Rajnath to join Vijay Diwas event on Wednesday

A two-day event to mark the 24th Vijay Diwas will begin in Drass on Tuesday, commemorating India's triumph in the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan.

Preparations are underway for the event at the War Memorial in Drass with final touches being added.

The event will be graced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Singh will arrive on Wednesday to pay homage to the jawans who laid down their lives for the nation.

The families of the martyred soldiers make it a point to visit the memorial each year on the occasion. Many of them have already arrived here for this year's event.

The main event to mark the Vijay Diwas and commemorate the jawans' martyrdom will begin on Tuesday evening with floral tributes at the memorial, where many current and former top Army officers will lay wreaths.

That ceremony will be followed by a memorial service and a visit to the 'Hut of Remembrance' -- a museum constructed adjacent to the memorial.

The event will also include the lighting of lamps and a prayer service, followed by the traditional pipe band and static band display and the Beating Retreat.

On Monday, many tourists visited the War Memorial on the eve of the Vijay Diwas.

"We are visiting the memorial for the first time. We have been wanting to come here and feel very lucky that we have," Amit Singh, a visitor from Bhopal, told PTI.

He said the visit was inspirational.

"Whenever we see any such things related to our Army -- especially this is one of the major areas where we have to put in a lot of effort, we have a lot of martyrs as well -- this gives us a lot of inspiration as Indians. We salute our bravehearts," Singh, who arrived with his family, said.

Dependra, a visitor from Madhya Pradesh, said he got goosebumps when he entered the memorial.

Having lived in London for a while, Deependra is in India on a vacation.

"I missed coming here two years back but made it a point to come this time. I told myself that I won't miss (visiting) this place. There are many films that have been made where we get to see heroic acts but this experience is beyond those movies. We get goosebumps here," he said.

Deependra said it is a different feeling compared to watching it on TV.

"When you enter here, it is a totally different feeling. It is really great to see this. One should definitely come here to get this feeling. One won't be able to get this feeling sitting on a couch, seeing this programme… Everyone should come here," he said.