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 ...

Rajesh Singh Adhikari, MVC (25 December 1970 – 30 May 1999), 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 died during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

. He was posthumously awarded the second highest Indian military honour, the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

for bravery on the battlefield.

Early life

Major Adhikari was born in

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation 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 ...

was raised in

Nainital Nainital (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a town and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand High Court, High Court of the state being ...

. He completed his schooling from St. Joseph's College in 1987, Intermediate from Government Inter College, Nainital and B.Sc. from

Kumaon University Kumaun University is a state university headquartered in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. In 2017, it hosted the first Kautik Student Film Festival. Campuses The academic wing of the University is spread over in two campuses (Dev Singh Bisht ...

in 1992.

Military career

He attended 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 ...

, a premier military academy in India. Major Rajesh Singh was commissioned on 11 December 1993 from the Indian Military Academy. After graduating from the Academy, he joined the 2 Mech. Infantry of the

. He was posted in 18 Grenadiers at the time of

Death

When heavy fighting broke out in the

Kargil Kargil or Kargyil is a City in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TERTIARY, tert ...

region of the Indian state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, the Indian Army was ordered to clear the heights. Many battles took place in the region. The Mechanized Infantry's Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari, the second army officer to die in the operations, had caused heavy casualties to the Pakistani forces and forced them to withdraw before succumbing to injuries in Drass sector. It was one of the most significant battles, the

Battle of Tololing The Battle of Tololing was a pivotal battle in the Kargil War between India and troops from one full battalion of Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry who were aided by Pakistani irregulars in 1999. Background The Tololing peak dominates ove ...

, where Rajesh died.

Maha Vir Chakra Citation

The citation for the

reads as follows:

In popular culture

In the 2003 war film

LOC Kargil ''LOC Kargil'' is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language historical war film based on the Kargil War fought between India and Pakistan, produced and directed by J. P. Dutta under his banner "J. P. Films". The film features an ensemble cast of Bollywoo ...

, Bollywood actor

Karan Nath Karan Nath is an Indian actor. He is best known for his role as the romantic hero in ''Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa'' in 2002. Career Karan worked as a child artist in Mr. India (1987 film), ''Mr India'' (1987). He made his debut as a leading actor in th ...

played the role of Maj. Rajesh Adhikari.

References

External links

India Today - Coming Home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adhikari, Rajesh Singh 1999 deaths Indian military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra People of the Kargil War People from Nainital Military personnel from Uttarakhand 1970 births Kumaun University alumni