Jojan Thomas

Last updated
Colonel

Jojan Thomas

AC
Jojan Thomas.jpg
Birth nameJojan Thomas
Born(1965-05-22)May 22, 1965
Kuttoor Village, Thiruvalla District, Kerala
DiedAugust 22, 2008(2008-08-22) (aged 43)
Kupwara district
Buried
Hosur Road Cemetery
AllegianceIndia
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service1986-2008
Rank Colonel (India)
Service number IC-45618
Unit
Commands heldCommanding Officer of 45 Rashtriya Rifles
Awards Ashoka Chakra ribbon.svg Ashok Chakra
Spouse(s)Beena Jojan Thomas
Children2

Colonel Jojan Thomas, AC (22 May 1965 - 22 August 2008) was an Indian military officer with the Jat Regiment and later the 45 Rashtriya Rifles unit. [1] He was a native of Kuttoor in Thiruvalla, Kerala and lived in Bangalore. [1] He was commissioned from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai in March 1986. On 22 August 2008, he led an operation against terrorists in the forests of Macchal sector in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. In the process, he killed three terrorists, but sustained several gunshot wounds and succumbed to injuries. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peace time military decoration in India. [1]

Contents

Early life

Colonel Jojan Thomas was born on 22 May 1965 in Kuttoor village of Thiruvalla in pathanamthitta District of Kerala. He was the son of an army officer Captain P.A Thomas and Aleyamma Thomas. He was eldest among his four siblings. His two brothers also serving in the Armed Forces. He came from a family with deep military background. [2]

Military career

He was commissioned in 11 Jat Regiment from the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai on a short-service commission as a second lieutenant on 8 March 1986. [3] Promoted lieutenant on 8 March 1988, [4] he received a regular commission as a second lieutenant on 8 March 1991 (seniority for promotion from 6 November 1986) and was promoted lieutenant from the same date (seniority for promotion from 6 November 1988). [5]

He was also a trained pilot and had served with Army Aviation corps for six years. Promoted captain on 6 November 1991, [6] he was selected for the prestigious Staff Course for Officers in the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Tamil Nadu. [7] On 6 November 1997, he was promoted to major, [8] followed by promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 16 December 2004. [9] He was sent to 45 Rashtriya Rifles to undertake anti terrorist operations in 2008. [10]

Ashoka Chakra awardee

For his bravery, self sacrifice and leadership in Kupwara Operation in 2008, he was posthumously awarded Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. [11]

Jojan Thomas's widow receives the Ashok Chakra from president Pratibha Patil on 26 January 2009. Smt. Reena Jojan Thomas receiving Ashoka Chakra awarded to her husband Col. Jojan Thomas (Posthumous) from the President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, during the 60th Republic Day Parade-2009, in New Delhi.jpg
Jojan Thomas's widow receives the Ashok Chakra from president Pratibha Patil on 26 January 2009.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoshiar Singh Dahiya</span> Recipient of Param Vir Chakra

Colonel Hoshiar Singh Dahiya, PVC was an Indian military officer and a recipient of India's highest military honour, the Param Vir Chakra, for his gallantry during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saurabh Singh Shekhawat</span> Recipient of the Kirti Chakra award

Brigadier Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, KC, SC, SM, VSM is an Indian Army officer of the 21 Para (SF) and an avid mountaineer. He is one of Indian Army's most decorated officers, with one war-time gallantry award and two peace-time gallantry awards to his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair</span> Ashoka Chakra and Kirti Chakra recipient

Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair, AC, KC (popularly known as "NJ") was a highly decorated officer of the Indian Army. On 20 December 1993, while heading an advance party of the battalion, his convoy was ambushed by Naga rebels. Nair personally led the attack to break the ambush and sacrificed his life defending his men. For this act of valour, he was conferred the Ashoka Chakra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D. Sreeram Kumar</span>

Colonel D. Sreeram Kumar AC is a serving Indian Army officer who was decorated in 2010 with the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry decoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laishram Jyotin Singh</span>

Major Laishram Jyotin Singh, AC was an Officer in the Army Medical Corps of the Indian Army, who died fighting a suicide bomber during the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Major Singh was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award in the Indian Armed Forces on 26 January, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasanth Venugopal</span> Ashoka Chakra recipient (1967–2007)

Colonel Vasanth Venugopal, AC was an Indian Army officer. He was the commanding officer of the 9th battalion, Maratha Light Infantry. On 31 July 2007, he was killed in action while preventing heavily armed infiltrators from crossing the India-Pakistan border at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. As a result he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest military decoration for peacetime gallantry.

Lieutenant General Inderjit Singh Gill, PVSM, MC was a general officer in the Indian Army. He was the officiating Director of Military Operations (DMO) of the Indian Army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He retired in 1979 after serving as the Western Army Commander.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukund Varadarajan</span> Indian Army Ashok Chakra recipient (1983–2014)

Major Mukund Varadarajan AC was an Indian Army officer and a recipient of the Ashoka Chakra.Mukund, a commissioned officer in the Indian Army's Rajput Regiment was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra for his actions during a counterterrorism operation while on deputation to the 44th Rashtriya Rifles battalion in Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohit Sharma (soldier)</span> Indian Army Special Forces Officer

Major Mohit Sharma was an Indian Army Officer who was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peace-time military decoration. Maj Sharma was from the elite 1st Para SF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinesh Raghu Raman</span> Indian Army Ashoka Chakra recipient (1978-2007)

Major Dinesh Raghu Raman, AC was an Indian military officer with the 19th Battalion of the Jat Regiment who was posthumously awarded India's highest peacetime military decoration Ashoka Chakra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudhir Kumar Walia</span> Officer of the Indian Army, awarded the Ashoka Chakra

Major Sudhir Kumar Walia, AC, ADC, SM & Bar, was an officer of the Indian Army, who served in the elite 9 Para (SF). He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration, by the then President, late K. R. Narayan, in January 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanti Swaroop Rana</span> Indian military officer

Lieutenant Colonel Shanti Swarup Rana was an Indian military officer, who was commissioned on June 11, 1977, into the 3rd Battalion of the Bihar Regiment. He is a posthumous recipient of Ashok Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satinder Kumar Saini</span> Indian Army

Lieutenant General Satinder Kumar Saini, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, VSM, ADC was the 41st Vice Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army and assumed the office on 25 January 2020. He previously served as General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) Southern Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harsh Uday Singh Gaur</span> Indian military officer

Harsh Udai Singh Gaur was an Indian military officer posted as commanding officer of 10 Bihar Regiment.

Colonel Balwan Singh Panghal MVC is a decorated Indian Army officer who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his courage in leading the successful assault to capture Tiger Hill during the 1999 Kargil War.

Lieutenant-General Joginder Singh Gharaya MVC, KC, VSM was a highly decorated Indian Army general and the only member of the Indian Armed Forces to have won both the Maha Vir Chakra and the Kirti Chakra, the second highest wartime and peacetime Indian decorations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric James Tucker</span> Ashoka Chakra recipient

Captain Eric James Tucker, AC was an Indian Army officer who was Posthumously awarded the highest peace time gallantry award, Ashok Chakra for an act of Gallantry in Nagaland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandeep Sankhla</span>

Captain Sandeep Shankla was an Indian Army officer who was posthumously awarded India's highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashoka Chakra, for acts in Jammu and Kashmir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasbir Singh Raina</span>

Colonel Jasbir Singh Raina, AC is a retired Indian Army officer who was awarded India's highest peacetime gallantry award Ashoka Chakra for his gallant act in Operation Blue Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jas Ram Singh</span> Ashoka Chakra recipient

Lieutenant Colonel Jas Ram Singh, AC is a retired Indian Army Officer. He is a recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A determined officer's ultimate sacrifice in the service of nation". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Colonel Jojan Thomas". Thank You Indian Army.
  3. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 November 1987. p. 1559.
  4. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 5 May 1990. p. 640.
  5. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 15 August 1992. p. 1351.
  6. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 18 September 1993. p. 1660.
  7. ↑ "Col. Jojan Thomas- The Brave Son of India". Humans of Thiruvalla. 23 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 7 March 1998. p. 308.
  9. ↑ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 6 August 2005. p. 1363.
  10. ↑ "Colonel Jojan Thomas AC". Honourpoint.
  11. ↑ "Col Jojan Thomas". Gallantry Awards.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.