Sanjay Sood, SC

Biography

Major Sanjay Sood was born on 16 July 1967 in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, into a family with a proud tradition of military service. Inspired by his father, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, he joined the National Defence Academy in 1984 and was commissioned into the Brigade of the Guards, one of the Indian Army's most distinguished infantry formations. He was later deputed to 21 Rashtriya Rifles, a counter-insurgency unit operating in the volatile Rajwar sector of Kupwara district in Jammu & Kashmir. There he led reconnaissance and search operations against militants along the Line of Control, earning a reputation as a determined and courageous officer. On 22 June 2000, militants launched an attack on Indian forward posts. Major Sood led a swift counter-offensive, coordinating his troops under intense gunfire. Though hit by multiple gunshots, he refused to relent and continued to fight until he succumbed to his injuries, having broken the enemy assault. For his conspicuous gallantry and supreme sacrifice, Major Sanjay Sood was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra, India's third-highest peacetime gallantry award.