In remembrance of the fallen · Kargil, 1999
Names across
the heights.
Follow 24 selected names through eight campaign chapters. They form one narrative path through a much larger roll of honour; the Chakra opens the wall around each group.
This first edition also carries one family remembrance, beginning with Captain Saurabh Kalia.
How the war began · May 1999
The heights had been occupied.
Intruders crossed the Line of Control and occupied commanding positions above the Kargil–Drass sector. From the ridgelines, they threatened the road connecting Kashmir and Ladakh.
Patrols sent into the high country revealed the scale of the intrusion. India launched Operation Vijay to recover the positions—an ascent fought at extreme altitude, across exposed rock and snow.
- May 1999
- Kargil–Drass sector
- Operation Vijay
The war unfolded across several fronts.
From Mushkoh and Dras through Kaksar and Batalik toward Turtuk, troops fought to recover commanding heights. The Srinagar–Leh road below made those positions strategically vital.
Schematic · not to scale. Geography based on the official Kargil Vijay Diwas campaign diagram.
Chapter 1 of 8: The first patrol. Names brought forward: Captain Saurabh Kalia, Sepoy Arjun Ram, Sepoy Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Sepoy Bhika Ram, Sepoy Moola Ram, Sepoy Naresh Singh.
- 01 The first patrol
- 02 Operation Safed Sagar
- 03 The Batalik battles
- 04 The road through Tololing
- 05 From Turtuk to Dras
- 06 Knoll and Black Rock
- 07 The Batalik heights
- 08 The final heights
How it ended · 26 July 1999
The positions were recovered.
After more than two months of fighting, Indian forces recovered the occupied positions and the intruders were evicted or withdrew behind the Line of Control. Operation Vijay had achieved its objective.
The cost remains inseparable from the victory. Official accounts record 527 Indian soldiers killed. Every 26 July, Kargil Vijay Diwas remembers their courage and sacrifice.
- 26 July 1999
- Positions restored
- Kargil Vijay Diwas
One path through a larger remembrance
Twenty-four names, held within many more.
These 24 selected stories are not a complete roll of honour and do not rank sacrifice. They stand within the larger remembrance of all who laid down their lives during Operation Vijay.