Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair

Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair (popularily known as "NJ" ) was one of the outstanding and decorated officers of the Indian Army. Nair commissioned into 16 Maratha Light Infantry on 18 June 1971. In 1993, 16 Maratha Light Infantry was deployed in Nagaland. 20 Dec 1993 while heading an advance party of the battalion, his convoy was ambushed by Naga rebels. Col NJ Nair displayed indomitable courage in leading the attack personally to break the ambush and sacrificed his life defending his men. For this supreme act of valour, he was conferred the 'Ashoka Chakra'.

Biography
Nair was an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakootam, Kerala and the National Defence Academy, Pune (38 th NDA 'I' Squadron). He served as an Instructor at the Army Intelligence school in Pune. He was also an alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington and had served in Bhutan. His career in the Indian Army spanned over two decades, during which he had held varied command and as well as staff appointments.

In 1983, in Mizoram, Col Nair engaged the insurgents in close quarter combat and he was awarded the Kirti Chakra in recognition of his exceptional gallantry.

In December 1993, he was leading an advance party of convoy in Nagaland, when they were ambushed by about one hundred insurgents. The overwhelming fire from automatic weapons killed 1 Junior Commissioned officer and 13 jawans on the spot. Col Nair who was seriously injured did not lose his courage nor was unnerved. Unmindful of his serious injury, he organised his jawans in an assault line and charged at the insurgents when they broke ranks and fled. For his courage and gallanty he was awarded the Ashoka Chakra posthumously in 1994.

Major decorations

 * Ashoka Chakra
 * Kirti Chakra