NEW DELHI: To commemorate 26 years of India’s victory in the 1999 Kargil War, MY Bharat (Mera Yuva Bharat), under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, is organising a solemn ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas Padyatra’ on July 26 in Drass, Kargil. The event will be led by Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya, along with the Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth.
The padyatra, which is expected to draw more than 1,000 participants, including youth volunteers, armed forces personnel, war veterans, families of martyrs, and civil society members, will cover a distance of 1.5 kilometres. The tribute walk will begin at 7:00 a.m. from the grounds of Himabass Public High School, Drass, and culminate at the Government Higher Secondary School, Bhimbet.
Following the padyatra, both ministers, accompanied by 100 selected youth volunteers, will visit the Kargil War Memorial to pay floral tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the Kargil conflict. A formal wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the memorial, located at the foothills of the Tololing range, one of the key battle zones of the 1999 war.
Adding to the commemorative spirit, 26 women bikers from the Shakti Udgosh Foundation, who have completed a cross-country motorbike rally in honour of the fallen soldiers, will be felicitated by the Union Minister at the memorial.
In a gesture linking patriotic memory with environmental consciousness, a plantation drive will also be carried out during the event under the “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign. The initiative is part of the broader Viksit Bharat @2047 vision and aims to encourage youth to see environmental stewardship as integral to national development.
In the run-up to the main event, MY Bharat has mobilised youth across the region through an array of community-based activities such as essay writing, elocution, painting competitions, and Yuva Samvads (youth dialogues). These pre-padyatra events are designed to nurture civic consciousness, spotlight stories of military courage, and cultivate a sense of emotional proximity with the armed forces.
The padyatra itself is part of a larger series of Viksit Bharat Padyatras being held across the country. These marches aim to inspire national pride, foster unity among young people, and embed the ideals of public service and patriotism into the country’s youth culture. The initiative also aligns with the Prime Minister’s call for Jan Bhagidari—people’s participation—in nation-building.
According to officials, the aim is not only to honour the memory of the brave soldiers who fought in Kargil, but also to activate a deeper emotional and civic commitment among India’s youth—referred to as the Amrit Peedhi—towards shaping a strong, inclusive, and developed India.
The Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed every year on July 26, marks the day Indian armed forces successfully recaptured strategic positions infiltrated by Pakistani troops in the high-altitude region of Kargil in Ladakh. The war, which lasted over two months in the summer of 1999, resulted in the loss of hundreds of Indian soldiers, whose courage and sacrifice continue to be remembered as a symbol of national resilience.
This year’s tribute in Drass—one of the coldest inhabited places on earth and the site of intense combat during the war—will serve as a reminder of the enduring significance of national unity and collective memory. With an intergenerational blend of participation from veterans to young citizens, the event aims to affirm the ideals of service, sacrifice, and patriotic responsibility in the national consciousness.
Officials from MY Bharat said that these padyatras are designed not as rituals but as immersive and participatory acts of remembrance that forge lasting bonds between the past and the present, between military service and civilian duty, and between individual identity and national purpose.
The July 26 padyatra in Drass will be supported by the Ladakh administration, the Indian Army, and several youth organisations working across the region. Special arrangements have been made to accommodate local families of martyrs and school students who will be invited to witness the tributes, interact with veterans, and participate in cultural and educational sessions scheduled throughout the day.
As India enters the 26th year since the Kargil victory, the message from Drass is clear: remembrance must be active, national pride must be inclusive, and the responsibility to honour sacrifice must be shared by every citizen, especially the youth entrusted with building the future of a Viksit Bharat.
