<span style="color: #222222;">The 20th Anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas is being celebrated across the country today. The central theme of this year's celebrations is 'Remember, Rejoice and Renew'. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The day marks the victory of Indian armed forces in Operation Vijay in 1999, when they evicted the infiltrators backed by Pakistani army from high outposts in Kargil sector. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Kargil war was fought for more than 60 days and ended with India regaining control of all the previously held territory. The victory of Tiger Hill was one of the crucial achievements in the 60- day long conflict.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the brave soldiers of the Indian Army who laid down their lives protecting their motherland. </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' The Prime Minister also shared on twitter some photographs of his Kargil visit in 1999 and described his interaction with soldiers as unforgettable.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, three service chiefs along with three Service Vice Chiefs paid homage to the Kargil Soldiers by laying wreath at the National war memorial in New Delhi. Tributes were also paid to war heroes in the Lok Sabha. </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives protecting the nation, 20 years ago, in Kargil. </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' The celebrations of 20th Anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas began in Delhi on the 14th of this month. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Victory Flame traversed through eleven towns and cities and finally reached Dras. At Drass, the victory flame was received from Major DP Singh and passed on to Param Veer Chakra awardee Yogendra Yadav and then to Army Chief Bipin Rawat to merge at Kargil War Memorial with eternal flame. </span><br />''