Mukund Varadarajan

Major Mukund Varadarajan AC (12 April 1983 – 25 April 2014) was an Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Ashoka Chakra. Mukund, a commissioned officer in the Indian Army's Rajput Regiment, was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra for his actions during a counterterrorism operation while on deputation to the 44th Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. His biopic in Tamil, Amaran, is currently being filmed.

Personal life
Major Mukund Varadarajan was born on 12 April 1983 to R. Varadarajan and Geetha. He lived in Chennai, India and had two sisters, Swetha and Nithya. Mukund married his longtime-girlfriend, Indhu Rebecca Varghese, on 28 August 2009. and have a daughter Arshea 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 this motivated Varadarajan to join the Armed forces. According to his senior officers, he had a cutting sharp wit and could outwit anyone in the most polite yet strong way. His subordinates and fellow soldiers from the unit remember how no matter how long or hard his day had been, he was always up for making others feel special on their birthdays and anniversaries. Personal relationships meant a lot to him according to the men and officers of his unit.

Army service
Mukund was an alumnus of Officers Training Academy, and after graduating, he received a short-service commission as a Lieutenant in the Rajput Regiment (22 Rajput) on 18 March 2006. On 18 March 2011, he was granted a regular commission with the rank of lieutenant, and received an ante-dated promotion to Captain from 18 October 2008. He served at the Infantry School in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh and was part of a United Nations Mission in Lebanon. He was promoted to Major on 18 October 2012 and was deputed to the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles that December and posted in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Martyrdom
On 25 April 2014, he led an anti-terrorist cordon and search operation based on intelligence inputs to clear a village in South Kashmir of terrorists. During the operation, his team came under heavy fire. Mukund responded swiftly, aware of the setting of darkness which could provide an unprecedented advantage and an opportunity to slip away. Since the exact number of civilians present in the house were unknown to him and his men, hence, the use of heavy-calibre weapons were beyond the scope of use. Along with his buddy, Sepoy Vikram Singh, they crawled through the orchard in front of the house with a hail of bullets crossings from the two ends over their heads. Having successfully crossed the orchard, they both charged into the house where they were met instantly with intense firing from the terrorist; his forearm was grazed by a bullet. In a quick reaction, they changed the settings of their assault rifles and retaliated with heavy fire, killing one of the three terrorists then and there. He knew how the local commander looked like and the dead man was not present in the home. The remaining two terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen and the top-most Commander, charged with grenade explosions and tried to escape from the scene of action. Acting just in time, the two men dived to the ground, saving themselves from the shrapnel. In these quick series of events, he saw the face of the fleeing militants and recognised in no time one of them as the top commander he was hunting for. He also saw them making their way to the outhouse next to the building.

He lobbed a grenade into the outhouse. The blast should have debilitated, if not, killed the commander. But as the two men stormed the outhouse, a volley of fire came smashing into Vikram. It became clear what had just happened—the grenade had killed one terrorist, but there was another with him. The commander was not alone when he fled from the debris of the residence and into the cement outhouse—the second terrorist had fled with him. It was this second terrorist who had been killed by the grenade. The Hizbul commander had survived. Several rounds of fire were returned at the terrorist, but he was shielded by a row of logs stacked in the outhouse and was able to fire his weapon from the confined space he was in. Mukund saw Vikram Singh collapse to the ground, who had taken two bullets: one had sliced his neck open, while the other had penetrated his jaw. A gunshot through the neck usually spells certain death. Mukund knew he was about to lose one of the most courageous and dependable soldiers in his team. He knew that not only was his buddy through with this fight, his life too was about to end. As in all encounters, there was not a moment for emotion or mourning. Without pausing for a moment, Mukund lunged forward with his AK-47 and sprayed bullets at Altaf Wani, killing him instantly. In those final seconds, some of the militant's shots hit Mukund. "He walked out of the outhouse. He looked okay. We thought he was fine", recalled an officer in the cordon outside the house. "But then he suddenly collapsed." Nothing about his demeanour betrayed that he had three gunshot wounds and was losing copious amounts of blood. Then Mukund lost consciousness; owing to the fact that he was gravely injured during the assault, he succumbed to his injuries while being evacuated.

For his brave actions during the operation, he was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award in 2014, for displaying valor beyond the call of duty. The citation by the Government of India during the declaration of the Ashok Chakra read:

"During the operation, before attaining martyrdom, Major Mukund displayed exemplary leadership skills, raw courage, planning and swift action, which culminated in the elimination of the three top ranked Hizbul Mujaheddin terrorists."

Mukund is the fourth recipient of the Ashoka Chakra from the state of Tamil Nadu.

On June 1, 2015, a bust of Major Mukund Varadarajan was unveiled in honor of his patriotism and sacrifice. It is displayed at the Officers Training Academy.

Biopic
In 2024, a tamil movie titled Amaran was announced. The film is based on Varadarajan's heroic sacrifice and 44 Rashtriya Rifles's fight against terrorism. Sivakarthikeyan stars as Major Mukund Varadarajan.