Ashoka Chakra recipient Major Mukund Varadarajan AC (12 April 1983 – 25 April 2014) was an officer in the Indian Army. Mukund was posthumously granted the Ashok Chakra for his actions during a counterterrorism operation while serving as a deputation to the 44th Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. Mukund was a commissioned officer in the Indian Army's Rajput Regiment. Amaran, his Tamil biopic, is presently in production.
Army Service
Mukund was a graduate of the Officers Training Academy [2]. On March 18, 2006, he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Rajput Regiment (22 Rajput) for a brief period of time.[8] On March 18, 2011, he was appointed to a regular commission with the rank of lieutenant [9], and on October 18, 2008, he was given an advance promotion to captain.[10] He participated in a United Nations mission in Lebanon and taught at the Infantry School in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. [1] On October 18, 2012, he received a promotion to Major. In December of the same year, he was posted in the Jammu and Kashmir district of Shopian to serve with the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles.[11][7]
Personal story
On April 12, 1983, R. Varadarajan and Geetha welcomed a son, Major Mukund Varadarajan [2]. He had two sisters, Swetha and Nithya, and resided in Chennai, India. On August 28, 2009, Mukund tied the knot with his longtime partner, Indhu Rebecca Varghese.[5] and were blessed with a daughter Arshea on March 17, 2011.[2][6][7] He graduated from Madras Christian College, Tambaram, with a diploma in journalism and Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya, Enathur, with a bachelor's degree in commerce. Varadarajan was inspired to enlist in the military by the military service of his grandfather and two of his uncles.
Major Varadarajan was killed last Friday during a confrontation with terrorists in the Shopian area of Kashmir.
April 29: On Monday, the "brave son of India," Major Mukund Varadarajan, was buried with full military honors at the Besant Nagar crematorium in Chennai. He and a jawan were killed in an encounter with militants in the Shopian district of south Kashmir. A 14-man military gun salute was given in honor of the martyr Major amid sobs and a palpable sense of loss in the air. Hundreds of people attended the deceased soul's funeral, including his friends, family, and members of the armed forces. In addition to sending a letter of condolence to the Major's wife and ordering Rs 10 lakh in solatium to the grieving family, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also referred to the young officer as "a brave son" and a "courageous soldier."
The Major attended Officers' Training Academy (OTA) before enlisting in the 22 Rajput. He is a native of nearby Tambaram. He had been sent to Shopian to conduct counter-insurgency operations alongside the 44 Rashtriya Rifles. The three-year-old daughter Arsheya and his wife Indhu Rebecca Varghese survive the 31-year-old Major Mukund. In a heartbreaking moment, Arsheya was asked to say "goodnight" and "goodbye" to her father in closing. On April 25, security forces began searching Karewa Malino in Shopian, 55 km from Srinagar, after receiving reports of the presence of three militants from Hizb-ul Mujahideen. K Rosaiah, the state governor, expressed shock and sadness over the passing. He expressed his condolences in a release, saying, "The Nation, especially the Indian Army, has lost a brave and young promising officer whose death is an irreparable loss." According to a Raj Bhavan statement, the governor's wreath was laid to rest on the deceased.
