Udai Singh, SC

Biography

Major Udai Singh was born on 7 October 1974 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, into a military family. He studied at several schools, including St. Patrick's in Deolali, St. George's in Agra, Army Public School Delhi and Army Public School Dagshai, and graduated with honours in Political Science from Deshbandhu College, Delhi. Though he briefly worked as a management trainee, he chose to follow his father Colonel K.K.K. Singh into the Army and was commissioned from the Indian Military Academy in June 1997. He volunteered for the Special Forces and served extensively in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir, qualifying in deep-sea diving, free fall and para jumps, and taking part in the Kargil War and counter-insurgency operations in Kupwara and Rajouri. In November 2003 his unit was deployed for counter-terrorist operations in Jammu & Kashmir. On 29 November 2003, leading a search-and-destroy mission in Rajouri district, his team encountered a group of terrorists at close range in fading light. Shot in the neck during the fierce firefight, Major Udai continued to engage the enemy, killing one terrorist and wounding another, and helped evacuate his fatally wounded comrade before succumbing to his injuries. For his outstanding courage and leadership he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra (Posthumous).