 "Kargil Vijay Divas: Rajnath Singh lays wreath in memory of fallen jawans")
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday arrived in Drass in the Kargil district of Ladakh for the 24th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
The day is marked every year to pay homage to the fallen soldiers in the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
The Raksha Mantri laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial here in the memory of the fallen bravehearts in the icy heights of Kargil.
He was chief guest at the sombre commemoration event.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande, too, paid floral tributes to the fallen jawans at the Kargil War Memorial while Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar also laid a wreath in memory of the bravehearts.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan, also laid a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial in tribute to the fallen soldiers in the Kargil conflict.
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Earlier, on Tuesday, the Army held a press briefing on the commemoration event at Lamochen, Drass. The briefing commenced with an audio-visual narration of the battles showcasing the valour and sacrifice of the jawans in the Kargil conflict as it unfolded in 1999.
The conflict, as has been widely documented, pitted the Indian Army jawans against the Pakistani intruders in the rugged and unforgiving heights of Kargil.
In the conflict, which lasted over two months, the Army managed to push back the Pakistani intruders, who had been occupying certain vantage points in Kargil, raising the Tricolour on the territory wrested from the enemy.
The conflict played out in the frontlines in the Dras, Kargil and Batalik sectors of Kargil district.
The sombre commemoration of the jawans, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the conflict, took place in the scenic backdrop of the mountains where they had engaged the Pakistani intruders in fierce battles.
The sombre notes from the military band added to the sombre mood of the soldiers, who gathered for the commemoration of Kargil Vijay Divas.
The event was graced by the presence of the war heroes and Veer Naris, Veer Matas and relatives of the soldiers, who laid down their lives on the line on duty during the conflict.