Date of Birth
22 July 1965
Balidan Diwas
22 August 2008
Place of Supreme Sacrifice
Machhal, Kupwara, Jammu & Kashmir
State of Origin
Tiruvalla, Kerala
Unit / Regiment
45 Rashtriya Rifles
Biography
Colonel Jojan Thomas was born on 22 July 1965 in Kuttoor village of the Tiruvalla district in Kerala. He joined the Army in March 1986 and was commissioned into the 11 Jat Regiment. Over the next two decades he served across various operational theatres, and in 2008 he was deputed to the 45 Rashtriya Rifles. A trained pilot, he had also served with the Army Aviation Corps for six years. He was regarded as a brave, committed soldier and an exemplary military leader. On 22 August 2008, at around 0330 hours, Colonel Thomas received information about the presence of terrorists in the dense forests of Machhal in the Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir. Recognising the urgency, he chose to personally lead the operation alongside his men. The team soon spotted the terrorists, and a fierce gunfight erupted. Colonel Thomas gunned down two terrorists at close range. Though grievously wounded, he disregarded his personal safety and engaged a third terrorist in intense combat, killing him as well. His team eliminated six terrorists in all. Colonel Thomas later succumbed to his injuries. For his outstanding courage, unflinching leadership and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the nation's highest peacetime gallantry honour, the Ashoka Chakra.