Captain Ummed Singh Mahra (21 January 1942–6 July 1971) was a posthumous recipient of 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, ...

Early life

Captain Ummed was born in a Kumaoni

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

family in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

, born in the

district of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. In 1967 he graduated from 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 ...

and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 19 battalion of Rajputana Rifles

Rajputana Rifles The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally a part of the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th Rajputana Rifles. In 1945, the ...

on 11 June. He was promoted lieutenant on 11 June 1969.

Action

In July 1971, as an acting captain, he led a raiding party against the headquarters of an insurgent group in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

. Though wounded in a firefight, he continued to lead the operation which captured a large cache of arms, ammunition and important documents. He died of his wounds after returning from the raid. He was awarded the

, India's highest peacetime military decoration.

References

Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) Military personnel from Uttar Pradesh 1942 births 1971 deaths Ashoka Chakra {{India-mil-bio-stub