Operation Meghdoot completed 40 years of its operation on April 13 in the Indian Army and Indian Air Force service with its sustained role in securing the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.
- Meghdoot was launched on 13 April 1984, when the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) advanced to the Siachen glacier to secure the heights dominating the Northern Ladakh region.
- The operation involved the airlifting of Indian Army soldiers by the IAF and dropping them on the glacial peaks.
- Although the operation began in 1984, IAF helicopters were already operating in the Siachen Glacier since 1978, flying the Chetak helicopters which was the first IAF helicopter to land in the Glacier in October 1978.
- It is known as the highest (around 24,000 feet)) battlefield in the world.
Siachen glacier
- The Siachen glacier demarcates central Asia from the Indian subcontinent, and separates Pakistan from China in the region.
- The Saltoro Ridge of the Siachin glacier serves as a divide that prevents direct linking of PoK with China.
- Siachen also serves as a watchtower for India to keep a deep watch on Gilgit and Baltistan regions of Pakistan.
- After Fedchenko Glacier in Tajikistan, Siachen is the second-longest glacier within Earth’s midlatitudes, which exclude, for example, the continental glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland.
- It is located in located in the Karakoram Range.
