NE NEWS SERVICE
JAMMU, JULY 25
To commemorate the 22nd Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Indian Army undertook two mega bike rallies traversing more than 1,000 km in treacherous mountains of the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh, converging at the historic Kargil War Memorial in Drass to pay homage to the martyrs.
2nd phase of rally commences on 22 Jul 21 fm Leh to Drass & will be led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, GOC, Fire & Fury Corps
Expedition will converge with Dhruva Kargil Ride at Drass on 23 Jul 21 to commemorate #KargilVijayDiwas2021 @NorthernComd_IA@adgpi @ANI @PIB_India @toi @Reuters pic.twitter.com/894rQVh6OK
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) July 23, 2021
Leading one of the contingents was the northern army commander Lieutenant General Y K Joshi, who is also a Kargil war hero.
“How is the josh?” Lt General Joshi asked in a team huddle just before the bikers crossed the dangerous Zojila pass, which is at 1,1649 feet, and received a prompt reply of “High Sir”.
On the eve of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the Army, which has been sharing pictures and videos of the unique rally that is being held as a tribute to the Kargil bravehearts, posted online a video of the interaction.
“When Army Commander leads from the front, the Josh has to be Sky high! ” it said on Twitter.
“Now we will have the easiest portion … As we climb up Zojila on way to Ladakh, (you should) take care and be careful. Go slow”, Lt Gen Joshi says in the video.
Kargil war was declared over on July 26, 1999, after Indian soldiers pushed back Pakistani troops, a bulk of them drawn from the neighbouring country’s Northern Light Infantry, from the captured peaks in Kargil.
#SwarnimVijayVarsh Vijay Mashal reached Uttarlai on 24th Jul
Gp Capt V Agarwal Stn Cdr Air Force Stn received the #VictoryFlame with full honours.
Events included Last Mile Run, Wreath laying & salutation with National Anthem#HarKaamDeshKeNaam@SpokespersonMoD @adgpi @PIBJaipur pic.twitter.com/MXeqh6RETi— PRO Jaipur MoD (@PRODefRjsthn) July 25, 2021
The day is observed as ”Kargil Vijay Diwas” to commemorate India’s victory.
The Dhruva Kargil riders comprise of 75 bikes and a contingent was flagged off from the Udhampur-based Dhruva war memorial by Param Vir Chakra awardee Subedar Sanjay Kumar.
The main segment with 25 bike riders was flagged off from Udhampur on Thursday and is being led by Lt Gen Joshi.
Lt Gen Joshi had said the motive behind the bike rally is to remember the fallen heroes during operation Vijay and revive, rekindle and invigorate the spirit of patriotism among the youths.
The Army Commander was also joined by Lieutenant General P G K Menon, Lieutenant General D P Pande and Lieutenant General M V Suchindra Kumar — the three Corps Commanders of 14, 15 and 16 Corps, respectively.
Two major generals, four brigadiers, 62 two officers, six women, four wards, three civilians, one JCO and 15 other ranks participated in the rally.
The rally is sponsored by Jawa Classics motorcycle company in honour of 22nd Kargil Vijay Diwas and 75 years of India’s independence.