Earlier it
was known as Purig ~ now in news and apt
to be remembered by the entire Nation today – 26th July 2017.
Starting in
1590, the Gyalpo of Leh extended his
control over Western Tibet. Between 1640–1675, Purig came under the control of
his grandson Bde-ldan-rnam-rgyal, along with Zanskar and other parts of the
modern Ladakh Division. Centuries later, in 1822, Raja Gulab Singh of the Dogra
dynasty was anointed as the Raja of Jammu by the Sikh emperor Ranjit Singh. In
1834, Gulab Singh sent his general Zorawar Singh Kahluria to conquer the
territory between Jammu and the Tibetan border. Marching through Kishtwar,
Zorawar Singh reached Purig and defeated the Bhotia leader Mangal at Sankoo in
August. Kartse, the then capital of Purig, fell into Zorawar Singh's hands, who
built a fort there before advancing towards Leh.
Following the First
Anglo-Sikh War and the Treaty of Amritsar (1846), Gulab Singh was made an
independent Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The princely state of Jammu and
Kashmir, as it eventually came to be called, was organised into two large
provinces, Jammu and Kashmir, and two frontier ilaqas, Ladakh and Gilgit. Ladakh
was a wazarat (district) with a governor called wazir-e-wazarat. It had three
tehsils: Leh, Kargil and Skardu. Initially,
the Wazir used to spend four months each at Leh, Kargil
and Skardu. But shifting the entire staff so often proved too exhausting
and, so, the shifting was eventually limited to Leh and Skardu. The city of Kargil always had a tehsil
headquarters.
Deepchand
Prakhyat grew up in Pabra village of district Hisar in Haryana. His grandfather
raised him with fascinating stories of the wars of 1947 and 1965. “He told us
how food packets were dropped from the sky, people were confined to their homes
and how men in uniform patrolled the neighbourhood and the soldiers guarded the
borders,” says Deepchand. When he grew up, he wanted to wear the army uniform. Deepchand
started as a gunner in the 1889 Light Regiment. His first posting was in Jammu
and Kashmir during the peak of militancy. He was stationed in Gulmarg when his
regiment was ordered to move to Kargil. (interesting narration in the Quint
today on this admirable warrior)
We have seen Cine heroes donning role of Army Jawans and applaud
them too – the Nation needs to read and
know more about the real heroes who protect the Nation. In our history books, we have read about 3
battles of Panipat, Plassey, Arcot and more ….. the text books should have the
battles of Tololing and Kargil ! ~ on every 26th of July, I circulate something on
Kargil – (with a tinge of sadness that not all media remembers, however this
year appears different with the Prime
Minister himself and others remembering Vijay Diwas)
They'd promised their families they'd come back soon. They more than
kept their word. Went as mere men. Came back as heroes in coffins ~ * they gave
their Today for our Tomorrow* 26th July, today, is a very important day for
the Nation and all of us……. Today is the ~Kargil Vijay Diwas, the
day of successful completion of Operation Vijay. On this day, 26
July 1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been
lost to Pakistani intruders. The Kargil war was fought for more than 60 days,
ended on 26 July. This did result in the loss of lives but not the honour
of the Nation.
Now
getting back to that article in Quint on Deepchand Prakhyat : On 5 May 1999, a few shepherds had reported
spotting Pakistani infiltrators in Baltik. Armed with 120 mm motors, Deepchand
and his troop marched to fight the enemy that had entered the Indian side of
Line of Control (LoC) . “We carried heavy arms and ammunition on our shoulders.
We fired and moved with them on difficult mountainous terrain. At certain
points the cliffs were almost perpendicular,” he said.
We
didn’t crave food. We wanted bullets. My fellow soldiers and I would ask the
person who got us rations to bring us more ammunition instead. In
a war, you don’t feel hungry. For soldiers, nation
comes first. We didn’t have mobile phones then. The only point of
contact with the outside world was the Vividh Bharti. I remember listening to
their special program for the army brethren.
How heroic and one really would like to fall at the feet of this great
hero !
Eighteen years ago,
on July 26, India emerged victorious in the Kargil conflict with Pakistan. In
order to commemorate India’s win in the war, the Kargil Vijay Diwas is
celebrated every year. Operation Vijay
was launched by Indian Army to flush out the intruders. More than 10,000
soldiers and officers of the Bihar Regiment were deployed to the war front. In
a well planned operation in the Batalik Sector, soldiers of 1 Bihar, in a
fierce fight with the Pakistan Army, captured Point 4268 and Jubar Ridge on
night 06/7 July 1999. 7 July 1999 is a red letter day in the history of the
regiment, as the Jawans of the Bihar Regiment pushed back intruders from Jubar
Hills and point 4268 in Kuker Thang area in Batalik sector.
During the war, the
Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing the Tiger
Hill and other posts as a part of Operation Vijay. The conflict had gained a
lot of attention because of the India-Pakistan relations post 1971 war. In
addition, the rough terrain and high altitude Himalayan regions made the war
more difficult.
While PM Narendra
Modi hailed the bravery of the armed forces and said the day reminds us of
India’s military prowess, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley paid tributes to
martyrs at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Wednesday. Army Chief General
Bipin Rawat, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Force Chief Marshal B.S.
Dhanoa accompanied Jaitley.
More : Deepchand
Prakhyat was a six feet tall, lanky fellow. In the accident, he lost his right
arm and both his legs. Before the accident, he represented Haryana in the 100
metre race. This warrior feels proud of
having done his duty and the Nation owes him greatest respect.
More from Indian
Express - As India is celebrating Kargil Vijay Diwas, its has been learned that
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former Army chief General Pervez
Musharraf had a narrow escape on June 24, 1999. Indian Air Force Jaguar had
targeted Gulteri base and Sharif and Musharraf were present there at that time,
according to Indian Express report. The pilot of the Jaguar was supposed to
drop the bomb but chose not to fire it at the military base, the report says.
An official
document accessed by IE, noted that On 24 June 1999, Jaguar CLDS [Cockpit Laser
Designation System] engaged Point 4388. The document also said the pilot had
lased over Gulteri across LoC but the bomb did not reach the target as it was
released outside the laser basket. Later, it was ascertained that the PM of
Pakistan, Mr Nawaz Sharif, was present at Gulteri when the target was attacked,
according to IE report. The Jaguar that targeted Gulteri base, was not aware of
Sharif and Musharraf’s presence. An Air Commodore, who was airborne at the same
time, however, advised the pilot to not fire at the bomb. The bomb was then
dropped on the Indian side of the LoC. Gulteri, also called Gultari, a forward
administrative base of the Pakistan Army, was at the forefront of providing
logistics support to Pakistani soldiers during the Kargil War.
History could have
been far different !
Jai
Hind, Jai Jawan ~ long live our brave soldiers.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
26th
July 2017.
Pic credit : Wikipedia
commons.
