New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Post retirement, Lt Gen Mohinder Puri plays a lot of golf to keep himself fit and busy, but 25 years ago the Kargil War hero led the crucial 8 Mountain Division that played a key role in securing and restoring the LoC, and capturing dominating heights in the most inhospitable terrain of Ladakh.
On Friday, the nation joined in marking the silver jubilee of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, as celebrations culminated at Dras amid a patriotic fervour.
Lt Gen (retd) Puri and several other Kargil veterans, who had played a decisive role in the 1999, were recently felicitated by the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan in Delhi.
Speaking at the ‘Kargil Diwas Honours’ hosted earlier by TV9 Network here to mark the 25th anniversary of the Kargil war, the CDS had also said that besides recalling memories of a war, it is also important to look at its aftermath and draw the “right lessons” for the future.
Asked about his memories of the Kargil war, Lt Gen (retd) Puri said, “There are so, many memories. But, the first success we got, that is the biggest memory. The officers and men we lost and that is a disturbing memory.” “Every day, more or less, we remember them. Because they fought with you, for you, under you,” he said.
Lt Gen Puri, who commanded the 8 Mountain Division recalled the major role played by this Army division.
“The 8 Mountain Div played a fantastic role in securing and restoring the Line of Control, capturing very, very dominating heights in the most inhospitable terrain. And, that was due to the bravery, courage, determination of our young officers and men. I salute them for the honour and dignity they brought to the country,” he told PTI.
The general said he would like the youth of India to develop the discipline that the Army represents, even if they don’t join it.
Capt (retd) Yashika Tyagi, who was part of the logistics unit also recalled the defining moments for her during the war.
“For me, personally it was just to be there in that location…. to tell myself to be resilient, to see people who are performing against all odds. Every time, I will see a casualty coming, your heart… We say, never cry or feel sad for a martyr but I actually felt it there in that battlezone that one has to be so proud of that human spirit,” she said.
Capt Tyagi, who was pregnant during the war, says both her sons feel proud of their mother.
She recalled a moving tale from the 1999 war days, “When the battle was in full spate, the commanding officer told me, ‘Yashika, keep a minimum of 25 coffins ready at any time.’ Because, in my ordnance unit, we were preparing coffins from plyboard. So, this was instruction from the commanding officer, so that we could send them in real time. So, when I called my team of carpenters, and shared with them the instructions of the commanding officer, the carpenters told me — ‘we will not make coffins beforehand’.” “Because, to make coffins beforehand would mean ‘we are expecting death for our soldier brothers. We don’t want to. We will make coffins by working day and night and at short notice too, but we will not keep them ready beforehand’,” she recalled.
Brig B M Cariappa, another Kargil hero, from 5 Para Regiment (Special Forces) said the lesson for him from the war is that one needs to be fit and be prepared for any eventuality, all kinds of contingencies, at all points of time.
He said there is always a way to defeat tactics that is brought in by the enemy.
“So, they had laid landmines all over the place. But, the way we actually walked through those landmines, despite so many of being laid over there,” he told PTI.
Special honours were conferred posthumously to two war heroes of Kargil. Neha Dwivedi, daughter of Maj C B Dwiwedi, received it on behalf of the family.
Dwivedi, the co-author of ‘Vijyant At Kargil: The Biography of a War Hero’, said, “Essentially, every braveheart who laid down his life is an equal contribution in the victory of Kargil War and the of the nation so to speak.” Dwivedi, a doctor, says she recalls the day with “some sadness” but also with a “lot of pride”.
“Twenty-five years is a long time, and a good chunk of those 25 years, we recalled it with a sense of loss, sadness perhaps. Because, we were also very young. I was only 12 when we lost him… My mother herself was just in the 30s. And, we have processed the story, retold his story, lived with it, cried with it. And, now is the time, on a day like this I can speak without breaking down,” she said.
“But, we remember him, just like he was was with us yesterday,” she said. PTI KND NB NB
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