My Compelling Story

Major Deependra Singh Sengar is a retired Indian Army officer, who quit the armed forces in 2001 after an injury in combat put him out of action. The braveheart paratrooper, who was once told that he could never walk again, not only overcame his disability but also changed his course and established a successful corporate career as a management professional.Born in a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Sengar has had a fascination for the armed forces since childhood. He always dreamt of becoming a soldier. During a keynote speech, he said, For as long as I remember, I always wanted to join the armed forces, wear the uniform, defeat the bad guys, and live happily ever after..Eventually, his dream became a reality after he graduated from the National Defence Academy in 1990, at the age of 20.Approximately 5 feet 6-inch tall Sengar weighed less than 45 kgs and was one of the shortest among 60 people in his NDA batch. His body frame remained the same, as it was earlier, even at the time of his graduation from NDA. As a result, Sengar was rejected on the medical grounds and was put in probation. Apparently, this was the first and the easiest hurdle that life threw at him. He put on some mass and got through.While he was training in the academy, he conquered his fear of water. From being a person who was not even familiar with the fundamentals of swimming, he went on to win a gold medal in platform diving. Interestingly, this happened in a mere span of three months. A picture of Senger (first from the right) days after he was introduced to swimming Sengar receiving the gold medal in a platform diving competition held among the students of his NDA batch.During his service in the military, jumping out of flying aircraft, diving off the cliffs, and climbing mountains were his hobbies, and guarding high altitude frontiers like Siachen and taking on the infiltrators was a part of his profession. Deependra Sengar (on the left) at Siachen Glacier.There were two incidents during his service in the armed forces when he was critically injured. The first one happened in 1998 during an anti-Naxalite military operation in Guwahati. After eliminating two militants in a sharp and brief exchange of fire, Sengar was hit by two bullets that pierced through his abdominal and exited from the back. After 15 days of unending surgeries, the doctors told him that his days of soldiering have to be put on hold as his recovery would take around 18 to 24 months. However, he got out of the hospital in three months and was back in action in one year. Major Deependra Singh Sengar receiving a warm welcome by the soldiers of his regiment on his arrival to the unit after recovering from the combat injuries sustained in 1998.While recovering from the injuries of 1998 combat, Sengar sneaked out of the hospital and travelled 5 hours in a friends car to attend the wedding of a unit officer, wearing a colostomy and urine bag.The next injury happened in September 1999 that left him at the mercy of a wheelchair. This time he was leading a troop of soldiers to confront newly recruited militants in Kashmir. During the exchange of fire, a bullet fired from an AK-47 assault rifle shattered his hip bone. He was evacuated to the hospital. After he gained consciousness, the doctor informed him about the seriousness of his injuries, saying that he would not be able to walk again. The doctors verdict shook him, but he did not lose hope. He searched for an alternative job as he saw no future without his regiment and didnt want a desk job. After pondering over various choices, he decided to quit his job in the armed forces and enter the corporate sector.During his tenure in the military, he received 12 awards for his outstanding service, including the prestigious Gallantry award.