Parents of Kargil martyrs to organise 9-day 'yagna' at war site

New Delhi, July 16 (UNI) To mark the 7th anniversary of 'Vijay Diwas', more than 500 family members of 1999 Kargil martyrs would organise a nine-day 'sarva dharma prarthana' at Drass in Kargil this year, beginning July 18.

The 'shahadat mahayagna' to be held at Tiger Hill, Batra Top, Battalik Hill and Tololing in Kargil, is to mark the sacrifices of those who participated in the 'Kargil War' that saw India wrest control of the mountain heights from Pakistan which it had occupied.

''The July 18-26 'all-religion prayer' is being organised to remind the present generation of the sacrifices of young men for the country's sake invoking the same sense of patriotism -- in whatever field they are,'' said G L Batra, father of Paramvir Chakra awardee late Captain Vikram Batra, addressing mediapersons here.

The whole idea is to make Drass (Kargil) a living teerth sthal (pilgimage site) for the youth to take inspiration from, he added.

Former Inspector General (BSF) A S Jasrotiya, father of the late Capt Ajay Jasrotia said, ''we want the government to recognise the sacrifices made by these 'modern heroes' and find them a place in history books.'' This will inspire more youth to be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their motherland whenever the need arose and infuse in them the pride of nationalism, he said adding ''As we don't have any modern day heroes after Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Subhash Chandra Bose era, these martyrs could fill the gap.'' Swami Balak Yogeshwar Das of the 'Ati Vishnu Mahayagna Samiti', under whose auspicies the 'mahayagna' is being organised, said the move aims to spread peace among all communities and people in the region.

''Prayers are being organised with the help of civil adminstration and the Army, whose annual afforts to commemorate the occasion we were trying to supplement through this token gesture,'' he said.

I have extended the invitation to President A P J Abdul Kalam and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to join us in the 'all religion prayer' and help spread the message of peace and tranqulity, he added.

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