[aravind84]

Salute the real hero's of the nation. We are living a life only because we know you safeguard us in the border. This salute to the hero's of the past, the present and the future warriors of this country.

[AlphaKilo]

Remembering the Brave Officers and Jawans on this Kargil war day, who gave up their tomorrows for our today.

Jai Hind. Jai Jawan Jai kisan.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

On the occasion of the 13th Kargil Vijay Diwas, please spare a moment today to pay your respects and say a heartfelt thanks to our brothers in arms.

In gratitude & remembrance....

Cheers,
Vikram

Thanks a lot, comfortablynumb, for this thread and for keeping it active .

Public memory is fickle, and I sincerely appreciate your effort to keep these memories alive. We , collectively as a people, should spare a moment to reflect on this , and show our sense our gratitude and respect to the soldiers of our great Nation.

I came across a thought-provoking article, which appeared in 2000, a year after the Kargil War.


Remains Of A War | Soma Wadhwa



Quoting a section of it below... please do read thru the entire article to see some instances of how war can drastically affect the lives of people.

Originally Posted by Outlook Correspondents

Time weakens the most retentive of memories; images that swamp our consciousness one day are fated to slip away into oblivion, giving way to ever-new fetishes and concerns. True to the fickle nature of public memory, an event that so aroused our emotions just a year ago is already but a dim recollection for many today. Perhaps, momentary catharsis is all we asked for - a little patriotism at prime time, to go with dinner. But not so for a little girl in Maharashtra’s Karad township - she will always remember the war at Kargil. She was born the day her father died fighting there on those lonesome peaks last summer.

Twenty-four-year-old Sipahi Madhukar Nikam of Seven Maratha Light Infantry had called up at the local post office just the day before. He’d promised his wife Ujjwala a tour of the icy theatre of battle: "I’ll bring you here after our child is born. You watch me from a safe distance." The very next day, the very same phone brought news of broken promises; a relative who took the call was informed that Nikam had died in battle. Just half an hour later, Ujjwala delivered a daughter.

Now, about a year later, the 21-year-old widow recounts with a steely calm tone how no one had mustered courage enough to break the news to her, she’d known only when the body was brought in the next day. Cutting her reminiscences short, a relative complains of the non-allotment of a petrol pump to the family. Ujjwala pays no heed to the interjection; she seems to intuit that grumbling doesn’t befit a soldier’s widow. She’ll only say things that add to the dignity of his memory: "I’ve named my daughter Vijaya. After Operation Vijay. I want her to become an officer, I want to put her into a good school..."

Like Ujjwala, an excruciatingly long and lonely year later, the women, men and children who lost a crucial part of their own at Kargil are back to rebuilding their lives from scratch. Yes, it’s been a year since the war that so caught the nation’s imagination broke out. In fact, it was exactly this week 12 months ago that the first Indian patrol was sent to the Kaksar area near Kargil after two shepherds reported Pakistani military presence there.

The 50-day war that followed killed 518 Indian soldiers.

Brave men, survived by families marked by the same tenacity. Families who have coped with stoicism and dignity with events that have changed their lives forever, striving to plug the emptiness that fills their days with little, mundane businesses of life. They have managed to find composure despite their misery and personal loss. Not breast-beating or loud lament, but a quiet forbearance unites them. And a pride that rightfully belongs to those who have paid in blood for the nation.
...

[999]

A heart felt gratitude for all those brave men who gave up their life for our peaceful tomorrow. May god be with them.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

Thanks a lot, comfortablynumb, for this thread and for keeping it active .

Public memory is fickle, and I sincerely appreciate your effort to keep these memories alive. We , collectively as a people, should spare a moment to reflect on this , and show our sense our gratitude and respect to the soldiers of our great Nation.

I came across a thought-provoking article, which appeared in 2000, a year after the Kargil War.


Remains Of A War | Soma Wadhwa

Quoting a section of it below... please do read thru the entire article to see some instances of how war can drastically affect the lives of people.

Thanks for sharing this link; it's a very somber and thought provoking article indeed.

I totally agree with you when you say that we as a nation have a very short memory. To be honest, I'm quite cynical that this state of affairs will ever improve because the majority of our countrymen can't seem to think beyond politics, films, cricket and religion. It'd be a minor miracle if we reach a stage when the below quoted lines from the article become a reality:
" Because when a soldier is on the battleground, giving the fight all he’s got, he should have the comfort of knowing someone will take care of his family if anything were to happen to him. And that he won’t stand forgotten on some plaque or park statue."

Cheers,
Vikram

[MSMM]

Nothing but heartfelt gratitude for the brave men.
Salute and god bless

Less said about our collective memories and politicians the better.

[faustus77]

Blue thunder/Comfortably numb
Very good posts and well put.
It is good of you to give Wadhwa,s link.
Visiting the memorial at Drass gives you goose pimples.Touches you to the core.
You mentioned politicians.
Remember Remo's song asking how come politicians dont die on the battlefield.

[mohit]

I can still remember Capt Vikram Batra's interview when he said " yeh dil maange more". Total respect!

Hearing about the conditions our forces operate in (Partly thanks to political apathy and corruption) from a family member is just maddening. To imagine someone fighting for us with less than optimal support from his own country is mind boggling.

[comfortablynumb]

BHPians, on the 14th Kargil Vijay Diwas, please join me in commemorating the memory of our fallen brothers in arms.

I hope we as a nation remedy the sad situation narrated in the article below, sooner rather than later:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/un...ront/1146720/0

In remembrance and gratitude....

Vikram

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

BHPians, on the 14th Kargil Vijay Diwas, please join me in commemorating the memory of our fallen brothers in arms....

Thanks again, comfortablynumb, for keeping the memories alive.

[comfortablynumb]

A friend forwarded me these links today. Good to see that there are institutions and individuals engaged in the task of spreading awareness & fostering respect for our armed forces:

http://www.lakshyafoundation.co.in/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR9bd...ature=youtu.be

(The YouTube interview is in Marathi)

Cheers,
Vikram

[vinay kamath]

Today is Kargil Vijay Diwas ! 15th anniversary ! Remembering our brave Martyrs

[comfortablynumb]

Folks, on the 18th Kargil Vijay Diwas today, please join me in conveying thanks & best wishes to our brothers and sisters in arms, and commemorating their deeds of valour.

Forever in gratitude..

Vikram

[srvm]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Folks, on the 18th Kargil Vijay Diwas today, please join me in conveying thanks & best wishes to our brothers and sisters in arms, and commemorating their deeds of valour.

Forever in gratitude..

Vikram

Thank you, for keeping the memories alive.

[GJ01]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Folks, on the 18th Kargil Vijay Diwas today, please join me in conveying thanks & best wishes to our brothers and sisters in arms, and commemorating their deeds of valour.

Forever in gratitude..

Vikram

Respect for the Armed forces and their ultimate sacrifices. It is also good to see the Indian Army being shown in good light and a lot of features and documentaries being aired on our Armed forces and BSF on channels like National Geographic. These will go a long way in keeping memories of their valor alive for generations.

Jai Hind