John Soundra Pandian, SC

Biography

Major John Soundra Pandian hailed from Madurai district in Tamil Nadu and was commissioned into the 19th Battalion of The Madras Regiment in 1980. An officer of quiet resolve and exceptional professional grounding, he carried into every appointment the disciplined steadiness and quiet courage that have long defined the men of his regiment. Over the course of his service he saw a wide and demanding range of operational duty. He served in counter-insurgency operations in Manipur, took part in Operation Savage in Sikkim, and was deployed with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, where the unforgiving nature of jungle warfare and the constant threat of ambush honed his instincts as a combat leader. By the time his battalion was inducted into Jammu and Kashmir for Operation Rakshak, he was a seasoned officer trusted with the most exacting tasks. On 10 May 1996, acting on intelligence about the movement of a group of armed militants in the Kathau area of Doda district, his column launched a search-and-destroy operation across heavily forested and broken terrain. Studying the ground with a practised eye, Major Pandian identified the likely escape route the militants would use to slip the cordon, and voluntarily moved forward with a small party through dense jungle to block their withdrawal. As the militants attempted to break out, a fierce close-quarter engagement erupted. Though grievously wounded by automatic fire in the opening exchange, he refused to be evacuated, returned fire with deliberate accuracy and shot down one militant at close range. Moments later he was struck by grenade splinters and succumbed to his injuries on the spot, his sacrifice ensuring that the operation was pressed home. For his conspicuous gallantry, cool-headed leadership in the face of grave personal danger, and supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army, Major John Soundra Pandian was awarded the Shaurya Chakra (posthumous).