Major Deependra Singh Sengar is a retired Indian Army officer and a successful management professional who is known for his sheer grit and valour. Despite being debilitated by severe injuries and near-death experiences in combat, the previously wheelchair-bound Kargil war hero strongly fought back his physical disabilities and created a career for himself which most people in his situation would not have even dreamt of.
Wiki/Biography
Major Deependra Singh Sengar was born on Sunday, 6 September 1970 (age 50 years; as of 2020) in a small town of Madhya Pradesh Sengar dreamt of joining the armed forces since his childhood. He completed his schooling from Sainik School, Rewa, followed by graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 1990. Thereafter, the National Defence Academy in 1991 and was inducted as an officer in the Indian army. He quit the armed forces in 2001 owing to physical disability sustained in combat, cleared CAT on his first attempt, attained a Master of Management degree from IIM (Ahemdabad), and entered the corporate world. To further incline his knowledge base, Sengar completed a one-year Master of Management program from The University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2012. He moved to Seattle, a city in the USA, in 2013, and has been residing there since then.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 6″
Weight: 52 Kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Major Sengar at the Great Wall of China
Family & Caste
Sengar belongs to the Rajput community.
Wife & Children
Sengar got married to Jaya while he was serving in the armed forces.
Deependra Sengar with his wife and children
The couple has two sons.
Deependra Singh Sengar with his family
Career
In the Armed Forces
Sengar got commissioned in the Indian Army as an officer in 1991.
Major Deependra Singh Sengar
While serving in the military, jumping out of flying aircraft, diving off the cliffs, scaling mountains were his hobbies, and safeguarding high altitude frontiers like Siachen and getting involved in the gun battle with the infiltrators was his profession.
Deependra Sengar (on the left) at Siachen
In August 1999, during the Kargil war, he led a unit of soldiers and captured Neelam post in the Kargil war, which was the highest post captured in the whole engagement by the Indian Army. An outstanding combat soldier, Deependra Singh Sengar was conferred with the gallantry award in 1999 for intercepting escaping militants in Assam. Apart from this, he received 11 other awards during his military service. Sengar’s career in the armed forces was cut short of life-threatening injuries that he sustained during a gun-battle with militants in the Kargil sector. He decided to quit the armed forces in 2001 and transitioned into the corporate world.
In the Corporate Sector
A person who had not even worked on a computer till he was in his 30s’ cracked the CAT’ – the Common Admission Test, attained a Management degree from one of the top management colleges in India and started his kick-started his corporate career as an intern at Laymen brothers. He was an associate director at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company, from 2003 to 2005. In the next few years, he worked at top MNC’s around the world, including Genpact (previously GE Capital International Services), TMI, and IBN. In 2013, he acquired a job at Microsoft and has been working for the company since then. As of 2021, he is a Project Manager of Business Strategy of Programs at Microsoft.
Injuries
Sengar sustained serious injuries on two occasions of his military career. The first time was in 1998 while leading an escort team of soldiers in Guwahati, to neutralise 5 Naxalites armed with automatic weapons. While performing the operation, Sengar killed 2 militants and but unfortunately, got hit by two bullets that went past his abdominal and intestines and exited from the back. This injury kept him out of action for nearly one year, quit less than what the doctors expected (18-24 months). After recovering from the injuries, he even led a few operations in the 1999 Kargil War. The next tragic incident took place in September 1999, that ended his career in the armed forces. This time it was way more serious than the previous one. Sengar was hit by a burst of fire from an AK-47 that shattered his hip bone. He was evacuated to the hospital in Delhi. There were multiple wounds all over the body that were being tended for recovery. The doctors were not sure if he would survive, but he did. Even after being severely injured, the deeply embedded patriotism in Major Sengar’s soul never let his spirit down as the first thing he that he did after gaining consciousness was to call his commanding officer and ask him not to appoint any other team commander because he will be back in action. Little did he know that he would be staying here for longer than he decided. But then, he was taken aback after the doctor announced his verdict, which said,
You will never walk again”
This meant that he would be in a wheelchair or at best on crutches for the rest of his life. But the next morning he decided that he will quit the armed forces and join the corporate world. Although he successfully established a prosperous career in the corporate sector, he had to walk with the support of crutches for the next ten years.
A picture captured in 2009 showing Deependra Singh walking with the help of a crutch
Web-series Adoption
On 21 January 2020, a web series inspired by the life of Devendra Singh Sengar, “Jeet Ki Zidd,” was released on ZEE 5. The web series covers the highlights of Deependra’s life, how he fought against all the odds in different walks of life, be it on the battlefield or in his personal life. His character in the web series is played by Amit Sadh, an Indian film actor known for playing the supporting actor roles in Bollywood films, such as Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer Kai Po Che (2013).
Fact/Trivia
- During his military career, Sengar was given the sobriquet “Rocket” by his juniors, as he was incredibly fit and really quick while doing the physical activities.
- Deependra is fondly called as Deeip by his friends and relatives.
- Sengar has spent most of his years living in different places of the globe. He was in Hyderabad from 2003 to 2008 and is familiar with the Telegu culture.
- Even after quitting the Indian Armed Forces, Major Sengar often pays a visit to his troop mates and officers.
Deependra Singh Sengar lifted on the shoulder by his former troopmates
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