We salute grit, valour of those who defended India: President on Kargil Vijay Diwas

Srinagar: Commemorating 20 years of Kargil victory, President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi led the nation in paying tributes to the war heroes. President Kovind had to cancel his visit to Kargil due to bad weather and the ceremony was held at Badami Bagh headquarters of Chinar Corps of the Army here in Srinagar.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat, IAF chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh paid tributes to the war heroes at the Kargil War Memorial at Dras in Jammu and Kashmir.

For the first time, J&K police along with the ITBP, IRP and CRPF celebrated the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas and functions and parades were held at district police lines across the state.


The Army chief appealed to Kashmiri youth to shun weapons and look after their families for a better and peaceful future.

Dhanoa, who was the commanding officer of the 17 Squadron at the time of the war, said deploying Mirage-2000 jets and air support to ground forces had turned the tide of the 1999 war in favour of India.