People of Value

Ahmedabad: Rajat Mishra

From the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehra Dun to the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Rajat Mishra, 26, is an embodiment of grit and determination.

In 2004 Mishra was posted as a Captain in the Indian Army at Vadodara, when an accident during patrolling duty wrecked his life. Mishra’s patrolling vehicle collided head-on with a tractor-trolley, knocking his off. “I was operated upon and regained consciousness after 15 days and I first checked the damage and found my right arm gone. I exclaimed ‘one down but everything intact,’ and celebrate shake,” he says.

Mishra was part of Operation Rhino in 2004 conducted in collaboration with the Bhutanese army to wipe out the insurgents. “Once you are on the front there is no place for fear. It is the responsibility and patriotism which inspires you.” Prestige of the job ad pride for the nation, drove Mishra to join the Army. His dreams shattered after the accident, but his will lived. And standing by him were his mother and sister. Armed with a training from the National Defence Academy, Pune, Mishra says he learnt the gospel of life nothing is impossible hire.

In the eight months that he spent in the Pune Military Hospital, Mishra did a rethink on life and decided to shed the olive green uniform. With a prosthetic limb, he decided to learn writing with his left hand. Within three months, he could write legibly and now be can also drive with his left hand. “I appeared for the first time in CAT and GMAT and scored high percentage and got calls from Indian School of business, Hyderabad and IIM-A.”

After 20 days at the ISB, Mishra changed his mind. “I thought two years of academic life at IIM-A will help more in building a strong foundation for my future life.” He enrolled recently as a student of the 2009 batch at the post-graduate programme in IIM-A.

Source: Disabled soldier makes it to IIM-A. The Times of India, Daily, New Delhi, 17 June 2007.