Mukund Varadarajan

Mukund Varadarajan, AC (Tamil pronunciation: [mukund̪ vaɾad̪aɾaːdʑan]; 12 April 1983 – 25 April 2014) was a commissioned officer in the Indian Army's Rajput Regiment. He was killed in action during a counter-terrorism operation while on deputation to the 44th Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime decoration, for his actions.

Born in 1983 in a Tamil family in the Kozhikode district, Mukund completed his college education in 2004 before joining the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Indian army in 2006. He served at the infantry school in Mhow and was part of a United Nations mission in Lebanon. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 2011. He became a major in 2012 and was deputed to the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles.

In June 2013, Mukund killed Altaf Baba, then commander of Jaish-e-Mohammed in South Kashmir, when a group of terrorists attacked Mukund's army convoy. On 25 April 2014, Mukund led his team to Qazipathri in Southern Kashmir, to engage with Altaf Wani, who had replaced Altaf Baba as the local commander of the terrorists in the region. Wani and two terrorists had killed electoral officers during the 2014 Indian general election. Mukund and sepoy Vikram Singh killed all the three terrorists in the ensuing gunfight. However, both the army men were also killed in the battle.

On 1 June 2015, a statue of Mukund was unveiled at the premises of the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. In 2024, a Tamil biographical film Amaran, which was based on his life, was released.