Major Mukund was an alumnus of the prestigious Officers Training Academy, and after graduating, he 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 part of a United Nations Mission in Lebanon. In December 2012, he was deputed to the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles and got posted in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

 

 

 

Mukund was born on 12th April 1983 to R.Varadarajan and Geetha in Tambaram of Tamil Nadu, and had two sisters. He finished his graduation in Commerce from a reputed college at Enathur and then pursued diploma in Journalism from Madras Christian College, Tambaram. The day Mukund decided to marry, he found his soulmate in long-time girlfriend Indhu Rebecca Varghese and both got married on 28 August 2009. Soon after they were gifted with a beautiful daughter. Young Mukund had few of his relatives in the Indian Army including his grandfather. Two of his uncles also served in the army from where he got an inspiration to pursue it as a career and serve the nation.

 

 

As fate had it, on 25th April 2014, Major Mukund was leading an anti-terrorist search operation to clear villages of terrorists. During the operation, his team came under heavy fire. While retaliating, the officer killed three terrorists of the Hizbul Mujahideen who had killed election officials in the region only 24 hours earlier. Unfortunately, the brave young soldier got seriously injured during the assault and succumbed to his injuries making the supreme sacrifice for the nation.

 

 

 

 

For displaying such bravery and commitment to his duty, Major Mukund was awarded with the gallantry award Ashoka Chakra posthumously, by President Pranab Mukherjee. 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 Mujahideen terrorists."

 

 

 

We salute to such an act of deep valour and selfless service to the nation by our brave young soldiers.