Rajesh Singh Adhikari

Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari (December 25, 1970 – May 30, 1999), Maha Vir Chakra was an Indian Army officer who died during the Kargil War. He was posthumously awarded the second highest Indian military honour, the Maha Vir Chakra for bravery on the battlefield.

Early life
Adhikari was brought up in Nainital, a picturesque hill station in northern India. He completed his schooling from St. Joseph's College in 1987, Intermediate from Government Inter College, Nainital and B.Sc. from Kumaon University in the year 1992.

Career
He attended the Indian Military Academy, a premier military academy in India.Major Rajesh Singh was commissioned on 11 December 1993 from the Indian Military Academy. After graduating from the Academy, he joined the 2 Mech. Infantry of the Indian Army.He was posted in 18th Grenadiers at the time of kargil war.

During War
When heavy fighting broke out in the Kargil region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir owing to planned infiltration by militants backed by the Pakistan army, the Indian Army was ordered to clear the heights of those intruders. Many tough battles took place in the region.The Mechanized Infantry's Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari, the second army officer to die in the operations against infiltrators, had caused heavy casualties to the intruders and forced them to withdraw before succumbing to injuries in Drass sector. It was one of the most significant battles, the Battle of Tololing, where Rajesh made a valiant sacrifice.

On 30 May 1999, as a part of battalion operations to capture the Tololing feature, Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari, 18 Grenadiers (2 Mech. Inf.) was tasked to secure the initial foothold by capturing its forward spur where the enemy held a strongly fortified advance position. The post was located in a treacherous, mountainous terrain at about 15,000 feet and covered with snow. While Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari was leading his team towards the objective, he was fired at from two mutually supporting bunkers with universal machine guns. The officer immediately directed the rocket launcher detachment to engage the bunker and without waiting, rushed into the bunker and killed two intruders in close quarter combat.

Thereafter, the officer, displaying presence of mind under heavy fire, ordered his medium machine gun (MMG) detachment to fix position behind a rocky feature and engage the enemy. The assault party continued to inch their way up. Despite suffering grievous bullet injuries, Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari continued to direct his sub unit. Refusing to be evacuated, the officer charged at the second bunker and killed one more occupant, thus capturing the second bunker at Tololing which later facilitated capture of Point 4590. For conspicuous gallantry and supreme sacrifice, Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari was posthumously awarded the second highest Indian Army decoration Maha Vir Chakra for his actions in the battle.