Captain Harshan Radhakrishnan Nair, Ashoka Chakra — 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 Para SF)

Indian Army

Harshan Radhakrishnan Nair, AC

Captain · 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 Para SF)

Ashoka Chakra
Detailed Card

Date of Birth

15 April 1980

Balidan Diwas

20 March 2007

Place of Supreme Sacrifice

Baramulla, Jammu & Kashmir

State of Origin

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala

Service Number

IC-62541K

Unit / Regiment

2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 Para SF)

Operation

Counter-Insurgency Operations

Biography

Captain Harshan Radhakrishnan Nair (Service No. IC-62541K) was born on 15 April 1980 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was commissioned into the elite 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 Para SF) after graduating from the Indian Military Academy. On 20 March 2007, during a counter-terrorism operation in Baramulla district, Jammu & Kashmir, Captain Harshan led his team against heavily armed terrorists. In the fierce firefight that ensued, he killed multiple terrorists despite sustaining gunshot wounds to his thigh and neck. Displaying leadership and courage of the highest order, he continued to engage the enemy until he succumbed to his injuries. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra — India's highest peacetime gallantry award — becoming the youngest recipient in Indian military history at the time.

Remembered Alongside