The Kargil War of 1999 makes every Indian proud. It had ended in India’s ferocious and overwhelming victory against the nuclear armed Pakistan but on this day humanity had also failed in many ways. Operation Vijay took place nineteen years ago but we feel its awful ripples resonate even today across the country and across its borders. The war had impacted our lives in more than one way. Though we were only kids back then, it filled us with the dread of war at the country borders. It instilled this feeling that we are always in a war with Pakistan even though there isn’t any battle. As we commemorate this day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is incredibly proud today of the unsung war heroes. When HotFridayTalks.com had a word with today’s youth, this is what they recollected from that time.
Image Credit: Bishal Chanda
Bishal Chanda, who was 5 years old at that time, recollects “The Kargil war inspired me to want to join the army. Because of movies based on that, I wanted to join the army. And honestly speaking, that’s when I started hating Pakistan.”
Image Credit: Nivedita Rath
Nivedita Rath was 11 years old back then. “I remember the feeling about how Pakistan backstabbed us and supported the terrorists. This did impact our economy too. I remember donating Rs. 100 in school which was sent to PM’s fund for the war” she says.
Image Credit: Pratish Amin
Pratish Amin was merely a kid to remember anything at all. But when he grew up to learn about this, he felt, “this was an important war coz it showed that no matter how difficult the war was logistically, Indian army showed it has the capability to Destroy the enemy and more importantly doesn’t take any chance allowing Pak to infiltrate. So, it strengthened my trust on our army.”
Image Credit: Moumistha Paul
Moumistha Paul says, “Though I was very young to remember anything, I think it had a great impact on our economy and hence impacted us too. I really feel sorry for the huge loss of lives as well as our resources.”
Image Credit: Avik Mitra
Avik Mitra, who was a 5 year old kid then, says “I hardly remember anything of that time, which shows, how efficient our soldiers at the border were. Unlike life in the Middle East, where even the newborn kid is aware of bombs and gunshots, it’s our soldiers who sacrifice their lives at the borders to help us enjoy a peaceful life.”
Image Credit: Prangya P Das
Prangya P Das, was a young 11 year old girl and she recollects, “My mom would always remain quiet and shed her tears secretly. She used to offer her prayers to Shivji daily. Later we came to know, our maternal uncle, Khirod Kumar Das, was at the war front. I remember he had sent a letter to my mother and asks us to pray for him. Luckily, he returned back safe after the war was over.”
Image Credit: Shreyan Saha
Shreyan Saha says, “Although I was a kid, I was excited to know that our soldiers are fighting. Always wanted to find out what happened. At that moment I used to think that each country has to take over other countries and grow big. So I used to think that this was India’s first war. We will win it and slowly conquer the world. I used to buy all those toy army action figures and try to imitate the scenes from the Kargil war on my own. In the toy fights I created I always overpowered India and made it victorious over the enemy team, which was Pakistan.”
So, out of all those memories, one thing that’s quite common is that these young people were kids back then, but due to our brave soldiers at Kargil, the war had very little effect on their lives in general. Apart from that, it set Pakistan as an evil force permanently on their minds!
