Kargil Vijay Diwas: Story of a bomb named 'With Love from Raveena Tandon to Nawaz Sharif'

The famous pictures of an Indian Air Force missile with the words "From Raveena Tandon to Nawaz Sharif" etched on them frequently resurface whenever the anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas is near. 

During the 1999 Kargil war, Pakistani soldiers taunted, "We will leave Kashmir if India gives us Madhuri & Raveena." In response, the Indian Air Force sent a powerful message with warheads labeled, "From Raveena Tandon to Nawaz Sharif." #KargilVijayDiwas #VictoryByFire pic.twitter.com/mLEmzsLeuj

— Swapnanil Chatterjee (@SwatKat0) July 26, 2023

On the occassion of 24th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas we explain why this iconic photo is shared by Indians and what is the story behind that. 

Reportedly, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, shared in an interview that Tandon was his favourite actress. Therefore, the inscription on the Indian Air Force's warhead was intended to tease Sharif and Pakistan Army.

The Indian side had gained an upper hand during the peak of the India-Pakistan Kargil war. When an Indian soldier was killed in action and Indian forces went to retrieve his body, Pakistani soldiers mocked them by saying, "Mare hue ko lejao agar mard ho, nahi to hum inhe de denge Madhuri aur Raveena ko hume de do bas" (Take your dead man and give us Madhuri and Raveena)

Raveena Tandon's reaction on the iconic statement

Earlier, at the time of 22nd Anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas, the star also posted some old photos from her trip to Kargil on Twitter (now X) to honour Kargil Vijay Divas.

#iwasthere #KargilVijayDiwas #kargil pic.twitter.com/OVVgjf2pDm

— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) July 26, 2021

Sharing a picture of her interacting with military personnel Tandon also posted a picture of an IAF MiG-27 and the missile with the aforementioned statement written on it. 

pic.twitter.com/gRcpz5JNQX

— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) July 26, 2021

Rajnath Singh challenges Pakistan

Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, on the occassion of 24th Kargil Vijay Diwas said that, "We will cross the LoC if needed in the future. We didn’t cross LoC then but we can cross when needed,"

He was delivering an address at Kargil War Memorial at Drass Valley, Kargil. 

Singh further asserted, "We gave a message not only to Pakistan, but to the whole world, that when it comes to our national interests, our army will not back down at any cost. Even today, we are fully committed to safeguarding our national interests, no matter who is in front of us."