Paying tribute to the Kargil War martyrs on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the war was imposed on India and we were backstabbed by Pakistan. However, India is ready to cross the Line of Control (LoC) to maintain its honour and dignity. He also called upon civilians to be ready to support the soldiers in such a situation.
“After winning the Kargil War India resisted crossing the Line of Control (LoC) keeping obligations towards international law and its commitment to these. But, in future India will cross LoC if provoked. There will be no hesitation in doing that,” Defence Minister warned Pakistan in no uncertain terms of any mischief in future.
Singh was speaking at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Kargil on the occasion of the 24th Kargil Vijay Diwas. The Defence Minister flew down to Drass to lay a wreath to honour Kargil War heroes who laid down their lives in the 1999 Kargil War, at the National War Memorial. He was accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Anil Chauhan and the three Chiefs of the Armed Forces.
Citing the example of the Russia-Ukraine war, he said the war has been going on for more than a year because civilians have stepped-in and are participating in the war.
The Minister further said, “Whenever there has been a war situation, our people have always supported the forces but that support has been indirect. I urge the people to be ready to support the soldiers directly in the battlefield if the need arises.”
“We can go to any extreme to maintain the honour and dignity of the country… if that includes crossing the LoC, we are ready to do that,” he said.
The Indian Army had launched a fierce counteroffensive to push back Pakistani forces that had stealthily occupied important heights in Ladakh region, in 1999.
Ravi Shankar in Drass, Kargil
