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Colonel Lalit Rai, Vir Chakra, is an alumnus of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School,
Bangalore. Commissioned into the elite Eleven Gorkha Rifles in 1977, the
colonel has been in operations in the jungles and rugged mountains of East and
North, in the Deserts of the West and in the plains of Punjab.
Col Lalit Rai, VrC, has held many prestigious command and staff appointments in
his illustrious career span of 30 years. He was posted as an instructor at the
National Defence Academy Khadakvasla and at the Officers Training Academy,
Chennai. He is a postgraduate from the College of Defence Management,
Secunderabad and from the prestigious Naval Postgraduate School, California,
USA. He has since taken premature retirement from the army and joined Emcure
Pharmaceuticals as its Vice President and Head HRD.
He commanded the brave Maratha troops during his command of the elite battalion
17 Rashtriya Rifles, in the militant infested Doda district of Jammu and
Kashmir. Combating insurgency and militants with exemplary courage, Col Lalit
Rai, Vir Chakra, earned wide acclaim and a large number of gallantry awards for
his battalion.
In June 1999, Col Lalit Rai, VrC, took over the command of the elite 1/11
Gorkha Rifles in Operation Vijay. He led the ‘First’ into one of the fiercest
battles of the Kargil war, on the formidable heights of Khalubar, in the
Batalik sector, at altitudes of over 18000 feet. Despite grave bullet and
splinter injuries on his legs and bleeding profusely, the brave Commanding
Officer led his men from the front to success. The ‘First’ under his dynamic
command, fought with sheer grit and raw courage and achieved victory after
victory. For his conspicuous bravery of an exceptional order and inspirational
leadership, the President of India awarded the Vir Chakra to Col Lalit Rai. The
Battalion under his command covered itself in glory by capturing as many as 11
formidable enemy positions and turned the tide of the battle in the Batalik
sector. The battalion besides bagging a large number of gallantry awards, was
also awarded the highly coveted Chief of Army Staff, Unit Citation and
conferred the title of the ‘Bravest of the Brave’, by the Chief, for its
sterling successes during OP Vijay.
Col. Lalit has bagged the Dr Kirtilal M Bhansali Memorial award for excellence
in oration. A national level sportsman in football and athletics, he has
undertaken major mountaineering expeditions to Kanchanjunga South, Kabru Dome
and Rathong Peak in the Himalayas.
Col. Lalit Rai, VrC passed out of Cottons in 1971.
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