Kargil. 


War ended after Indian soldiers pushed back the Pakistani troops from the captured peaks. The country lost more than 500 soldiers in the war.


Since then the day has been observed as "Kargil Vijay Diwas" to commemorate India's victory in the war