Captain R Harshan was born on 15th April 1980, to Shri K Radhakrishnan Nair and Smt Chitrambika. He hailed from Manacaud in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He completed his schooling at Sainik School Kazhakootam. He got selected in the National Defence Academy and then joined the Indian Military College. He was commissioned into the elite ‘Red Devils’, the 2nd battalion of the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army. He was also nominated for special weapons training in Israel. In 2006, Captain Harshan was posted in Baramulla in J&K.
| Place of Birth | Manacaud, Kerala |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 2 Para (SF) |
| Regiment | Parachute Regiment |
| Award | Ashok Chakra |
| Date of Martyrdom | 20th March 2007 |
On 7th March 2007, Captain Harshan noticed some suspicious movements and alerted his troops. They spotted one terrorist and skillfully shot him. The other terrorist fired at him but even managed to shot him single-handedly.
On 19th March, Captain Harshan’s unit received information about the presence of terrorists in a village in Baramulla district. In the early morning the next day, Captain Harshan along with his troops launched a search and cordon off the suspected area. Four terrorists started firing haphazardly on security personnel. Captain Harshan in a swift move killed the leader of those terrorists. But in exchange for fire, Captain Harshan received a bullet on the thigh. Disregarding his injury, he shot another terrorist but this time Captain was shot on the neck. Despite that, he managed to injure the third terrorist. But later Captain Harshan succumbed to his injuries and was declared a martyr.
Captain Harshan displayed courage and true leadership for which he received the nation’s highest peacetime gallantry award ‘Ashok Chakra’ posthumously.
