Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Mohit Sharma (13 January 1978 – 21 March 2009) was an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

Officer who was posthumously awarded the

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

, India's highest peace-time military decoration. Maj Sharma was from the elite 1st

Para SF Para (Special Forces), also known as Para SF, are a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, ...

. On 21 March 2009, he engaged in an encounter with

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

-sponsored terrorists in the Hafruda forest of the

Kupwara Kupwara is a town and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with 13 elected members (also in Delimitation in progress for wards), which adm ...

sector of Jammu and Kashmir. He killed four terrorists and rescued two teammates in the process, but sustained multiple gunshot wounds. For this act, he was posthumously awarded the

, which is the highest peace time military decoration in India. He was awarded two gallantry decorations earlier in his career. The first was the COAS Commendation card for exemplary counter-terrorism duties during

Operation Rakshak Capt. Sanjay Chauhan, SC, was an Indian Army officer of the 16 Rajputana Rifles. During a military counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir, India, Captain Chauhan attempted to infiltrate an enemy militant group. On the basis of actiona ...

, which was followed by a

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

for gallantry after a covert operation in 2005. In 2019, Delhi Metro Corporation renamed the Rajendra Nagar metro station as "Major Mohit Sharma (Rajendra Nagar) metro station".

Early life and education

Mohit was born on 13 January 1978 in Rohtak,

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family. He was very naughty since childhood. His nickname in family was "Chintu" while his NDA batch mates call him "Mike". He completed his 12th schooling from DPS Ghaziabad in 1995 after which he appeared for his NDA Exam. At the same time he got admission to Shri Sant Gajanan Maharaj College of Engineering, Shegaon, Maharashtra, during which he cleared the SSB exam and joined the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

(NDA).

Military career

In 1995, Sharma left Engineering and joined NDA to pursue his dream. In his training, he proved his expertise in swimming, boxing and horse riding. His favourite horse was "Indira". Sharma became the champion of horse riding. He was also a winner in Boxing under the featherweight category. Mohit Sharma joined the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

(IMA) in 1998. In IMA, he was awarded the rank of Battalion Cadet Adjutant. He got a chance to meet the then

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1921 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the 9th vice president of India, Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997 and 10th President of India fr ...

at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

. He was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in December 1999. His first posting was Hyderabad in the 5th Battalion The

Madras Regiment The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with both the British Indian Army and the post-independence Indian Army. History The town of Madras wa ...

(5 Madras). On completing three successful years of Military service, Major Mohit opted for the

Para (Special Forces) Para (Special Forces), also known as Para SF, are a group of special forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the Indian Army. These units specialize in various roles including hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, ...

and he became a trained Para Commando in June 2003, followed by promotion to captain on 11 December. Before getting in 1 Para (SF), he served with the 38 Rashtriya Rifles. He was then posted in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

where he showed his leadership and bravery. Promoted as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 11 December 2005, he was awarded with the

for his bravery. During the third posting, he was given the responsibility to train the Commandos in

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

where he instructed for two years. Mohit Sharma was then again moved to Kashmir where he attained martyrdom in 2009.

Ashoka Chakra

For the supreme sacrifice made by Major Mohit Sharma during Kupwara operation, he was awarded with the nation's highest peace time gallantry award '

Ashok Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

' on January 26, 2010.

References

External link

Major Mohit Sharma Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Mohit 2009 deaths Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) 1978 births Indian Army officers Ashoka Chakra Recipients of the Sena Medal Para Commandos Sena Medal National Defence Academy (India) alumni

Early life and education

Military career

Ashoka Chakra

See also

References

External link