Page 8 - NIS English 01-15 March, 2025

PERSONALITY
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan

DO NOT COME UP;

I WILL HANDLE THEM

The Indian Army is considered a symbol
of indomitable valor and courage, with
countless stories of heroism and sacrifice
that continue to inspire the nation. Major
Sandeep Unnikrishnan is one such symbol of
sacrifice and oblation…From the moment he
joined the army, he played a crucial role in the
victory during the Kargil War and later made
BORN: 15 MARCH 1977 DEATH: 28 NOVEMBER 2008 the supreme sacrifice for the nation while
chasing away the terrorists in the 26/11
attack in Mumbai.

n the night of 26-27 November 2008, when mission assigned to them. He was awarded the
India’s financial capital Mumbai was under country’s highest peacetime gallantry award, the
Ocowardly terrorist attacks, Major Sandeep Ashok Chakra, on 26 January 2009.
was leading a team to rescue people trapped in Born on March 15, 1977, in Kozhikode, Kerala,
Hotel Taj. He entered the hotel with a team of 10 Sandeep Unnikrishnan was one such brave soldier
commandos and showered bullets on the terrorists. who made a distinct identity in his early days in the
After taking one of his comrades to a safe place, he NDA. During the Kargil war in 1999, Unnikrishnan of
chased the terrorists. The terrorists, terrified of him, the Bihar Regiment led a team of six soldiers and
escaped to the second floor. While he was rescuing captured an important post of the enemy. Major
some people in the midst of continuous firing, a Unnikrishnan, an officer of the Bihar Regiment, was
terrorist fired continuously at him from behind. commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1999, and
Sandeep was badly injured in this attack, and he in January 2007 he was made the training commander
attained martyrdom. When Major Unnikrishnan’s of the Special Operations Group of the NSG.
body wrapped in the tricolor was brought to His father, who works at ISRO, once told in one of
Bangalore, a large number of people, including his his memoirs about Unnikrishnan that Sandeep
family members and friends, paid tribute to this always wanted our country to win. When India lost a
braveheart with tearful eyes. match, he would get very disappointed. Whenever
Major Sandeep not only saved his comrades but any project of ISRO failed, he would console me. He
also stopped them, saying, “Don’t come up; I will did not like defeat. Sandeep did not want to see any
handle them.” His extraordinary courage and mother crying over the dead body of any of his
leadership inspired his comrades to eliminate all colleagues. This is why he often used to say that his
the terrorists and successfully complete the mother should also not cry but bear this sorrow. n

6 6 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR // March 1-15, 2025