Schoolboy in 2001, Army major meets PM Modi in Kargil

New Delhi, Oct 24: Like every year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Deepavali with the soldiers of the Indian Army. The tradition which he has followed since 2014 when he took over as the PM continued this year as well.

The event this time, however, was emotional. During a 2001 visit to the Sainik School in Balachadi, Gujarat, PM Modi had met with Major Amit, then a student.

22 years on they met again, but the schoolboy is now Major Amit posted in Kargil where the PM this year decided to spend time with the jawans during Diwali.

When they met, they posted with a photograph in which the Major can be seen receiving the then Gujarat CM in 2001.

Addressing the jawans, the PM recalled his visit to Kargil in the aftermath of the war in 1999. The Indian military had back then crushed Pakistan in the war.

The PM said that there has not been a single war with Pakistan when Kargil has not flown the victory flag. This is a symbol of Diwali and the end of terror.

PM Modi has been celebrating Diwali with soldiers every year since 2014 after he took over as the Prime Minister of India. From the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier & with the brave Jawans & Officers of the Armed Forces, I wish all of you a Happy Diwali," he had said in a 2014 tweet.

In 2015, he visited three war memorials in Punjab to honour the success of the Indian Army in the 1965 war. This was also the 50th anniversary of the 1965 war.

In 2016, the PM was in Himachal Pradesh to meet the soldiers near the China border. He held interactions with the personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Dogra Scouts and the Army Sumbodh.

PM Modi in 2017 visited the Gurez Sector in North Kashmir and said that spending time with the forces gave him new energy.

2018 saw the PM visiting Harsil in Uttarakhand where he paid a surprise visit to the troops. This was followed by a visit to the Kedarnath Dham.

In 2019, the PM was at Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and the following year he paid a visit to the post of Longewala where he said that Diwali is complete only when he is with the soldiers.

"I feel privileged that I got to spend Diwali with our brave soldiers in Nowshera, not as Prime Minister but as a member of their family," the PM said in 2021 during his visit to Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir.