Between May and July 2024, marking the Silver Jubilee of Operation Vijay—the Indian Army’s successful military mission during the Kargil conflict in 1999—a unique commemorative initiative was launched: a nationwide tree plantation drive to honour each of the 527 Army personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice in that operation.

The initiative was undertaken by Oceanic Divas, a group dedicated to environmental conservation and community service. The organisation was founded by Wing Commander A.C. Rajkhowa (Retd), who serves as Consulting Director; his daughter Varsha Rajkhowa, a champion scuba diver and environmental advocate; Steaffy Shaji, another accomplished scuba diver and Managing Director; and Salil Malhotra, the Marketing Director.

The campaign carries the evocative slogan "Zara Yaad Karo Qurbani" (Remember the Sacrifice), a line immortalised in Lata Mangeshkar’s iconic patriotic song Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon.

Contributing  to military healthcare

This initiative is also a tribute to the late Mrs Rupa Rajkhowa—wife of Wg Cdr Rajkhowa and mother of Varsha and Devyani Rajkhowa—who passed away after a prolonged illness. During her treatment at Command Hospital, Pune, the family resolved to contribute meaningfully to India’s military healthcare infrastructure. Since then, Oceanic Divas has donated medical equipment to Command Hospital Pune and Military Hospital Jaisalmer, and conducted cognitive development sessions for differently abled children at Pune’s military medical facilities.

The idea of a tree plantation campaign emerged during their visit to Kargil in June 2024, where they planted saplings near the Kargil airport with support from local residents. Later, on June 5, World Environment Day, they joined a Ladakh-based NGO in a Himalayan Clean-Up Drive in Drass, near the Kargil War Memorial. These activities deepened their engagement with the legacy of the fallen soldiers and sparked the vision of a pan-India initiative—planting 527 saplings, each representing a soldier lost in the conflict.

Following this, the plantation drive was extended to several cities including Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Leh, Pune, Delhi, and Goalpara (Assam).

Planting 20,000 saplings

In 2025, the campaign was launched in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, at the Zila Sainik Kalyan and War Widows Hostel, supported by the Rajasthan Forest Department and Zila Sainik Kalyan Jodhpur. The team collaborated with local authorities to ensure that the saplings were planted responsibly and sustainably. Oceanic Divas now aims to plant over 20,000 saplings across India under this initiative.

This effort is especially moving, considering the magnitude of lives lost in the Kargil conflict. In the 77-day Operation Vijay, India lost 527 soldiers—more than the casualties in the 14-month-long 1947–48 Jammu & Kashmir war, the 23-day Indo-Pak war of 1965, or even the 13-day 1971 war that led to the liberation of Bangladesh.

The disproportionately high number of casualties in Kargil was due to a delayed response; the Pakistani Army had infiltrated Indian territory nearly eight months before India launched its counteroffensive. By then, enemy forces had fortified their positions on steep mountain slopes, and Indian troops had to undertake perilous uphill assaults under intense enemy fire.

The Rajkhowas’ project is not only a heartfelt tribute to the fallen heroes but also a call to action—reminding us that remembrance must come with responsibility, reflection, and resilience.

(The author is a former spokesperson for the Indian Army and Defence Ministry. He can be contacted at wordsword02@gmail.com, LinkedIn, Twitter/X: @ColAnilBhat8252)