Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

David Manlun, KC (27 July 1985 – 7 June 2017) was an

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

Officer who was posthumously awarded the

Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra () is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ...

, India's second highest peace-time military decoration. He was from the First Battalion The Naga Regiment. Earlier, In August, 2016, he received the COAS Commendation Card for his extraordinary service.

Early life and education

David was born on 27 July 1985, in Imphal, Manipur, to parents from the Churachandpur area of Manipur. His father's name is

Subedar Subedar ( ) is a military rank in the militaries of South Asia roughly equivalent to that of a warrant officer. Historically classed in the British Indian Army as a Viceroy's commissioned officer, the rank was retained in the Indian Army an ...

M Khamzalam (retd.) and mother's name is Nan Nuan Niang. David had a passion for languages, and in addition to English, Hindi, and his native Zou, he was fluent in Mizo, Kuki, and Paite. David completed his 12th schooling from Army Public School,

Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...

in 2003. He graduated from St Anthony's College, Shillong in the year 2006.

Military career

Manlun was commissioned in the Indian Army's 1st Battalion of

Naga Regiment The Naga Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is among the youngest regiments of the Indian Army - the first battalion was raised in Ranikhet, Uttarakhand in 1970. The regiment recruits mainly from Nagaland, in northeast India. ...

as a lieutenant in March 2010 from the

Officers Training Academy The Officers Training Academy (OTA) is a training establishment of the Indian Army that trains officers for the Short Service Commission (SSC). The 49-week course at the OTA prepares graduates for all branches of the Army, except for the Army Me ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

through UPSC

Combined Defence Services Examination The Combined Defence Services Examination (CDS) is a standardised test conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruitment of officer cadets in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Forc ...

. He joined the battalion in J& K at Naugam and remained there for the following two years, actively participating in various operations. He was commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the Naga Regiment, an infantry regiment famed for its brave troops, in March 2010. He joined the battalion in Jammu & Kashmir at Naugam and remained there for the following two years, participating in a number of missions. Maj David was assigned to 164 Infantry Battalion (TA) Naga Regiment in Nagaland in 2014 after serving as a peacekeeper in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. On 15 August 2016, he received the Chief of Army Staff Commendation for his outstanding service. Maj David had opted for deputation to the National Security Guard after nearly completing his stint in Nagaland, and his probation was set to commence on 23 June 2017.

Lappa Operation

The military forces agreed to undertake a joint operation on 6 June 2017 after obtaining information reports concerning the presence of militants in the Lappa area, close to the Myanmar border. The militants were suspected to be members of the United Liberal Front of Assam (ULFA–I) and S.S. Khaplang factions of the

National Socialist Council of Nagaland The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga militant and separatist group operating mainly in Northeast India, northeastern part of India, with minor activities in northwest Myanmar. The main aim of the organisation is reportedly ...

(NSCN–K), which were active in Nagaland's

Mon district Mon District () is a List of districts of Nagaland, district of Nagaland, a state in India. It is the third-largest district in Nagaland in terms of area. The district has a population of 250,260 people. Mon, Nagaland, Mon Town is the headquart ...

. A combined unit of the 12th Para (SF) Battalion and the Naga Regiment's 164 Infantry Battalion of the Territorial Army conducted a joint operation. In the Lappa area of Nagaland's

, the combined crew leapt into action and conducted a

search and destroy Seek and destroy (also known as search and destroy, or S&D) is a military strategy which consists of inserting infantry forces into hostile territory and directing them to search and then attack enemy targets before immediately withdrawing. Fi ...

mission. The location was about 325 kilometres from Nagaland's capital,

Kohima Kohima (; Tenyidie: Kewhira ()) is the capital of the North East Indian state of Nagaland. With a resident population of almost 100,000, it is the second largest city in the state. Kohima constitutes both a district and a municipality. The m ...

, and 25 kilometres from the Myanmar border. When the terrorists opened fire on the team, Maj David was in charge. Maj David commanded from the front and directed his troops as they counter-attacked. Before making the ultimate sacrifice, Major David Manlun had killed 4 Heavily armed ULFA terrorists. He was wounded and succumbed to his injuries during the intense gunfight. Inspired by his leadership, the team attacked the terrorists, and the successful operation resulted in the insurgents surrendering a large quantity of

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

ry and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

Kirti Chakra

David Manlun was awarded the

, India's second highest peace-time military honour on 27 March 2018, at the Defence Investiture Ceremony–I, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. His father Subedar M. Khamzalam (retd.) and mother Smt. Nan Nuan Niang received the honour for their deceased son from the President of India, R. N. Kovind.

Legacy

* On 23 May 2018, Zonal president Rajinder Ahuja and Army Wives Welfare Association, opened the newly constructed auditorium of Army Public School (APS)

, which was dedicated after Late Major David Manlun, Kirti Chakra.

References

External links

Major David Manlun Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manlun, David 2017 deaths Recipients of the Kirti Chakra 1985 births Indian Army officers People from Imphal