Mukund Varadarajan

Mukund Varadarajan, AC (; 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.

Early and personal life Mukund Varadarajan was born on 12 April 1983 in a Tamil Iyengar family to R. Varadarajan and Geetha Varadarajan in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. His family hailed from Paruthipattu in Avadi near Chennai. He was the youngest of the three siblings. His father worked in a public sector bank in Kerala, and the family shifted to Tambaram in Chennai during Mukund's childhood. He served at the Infantry school in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh and was part of a United Nations Mission in Lebanon. He was promoted to the rank of captain on 28 July 2011. He was later promoted to major on 18 October 2012, and was deputed to the 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir in December 2012. While several Indian army men were hurt in the attack, Mukund killed Baba with the help of his army colleague Sepoy Vikram Singh. One of them was Altaf Wani, who had replaced Altaf Baba as the local commander of the terrorists in the region. The terrorists had earlier attacked the electoral officers during the polling for the 2014 Indian general election, and killed one of the officers. At 17:30 hrs, Mukund lobbed a improvised explosive device into the terrorists' hiding, and one of the terrorists was killed in the return gunfire by the armed soldiers. His award commendation read as "(for showing) exemplary leadership skills, raw courage and swift action." It was further cited that:

[Major] Mukund Varadarajan exhibited most conspicuous bravery and exemplary leadership and made the supreme sacrifice while fighting with the terrorists — Ashoka Chakra citation The 2015 Malayalam film Picket 43 was dedicated to Mukund, who had been assisting the film crew during production. In 2024, a Tamil film, Amaran, a biopic based on Mukund's life, was released, with Sivakarthikeyan portraying Mukund in the film.

Following a request from the Indian Army in June 2026, the Government of Tamil Nadu named the Velachery–Tambaram Road in Chennai as Major Mukund Varadarajan Road after Mukund, who spent the early years of his life in Tambaram.