Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair

Col. N J Nair
Born	1951 Ernakulam, Kerala
Died	1993 Nagaland
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Army
Years of service	18 June 1971 - 20 Dec 1993
Rank	Colonel
Awards	Ashoka Chakra Kirti Chakra

Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair was commissioned into 16 Maratha Light Infantry on 18 June 1971. In 1993, 16 Maratha Light Infantry was deployed in Nagaland. On 20 Dec 1993 while heading an advance party of the battalion the 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

He is an alumnus of Sainik School,^[1] Kazhakootam, Kerala and the National Defence Academy, Pune (38 th NDA 'I' Squadron).^[2] 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.

Indian Army

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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.^[3]

Personal life

Col Nair held a Masters degree in Defence studies. He was born to R. Neelakantan Nair and P.Saraswathy Amma on 17 Feb 1951 at Ernakulam, Kerala. He married Mrs. Manju Nair in 1985 and they have a son Shivan.J.Nair, Who is currently an MBA Student at the Prestigious Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi.

Major Decorations and Badges

• Ashoka Chakra
• Kirti Chakra

References

1. ^ http://www.sainikschooltvm.org/html/halloffame_details.htm
2. ^ http://nda.nic.in/html/nda-martyrs.html
3. ^ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/HEROISM/Nair.html

See also

• Sainik School, Kazhakootam
• National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla

Persondata
Name	Nair,N J
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1951
Place of birth	Ernakulam, Kerala
Date of death	1993
Place of death	Nagaland