Colonel Nair-Only Indian Officer Honored With Two Gallantry Awards

Hello aspirants,

In this series of post, we are praising all the brave hearts of our nation. This article is dedicated to one such officer who is honoured with two gallantry awards. This post will help you in many ways.

so let's begin

1. Early Life

• Col Nair was Born on 17 February 1951 in Ernakulam, Kerala.
• Nair was an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakootam, Kerala, and the National Defence Academy, Pune.

2. Life in the Army

• Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair (nicknamed “NJ”) was a highly decorated officer of the Indian Army.
• Nair commissioned into 16 Maratha Light Infantry on 18 June 1971. In 1993, 16 Maratha Light Infantry was deployed in Nagaland.
• He served as an instructor at the Army Intelligence school in Pune.
• He was also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington and had served in IMTRAT Bhutan.
• His career in the Indian Army spanned over two decades, during which he had held various command as well as staff appointments.

3. Nagaland Operation- Act of Valour

• During 1993, Col Nair’s unit was deployed in Nagaland, infested with insurgents engaged in anti-national activities.
• On Dec 20, 1993, Colonel N Jayachandran Nair was leading an advance party of the convoy in Nagaland when about one hundred insurgents ambushed them.
• The insurgents in a pre-planned attack used automatic weapons and managed to kill 1 Junior Commissioned officer and 13 jawans on the spot.
• Col Nair too got injured in the attack but did not lose courage and took charge of the situation. Col Nair though seriously injured, crawled to the other side of the road on his knees to get into a tactically advantageous position.
• He carried an injured soldier on his shoulders and directed his troops to fire at the rebels. 
• This resulted in the halt of cross firing from the rebels which gave Col Nair crucial time to position his forces for the assault tactically.
• Col despite being wounded severely kept on motivating his troops and finally forced the rebels to retreat. He subsequently succumbed to his injuries and was martyred.
• Col Nair as a commanding officer of his unit acted as a real military leader and saved the lives of his men by his daredevil action and unyielding fighting spirit.
• For his outstanding courage, the Colonel has been awarded the Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra, the only Indian to have won both the prestigious awards.

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