ABOUT
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Born in the Derhgava village of Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh to Shri Nagendra Rai and Shrimati Shiv Dulari Rai, Munindra Nath was the youngest among the three brothers. Shri NP Rai, father of Col Rai is a retired Principal from Government High School in Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling, West Bengal. Shri NP Rai was also the senior-most coordinator of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) activities in Kalimpong. Upon completing his schooling at Seven Days Adventist English School & Kalimpong Government High School ,he continued Higher Secondary Education at Boys High School & later at Allahabad University graduate passed out from OTA. The three brothers had watched their father give selflessly to the nation and that was when the desire for a uniform spurred them to join the Armed Forces. The discipline and the regulations instilled in Dhirendra Nath, Yatindra Nath, and Munindra Nath were evident since childhood and that enabled them to achieve their goals in life, the eldest brother DN Rai is now a Lieutenant Colonel in the Gorkha Regiment while YN Rai is Commandant in 48 Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF).
Munindra Nath Rai got commissioned into the 2/9 Gorkha Rifles in September 1997 after passing out from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai. Operating alongside his Gorkha soldiers, Munindra Nath had put in almost 15 years of service and rose to the rank of Colonel. Col MN Rai had been married to Priyanka Rai and together they had three children, two daughters Alka and Richa and a son Aditya. Alka is eldest daughter & Aditya is youngest Son of Col M N Rai. The father of Priyanka Rai is Sh Anant Rai & mother is Manorama Rai. In the year 2013, Colonel Rai got deputed to the 42 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion as Commanding Officer. The RR Battalions are a counter-insurgency force that draws soldiers from various regiments of the Indian Army. The Rashtriya Rifles are meant to look after the security and counter-insurgency operations in 12 sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, 42 RR is responsible for the Tral sector in Pulwama district.
CAREER
An alumnus of Officers Training Academy, Chennai and Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Col Rai was a simple and honest man, with no traces of anger, he was full of life, cracking jokes and making people laugh. Back during the training days, his batchmates had fondly nicknamed him "Munna". Life in Academy can be tough and daunting, to make the atmosphere light and cheerful, Munindra Rai would always crack jokes that revolved around the character 'Munna', hence the fabled nickname. "During training, we saw a different side of himβ¦ One day we had to βrace backβ to our academy. The exercise involves running long distances with a 20 kg weight on the back along with oneβs rifle. Thatβs when we saw the βsuperhumanβ side of him. Some of us were dehydrated. He not only carried his own bag then but two more bags to ensure that the platoon doesnβt feel let down. That was the sense of his pride," recalls Major Sanjay Tanwar, a Shaurya Chakra awardee and batchmate of Col Rai.
After taking over the command of 42 RR, Col MN Rai had been on a spree to pin down the Pakistani terrorists infiltrating Kashmir. Within one and half years, the Tral sector had been cleared of all terror activities, people in Tral were pleased with the work of Col Rai, he had taken several initiatives for uplifting the status of this region. The Tral sector, once known as militant hotbed was now witnessing growing engagement of youth in sports, all thanks to the cricket and football tournament initiatives taken up by Col MN Rai. It was Col Rai's presence on the hunting ground that guided his men through the operations, he was the leader of the pack. Although he loved the feeling of a 7.62mm bullet flying out of his Kalashnikov rifle, he was not the only one in the family to possess such courage. Col Rai's elder brother Commandant Yatindra Nath Rai had been at the helm of the affairs in the Valley too, back in the year 2002, the then Assistant Commandant YN Rai showed immense courage amid two 'Fidayeen'(suicidal) attacks on Raghunath Temple, Jammu which fetched him the President's Police Medal for Gallantry.
YUDH SEVA MEDAL
In 2014, as many as 110 terrorists had been gunned down in South Kashmir whilst 42 RR commanded by Col Rai scored maximum kills. The Colonel never sat inside an air-conditioned room while ordering his men to fight the infiltrations; he rather walked shoulder to shoulder with the men and guided them at every turn. In the year 2014, during a gunfight with the terrorists in South Kashmir, Col Rai demonstrated excellent military tactics and strategy to eliminate the militants. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the containment of militants in the Valley, Col Rai received the Yudh Seva Medal on the eve of Republic Day in 2015. He was also the youngest among the thirteen Officers who were awarded Yudh Sena Medal in 2015.
THE DECEPTION IN TRAL'S OPERATION
Just 24 hours ago Col Rai was decorated with Yudh Seva Medal, but there was no celebration, no merrymaking, just another day at work. At the crack of dawn on January 27, 2015, Colonel Rai and his unit received credible information about few hardcore Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists hiding in Hundoora village in the Tral sector of Pulwama district. Colonel Rai quickly drew a plan and launched a joint cordon and hunt operation with 185 Battalion of CRPF and J&K police. Putting on the Ballistic Helmet, bullet-resistant jacket and slinging his favourite AK-47 Rifle, Col MN Rai was up in arms to lead his men in yet another gunfight. Within minutes of receiving the information, Commanding Officer Rai with his 42 RR unit, CRPF Jawans and J&K police reached the Hundoora village. What appeared to be straightforward hunting turned out to be highly deceiving, the Hizbul terrorists were holed up inside the house of a Handoora resident, Jalal-ud-Din who also happens to be a J&K police constable and father of one of the slain terrorists. Col Rai firstly wanted to ensure all the civilians are safe if a gunfight follows, hence he evacuated everyone from the cordon area and took an apt position surrounding the house.
The terrorists holed up inside the house were identified as Aabid Hussain Khan and Siraj Hassan Dar, Aabid involved in killings in Valley for more than three years was a major supporter of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani and had come to visit his father Jalal-ud-Din, a head constable in J&K police and mother, a government employee in Hundoora while Siraj Dar had been active with Hizbul since one year. Both these terrorists had been on the radar of the Indian Army and this was the perfect opportunity for Col Rai to put these two down. On being challenged by the operating units, the two terrorists resorted to heavy firing and thence an intense gunfight ensued among the two camps. Amid the ongoing face-off, Colonel MN Rai was approached by the father and the brother of Aabid, saying that the military need not kill the 'boys' as terrorists wanted to surrender. As a policy, the Indian Army has always offered a second chance to Kashmiri youth who wish to turn away from terrorism and reintegrate into local communities. Colonel MN Rai, demonstrating positive leadership and respecting the "Winning Hearts and Minds" policy of the Indian Army, lowered the firing to allow the two Hizbul Mujahids to surrender.
While the operating units kicked back a little to let the two terrorists come forward and surrender, the two Mujahids saw a pitch-perfect opportunity to escape from the village. To flee safely, Aabid and Siraj used the situation to their advantage and started firing at the security forces surrounding the house. Colonel Rai was at first satisfied thinking that they had helped two terrorists turn away from the path of violence and it might inspire other militants to follow, but was soon taken by complete surprise. The terrorists had burst into the scene firing indiscriminately, Col Rai shook the initial shock away and took guards to counter the incoming fire. In the next hour of an intense gun battle, both the Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists had been gunned down by our security force, however, during the heavy exchange of fire, J&K Police Head Constable Sanjeev Singh and Col Rai took severe blows from enemy bullets and breathed their last at 92 Base Hospital.