The New Indian Express ·
Soldiering towards a dream: Major helps Tamil Nadu youth find a path to the armed forces
VILLUPURAM: A career in the military can begin with a spectacle — a ceremonial march, a fighter jet slicing through the sky, a flag rising against the morning light. But for many students, it begins more quietly; with the discovery that there is an examination they can write, an application they can fill out, and a future they had never been taught to picture for themselves.
That discovery has become the centre of a growing classroom-to-career effort across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It reaches students from government schools, rural homes and ordinary middle-class families, offering not a shortcut into the armed forces, but a clear direction.
At the heart of the effort is Major Gaurav Mishra, a retired Army officer whose post-retirement mission is to guide youngsters towards officer-level careers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Through what he calls the ‘Veera Tamil Nadu Movement’, he hopes to make the uniform feel less like a distant emblem and more like an attainable calling.
Mishra (35), a native of Rewa district in Madhya Pradesh, has been living in Bommayapalayam in Villupuram district for several years. He completed his schooling and engineering degree in Chennai.
“In 2013, I joined the Army as a lieutenant after clearing the UPSC examination. I served in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, including with the Assam Rifles, and in central India. I took voluntary retirement as a major in 2024,” he said. His interest in the uniformed services was kindled early, watching those around him serve. Several members of his family are in the armed forces, and their example became the first spark for a career that would take him to some of the country’s most challenging terrains.
“Their service inspired me to join the forces. My wife, Vaishnavi Chellappa, is also serving in the Air Force as a Squadron Leader,” he said.
Even while in active service, Mishra began conducting awareness programmes for youngsters in 2022. “I took voluntary retirement so that I could work full-time with young people and guide them towards uniformed services. I do not charge for this service, as many students in government institutions come from economically weaker backgrounds,” he said.
For many students, the obstacle is not ability but awareness. The paths to becoming commissioned officers often remain invisible, and Mishra hopes to place a map in their hands.
“Many children, particularly those studying in government schools and colleges, do not know about the opportunities available in the uniformed services. They are also unaware of the examinations they can take, especially for officer-level entry. I decided to dedicate my post-retirement life to these students and youngsters,” he said.
His focus is now on southern India, where he has found a reservoir of aspiration waiting for direction. So far, Mishra has conducted awareness programmes in 39 schools and 29 colleges across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “Till date, 19 students who attended my awareness programmes have joined the uniformed services, particularly the Army, Navy and Air Force. Most of them are from Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
His outreach, however, is part of a wider dream he calls the ‘Veera Tamil Nadu Movement’ — an effort to help students and families in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry see a career in the armed forces. “My aim is that a child from a government school, a rural family or an ordinary middle-class household should feel that becoming an Army, Navy or Air Force officer is equally possible for him or her,” he said.
Mishra is also planning to launch an NGO, ‘Vayu Bhoomi’, with his wife, through which he hopes to establish an academy for students who are determined to join the armed forces. His own years in service have been recognised with the Sainya Seva Medal for high-altitude service, the Operation Rakshak Medal for service in Jammu and Kashmir, the Operation Rhino Medal for service in the northeast, and the Operation Orchard Medal for operational service. He was also felicitated by Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan for his efforts to train and guide students.
If the ‘Veera Tamil Nadu Movement’ takes root, its measure will not merely be in the number of sessions held or applications filled. It will be the day a parent in a village, a government-school student, or a young aspirant from an ordinary household no longer asks whether an officer’s uniform is meant for someone else, and instead begins preparing to earn it.