They would have been men in their fifties and sixties today, greying and wise, had they been alive. Some would have been Colonels and Generals in the Army, other senior Non-Commissioned Officers. They would have had grown up children, some married off and maybe some would even have had grandchildren to play around. That was not to be. They stay forever young; starry-eyed soldiers and officers, martyred on the freezing snow-capped heights of Kargil defending their motherland.

Twenty-five years ago, a tactical operation ordered secretly by Pakistan's Generals to occupy heights in Kargil flared into a war they hadn't expected. It led to defeat and embarrassment, and triggered events that culminated in the country's third military coup in 50 years with General Pervez Musharraf grabbing power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12, 1999. As many as 527 Indian defence forces personnel martyred in the Indian Army's 'Operation Vijay', losing their lives while evicting Pakistani soldiers and irregulars from the country's soil.

The Kargil War remains a watershed moment in India's history

Kargil was India's first televised war. Taken by surprise, the occupation of the frozen heights by Pakistan's army and irregulars threw up a massive challenge as India had focussed on economic recovery after its 1991 financial crisis and had been pursuing a peace agenda under the Vajpayee government. Stocks of ammunition and military hardware were low. The Chief of the Army Staff General V.P. Malik had to publicly accept that 'we will fight with what we have' while replying to a journalist who asked how Indian Army was going to fight in the face of its weapons and equipment shortages. Kargil War remains a watershed moment in India's history.

As India prepares to commemorate its victory in Kargil, for some of us veterans, it reminds of painful loss of comrades at arms. There are legions of bravery and sacrifice on the battlefield. There is Major Padmapani Acharya, Maha Vir Chakra (Posthumous) of Odisha, after whom the Army welfare Housing (AWHO) colony in Bhubaneswar is named. Son of a Wing Commander, Acharya was in command of a Company of 2 Raj Rif. On June 28, 1999, he was assigned the formidable task of capturing an enemy position in Tololing which was heavily fortified, strongly held and covered with mines and sweeping machine gun and artillery fire. In this daring assault, he was seriously injured. Despite heavy injuries and unable to move, he ordered his men to leave him and charge at the enemy while he continued to fire at the enemy. The enemy position was finally over-run and the objective was captured. He, however, succumbed to his injuries after completion of the mission.

The Kargil conflict, more than anything else, reinstated the Indian Army to its rightful status in the public minds of being the finest fighting force in Asia

Acharya wrote to his father at the outbreak of war, a letter his father would receive after his death; "Dear Papa... don't worry about casualties - it's a professional hazard beyond our control. At least it is for a good cause. Tell mamma that combat is an honour of a lifetime and I could not think of anything less. What better way to serve the nation? Tell a story a day from the Mahabharata to Charu (his wife), so that your grandchild imbibes good values." His daughter, Aparajita, was born a few months after his death.

"Chankya...it's Sher Shah reporting!! We've captured post! Yeh dil maange more!" These were the words of Captain Vikram Batra as he reported to his Commanding Officer through a wireless that Point 5140, Tiger Hill, had been taken back. This was June 20, 1999, about a week before he was killed in action trying to recapture Point 4875. Awarded the Param Vir Chakra, there are umpteen Ted Talks on him. A runaway hit biopic "Shershah" captures his heroics on the battlefield as well as his poignant love life Dimple Cheema whom he met during their college days at the Punjab University in Chandigarh. They were never married. Yet, Dimple Cheema never married anyone else and decided to stay his widow. His memories were enough for her, their love eternal.

The Kargil Vijay Divas is an apt occasion to sound a clarion call for our countrymen to reach out to the nearest families of those that stand guard at the frontiers braving snow storms and blizzards

The Kargil conflict, more than anything else, reinstated the Indian Army to its rightful status in the public minds of being the finest fighting force in Asia, after the by-then fading images from the bad dream that was Sri Lanka. Initial progress was slow and cumbersome due to the frozen heights and lack of adequate fire power to support. But almost the entire arsenal of Bofors medium guns and ammunition in the country was marshalled to turn the tide. Imagine the impact on the entrenched enemy when a hundred guns opened up unleashing their fire and fury on Tololing, Tiger Hill and Pt4150, a frozen lake on top threw up steam and hardened bunkers were blown to smithereens. The Indian artillery fired over 2,50,000 shells, bombs and rockets during the Kargil conflict. Approximately 5,000 artillery shells, mortar bombs and rockets were fired daily from 300 guns, mortars and MBRLs while 9,000 shells were fired the day Tiger Hill was regained. During the peak period of assaults, on an average, each artillery battery fired over one round per minute for 17 days continuously. Such high rates of fire over long periods had not been witnessed anywhere in the world since the WW II.

It's 25 years since the guns fell silent. As we pay homage to the martyrs and recount their supreme sacrifice, it is also an occasion to reflect whether we as a country and as a society treat our armed forces veterans with care, compassion and respect they deserve. Sepoy Satpal Singh of 8 SIKH killed Pakistani Captain Karnal Sher Khan and three others in five minutes on July 6, 1999 despite taking four bullets in the operation to capture Tiger Hill. Satpal made headlines in 2019 after receiving a double promotion to ASI in Punjab police after media reports highlighting his plight of being a traffic police constable despite his Vir Chakra. There are numerous others, old parents, orphaned children and widowed young women of fallen soldiers who face the brunt of official apathy and societal neglect. The Kargil Vijay Divas is an apt occasion to sound a clarion call for our countrymen to reach out to the nearest families of those that stand guard at the frontiers braving snow storms and blizzards. Make them feel that you care!