26th Kargil Vijay Diwas: Mother Finds Solace In Land Where Her Son Laid Down His Life For Country

Drass, Jul 25 : A cold breeze gently passes through the Lamochan view point in this picturesque town in Kargil district of Ladakh, where a sombre gathering has been organised to pay homage to the martyrs of the 1999 Kargil War.
The sunlight kisses the naked peaks of the Drass sector overlooking the Valley, once a battleground between the Indian Army and the Pakistani intruders disguised as Kashmiri terrorists.
In the gathering, Beena Mahat stands out from the rest, including the brave soldiers and the families, friends and relatives of the fallen heroes of the Kargil War.
The 26th Kargil Vijay Diwas, which marks the victory of India over Pakistan in the 1999 war, will be observed on Saturday – a day which holds deeper meaning for those who lost their loved ones.
One such mother is Beena.
Sifting through her family album, she recalls how her son became the target of the enemy’s bullets in the war.
“I am finding a sense of peace at this place where my son laid down his life for the honour of the country. I have come here for the first time, and I want this to be the last also,” she says.
Beena, a resident of Lucknow, lost her son Sunil Jung Mahat, a rifleman, who made the supreme sacrifice at the battlefield.
Twenty-five years after her son laid down his life fighting Pakistani intruders in the decisive battle of Drass in 1999, Beena has come all the way to find peace in the land where her son achieved martyrdom.
Holding an old album of pictures of her son, she mustered courage to visit the Drass sector, which turned into a battleground 25 years ago. Tears roll down her cheeks as she sees her younger son’s pictures.
“I will miss my son till my last breath. His memories will keep haunting me. I am attending the Kargil Vijay Diwas for the first time. God knows how my son survived here and fought the enemies. I don’t know what this place looked like 25 years ago. He was so young when he fought the greatest battle with Pakistan,” she says.
Recalling the day when her world changed forever, Beena says, “In those days, there was no phone or internet. I heard about my son on the radio. I got anxious and switched on the television. I kept watching TV for days until the day my son’s body reached our home.” “Whether it is Dussehra, Diwali, Holi, Rakshabandhan or any other festival, I remember my son. I look at his pictures and think that had he been alive, he would have been married with kids. I don’t know what wrong I did that I had to lose my son to war.
“At the same time, I also feel proud that my son lost his life in the line of duty. There’s no bigger achievement. Today, people know me because of him. Otherwise nobody would care,” she says.
“I am sure he’s watching me from above. I want to tell his father, two sisters and niece that we are doing fine. I pray his soul rests in peace,” says Beena, as her eyes swell with tears. (Agencies)

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