Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari, MVC (25 December 1970 – 30 May 1999), was an

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

officer who died during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

. 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 ...

for bravery on the battlefield.

Early life

Major Adhikari was born 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 t ...

was raised in

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

. 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 university has two campuses, DSB Campus Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Nai ...

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 u ...

, 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 ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in J ...

region of the Indian state of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administere ...

, 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's 2nd Rajputana Rifles's and troops from one full bn of Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry who were aided by Pakistani irregulars in 1999. The Tololing peak is a dom ...

, 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 Bollywood ...

, 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). He made his debut as a leading actor in the 2001 film '' Paaga ...

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