The Tiger Division and the Department of National Security Studies at the Central University of Jammu jointly organised “Kargil Vijay Diwas” to acknowledge the valour and sacrifices made by the brave soldiers of the Indian army.

Prof. Mallika Joseph, HoD of NSS, welcomed everyone to the event and emphasized the need to inform the new generation about the battle history and the sacrifices of our armed forces.

Delivering the keynote address, Major General S.K Sharma, GoC Tiger Division mentioned that that Kargil War was the first televised war where people saw the battle live. While explaining the strategic background to the conflict, Gen. Sharma highlighted the deceptive strategy played out by Pakistan in order to enhance its proxy hand across LoC. The Indian Army fought meticulously to recapture those territories without crossing the LoC, thus making the scope of the conflict confined to the Kargil Sector. He shared with the audience how people wrote encouraging letters to the fighting troops and helped in the logistics ; every Indian was emotionally present with the Armed Forces to fight the war. Those bravehearts who lost their lives were friends, who got trained together , and were akin to family. Prof. Ashok Aima, the Vice Chancellor of the Central University of Jammu delivered the presidential address and explained that the Kargil Conflict was indeed the greatest battle that India had ever fought, which demonstrated Indian Army’s professionalism. He highlighted the importance of technology and heavy cost of conflict. Not only was the supreme sacrifice of the Indian Army in conflict zones, but their selfless service in the time of natural calamities was equally significant. Additionally, the Vice Chancellor also proposed to have academic collaborations between the Army and the Department of National Security Studies of the university to enhance research and understanding in this field.  

The highlight of the event was the Battle Study presentation by Brigadier Arvind Yadav, Commander Artillery Brigade. In his splendid presentation, he elaborated on the difficulties of terrain and weather conditions suffered by Indian troops while fighting on the highest battle field of the world and in utmost inclement weather condition. The restraints imposed on the operations due to domestic mandate as well as international attention made the task difficult. However driven by patriotism, camaraderie and brotherhood, the Indian troops made their supreme sacrifice for the nation bearing true testimony to their motto “for your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

He motivated all the students and reminded that everyone have their respective duties towards the country and need to execute it in the spirit of “Operation Vijay”. The presentation was followed by an interactive session in which discussions took place on issues related to media coverage of the conflict, Pakistan’s proxy war, China’s incursions, economics of war, , youth’s interest in military recruitment, and the current turmoil in Srinagar.  

An exhibition was also put up in the campus to showcase the valour and sacrifice of Indian troops during the conflict. The exhibition re-created the battle ground in the various sectors and the rough mountainous terrain.