DU hosts Kargil Vijay Diwas event, Union Minister says ‘Akhand Bharat’ rooted in idea of India

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said Akhand Bharat was rooted in the idea of India.

He said this during an event to mark 26 years of Kargil Vijay Diwas at Delhi University. Emphasising the values that define the nation, he said ‘Akhand Bharat’ would be created only by the values of sacrifice, dedication and valour.

The theme of the event was ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat — Akhand Bharat’, and it was jointly hosted by DU’s Value Addition Course Committee and the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum.

He highlighted the transformation in India’s approach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. “India has gone even further and believes not in paying the price of peace but in extracting the price from those who break the peace. Operation Sindoor has changed the image of India at both military and diplomatic levels. Earlier India was reactive, today India is not only active but also proactive,” the minister said.

Reflecting on the nation’s history, Singh spoke on ignored aspects of the freedom struggle and controversial political decisions. “If then Indian PM Nehru had not declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1947, POK would have been a part of India today and there would have been no problem related to POK.”

Presiding over the event, DU VC Yogesh Singh honoured the war heroes of the 1999 Kargil War, including Captain Vikram Batra and Major Rajesh Singh.

He also commended the lesser-known contributions of civilians like shepherd Tasi Namgya who alerted the Army about Pakistani infiltration. “From Operation Vijay to Operation Sindoor, there have been qualitative changes in India. Today, India does not take long to retaliate. This is the changing India, which takes revenge for Pahalgam in 22 minutes and has the power to postpone the Indus Water Treaty,” Yogesh said.