Major Mukund Varadarajan was born on 12 April 1983 to R.Varadarajan and Geetha and had two sisters Swetha and Nithya. Major Mukund married his long time friend Indhu Rebecca Varghese on 28 August 2009 and had a daughter Ashreya born on 17 March 2011. He received his Bachelor of Commerce From Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya at Enathur and a diploma in journalism from the Madras Christian College, Tambaram. His grandfather and two of his uncles also served in the army and that motivated Maj Mukund to join the army.
Major Mukund was an alumnus of the Officers Training Academy and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Rajput Regiment (22 Rajput) in 2006. He served at the Infantry School in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh and was also a part of the United Nations Mission in Lebanon. In December 2012, he was deputed to the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles and posted in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Shopian Operation: 25 Apr 2014

During 2014, Major Mukund’s unit was deployed in Shopian district of J & K and was engaged in counterinsurgency operations on a regular basis. On 25 Apr 2014, information was received from the intelligence sources about the presence of some hard core terrorists in a Kaajipathri village in Shopian district. It was decided to launch an operation to flush out the terrorists under the leadership of Major Mukund Varadarajan. As planned Maj Mukund swung into action along with his troops and cordoned off the suspected area. The intelligence information also suggested that the same terrorists were responsible for killing election officials 24 hours earlier.

The heavily armed terrorists opened fire on the assault team on being challenged. Major Mukund in a swift action shot and killed one terrorist, simultaneouly directing the fire of his troops. During the heavy exchange of fire, Maj Mukund got seriously injured, but with total disregard to his injuries, he crawled forward and shot one more terrorist down. He showed remarkable courage and leadership despite bleeding profusely and continued to direct his troops. However, Major Mukund succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Major Mukund was given the nation’s highest peace time gallantry award “Ashok Chakra” for displaying valor beyond the call of duty and supreme sacrifice. Major Mukund achieved the distinction of being the fourth recipient of the “Ashok Chakra” from the state of Tamil Nadu.

Major Mukund Vardarajan is survived by his father R.Varadarajan, mother Geetha, wife Indhu Rebecca Varghese, daughter Ashreya, and two sisters Swetha and Nithya.

Source:https://www.honourpoint.in/