Retired Army Major guides govt school students towards officer careers in 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.
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 uniformed services was kindled early. Several members of his family are in the armed 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 in 2022. “I took voluntary retirement so that I could work full-time with young people. I do not charge for this service, as many students in government institutions come from economically weaker backgrounds,” he said.
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,” 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 determined to join the armed forces.
His service has been recognised with the Sainya Seva Medal, Operation Rakshak Medal, Operation Rhino Medal and Operation Orchard Medal. He was also felicitated by Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan for his efforts.
