Kargil Vijay Diwas: When former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced Kargil victory even before Vijay Diwas

A war ensued between India and Pakistan in the Kargil district of Kashmir and other parts along the Line of Control (LoC) in the summer of 1999.

Pakistani Infiltration was first reported in the region by local shepherds in early days May which then escalated into a six-week-long full-blown conflict between the two nations resulting in the deaths of about 1,000 combatants on both sides.

By May-end that year, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had hinted that a ‘war-like’ situation was building up in the high-altitude region.

The Army with its ‘Operation Vijay’ and the Air Force with its ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ had joined forces to weed out the infiltrators, a valiant battle fought 18,000 feet above sea level.

Read: 21 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas: How the Indian army defeated enemies

One peculiar thing about the end of the war was that the poet prime minister had declared the success of the operation on July 14, days before it was formally closed. The Operation officially drew to a close on July 26.

The war had raged on for over a month with no clear resolution in sight as the first meet between India’s foreign minister Jaswant Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz in Delhi ended in a deadlock on June 12.

It was only after former US President Bill Clinton stepped in and asked then Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to pull out of the region that Sharif on July 12, after over a month of conflict, in a televised address announced the withdrawal of Pakistani troops.

While the battle of political diplomacy was being played out, the battlefield was blazing hot throughout with the re-capturing of various points like Tiger Hill Jubar Heights, peaks in Batalik, among others by the Indian troops.

Also read: President Kovind, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh pay tributes to martyrs, commemorate 21st Kargil Vijay Diwas

On paper, Pakistan had pulled out of the region but the conclusion of the entire operation was a gradual one that ended on July 26 – the Kargil Vijay Diwas.

The bus trip and the hug that wasn't enough

In February 1999, to thaw the tensions between the two countries, Vajpayee had also taken a bus ride to Lahore during a peace initiative and started the Delhi-Lahore Bus Service. On his trip to Lahore, a hug that was shared between him and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif become a symbol of bonhomie. The Lahore Declaration was signed during this trip.

"I bring the goodwill and hope of my fellow Indians who seek abiding peace and harmony with Pakistan... I am conscious that this is a defining moment in South Asian history and I hope we will be able to rise to the challenge," Vajpayee had said upon arrival at Lahore to a rousing welcome.

The Kargil war, however, ensued less than three months after this visit.

(With inputs from PTI)