We forget the date.
Often, we even forget the war.
But freedom never forgets its guardians.
July 26th — Kargil Vijay Diwas.
A day carved not just in the pages of Indian military history,
but in the snow-soaked soil of our nation’s highest battlegrounds.
A day when boys became immortals,
and peaks of stone bore witness to the flames of courage.
26 years have passed.
And yet the silence of those mountains still echoes with the sound of gunfire,
the cries of fallen heroes,
and the heartbeat of every soldier who stood his ground…
so that we could sit in our comfort zones, scrolling, sipping tea.
We forget. They don’t.
They never did.
And even today, in the blistering cold and burning heat,
in jungles, deserts, and glacier heights;
Our soldiers continue to keep watch.
Unseen, unthanked, but never unwilling.
If you ever visit the Ibadat-e-Shahadat Museum @ Srinagar in Badami Bagh Cantonment,
you’ll walk through stories that hit harder than any textbook ever will.
You’ll see faces that never grew old.
Weapons captured, letters preserved,
pain documented, and sacrifice immortalised.
It will make you stop.
It will make you question.
Have I truly earned the breath I take so freely?
And here’s something we all need to start doing more consciously —
We must take our families, our friends, our children — the next generation who will lead this nation in different walks of life to visit these museums, these monuments of remembrance.
We never think twice about planning a weekend at the mall, a vacation, or a staycation.
We make reels, click pictures, chase aesthetics, and even take inspiration from someone who made a better video or used a better caption, just to up our game online.
But we forget these sacred spaces.
We forget the stories carved in stone and framed in courage.
It’s time we take that walk …
the one that leads us not to a shopping cart, but to the soul of the nation.
And in that walk through the museum…
when you stop at a soldier’s last letter,
when you hear of a mission against all odds,
you will feel goosebumps.
You may have a tear in your eye.
And when you step out…
you will feel what it truly means to be Indian.
We only realise the worth of air when it’s taken away.
Much like a soldier’s presence…
unseen in our everyday routines,
but absolutely essential to everything we call “normal”.
The next time you see a soldier,
bow your head, not because you know/do not know how to salute,
but because you know what respect feels like.
They don’t need applause.
Just awareness.
Just dignity.
Just a moment of your gratitude.
Because while we chase deadlines,
meetings, and dreams;
They guard the borders; without asking why.
So that we can decide what matters most in our lives.
On this Kargil Vijay Diwas, don’t just remember —
Feel…
Feel what it means to be Indian because someone else chose to be a soldier.
And if nothing else, make this vow today:
“I shall be a responsible citizen.
I shall honor their sacrifice — not just in words, but in how I live.”
So here’s something every Indian can and must do:
Mark July 26th in your Google Calendar.
Make it recur every year.
Let that reminder pop up not just as a date in history,
but as a call to action— a wake-up to the soul:
“I vow to be a responsible citizen.
I vow to behave like one — with civic sense, integrity, and awareness.”
Because what good is freedom? if we don’t honour the ones who gave it shape!!!
Let today not be a fleeting hashtag.
Let it be a calendar date etched in conscience.
Jai Hind.
” To the silent courage that guards our every breath.
To the ones who stand… so we may move forward.
