Manish Singh Chauhan

Biography

Colonel Manish Singh Chauhan hailed from Sidhi district in the Rewa division of Madhya Pradesh. The son of Shri Vansh Bahadur Singh, a retired SDO with the Madhya Pradesh Government, he did his schooling at Sainik School Rewa, where his inclination towards the Armed Forces first took root and the foundation of his military life was laid. His resolve to join the Army strengthened with age, and he was selected for the prestigious National Defence Academy. He had also secured admission to NIT Kurukshetra for civil engineering, but discontinued it upon his selection for the NDA. He later trained at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant at the age of 22. He was commissioned into the 19 Sikh LI battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, an infantry unit with a rich history of valour and battle honours. He developed into an outstanding officer marked by unflinching integrity, loyalty and devotion to duty, and was loved by his troops for his sensitivity towards their professional and personal well-being. By 2020 he had risen to the rank of Colonel, and in May 2020 he took over as Commanding Officer of 19 Sikh LI, then located at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh. On 12 September 2020, Colonel Chauhan, along with Major Neeraj Sharma and two other soldiers, was travelling from Shahjahanpur to Bikaner in Rajasthan for a forward area reconnaissance. At about 5.30 am, near Jodhesar village on the Jaipur National Highway near Bikaner, their vehicle overturned owing to a tyre burst. The impact was severe, and both Colonel Chauhan and Major Neeraj Sharma succumbed to their injuries at PBM Government Hospital. A deep-rooted soldier and fine officer, he had also featured in the 2004 film 'Lakshya'.