Inspiring Indians

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Inspiring Indians

• Let the Young Generations know them
• - Suhail Haque

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• His life still inspires a lot of young RAW
  officers and he is still remembered as Indias
  finest intelligence agent who never gave up
  serving his country in his death. Ravinder
  Kaushik will always be a true Indian soldier who
  gave his life without ever asking for any
  acknowledgement. We salute the great Indian
  warrior The Black Tiger!
• Ravinder Kaushik was born in Sri
  Ganganagar, Rajasthan on April 11, 1952. He was a
  famous theatre artist and displayed his talent at
  the national level dramatic meet in Lucknow,
  which was witnessed by some officials of the
  Indian Intelligence Agency RAW. He was contacted
  and offered a job for being an undercover agent
  of India in Pakistan. At the age of 23, he was
  sent to Pakistan on a mission.

• Ravinder Kaushik 
• (Black Tiger)

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Ravinder Kaushik (cont.)

• Ravinder Kaushik was recruited by RAW and was
  given extensive training in Delhi for 2 years. In
  1975 he was sent to Pakistan and given the name
  Nabi Ahmed Shakir. He was successful in getting
  admission in Karachi University and completed
  his  LLB He joined Pakistan Army and became a
  commissioned officer and later was promoted to
  the rank of a Major
• From 1979 to 1983, while in military service, he
  passed on valuable information to RAW which was
  of great help to the Indian defence forces
• He was given the title of 'Black Tiger' by
  India's then home minister S.B.Chavan. Some
  testify that the title was conferred by then
  Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
• In September 1983, Indian intelligence agencies
  had sent an agent, Inyat Masiha, to get in touch
  with Black Tiger. But the agent was caught by
  Pakistans intelligence agencies and revealed
  Ravinder Kaushik's true identity.

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Ravinder Kaushik (cont.)

• Kaushik was then captured, tortured for two years
  at an interrogation centre in Sialkot. Ravinder
  was awarded death sentence in the year 1985. His
  sentence was later commuted to a life term by the
  Pakistan Supreme court
• Kaushik was kept in various jails, including
  Sialkot, Kot Lakhpat and in Mianwali jail for 16
  years, where he contracted Asthma and TB. He
  managed to secretly send letters to his family in
  India, which revealed his poor health condition
  and the trauma faced by him in Pakistani jails.
• On 26 July 1999, he succumbed to pulmonary
  tuberculosis and heart disease in New Central
  Jail Multan. He was buried behind that jail.
• Ravindra's family claimed that the story line of
  the famous Bollywood flick "Ek Tha Tiger"
  released in the year 2012 was based on the life
  of Ravindra asked for the credit in the movie
  titles for Ravindra.

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Ravinder Kaushik (cont.)

• In one of his letters he wrote,
• "Kya Bharat jaise bade desh ke liye kurbani dene
  waalon ko yahi milta hai?" (Is this the reward a
  person gets for sacrificing his life for a great
  nation like India?)
• During his training in Delhi he learned Urdu, got
  acquainted with the muslim religious texts, the
  topography in Pakistan and underwent
  circumcision. When he was sent to Pakistan in
  1975, all his records in India were destroyed and
  he was given a new identity of Nabi Ahmed Shakir.
  Nabi Ahmed now started his LLB in Karachi
  University to create a perfect back story and
  join the Pakistan army.
• During that time he converted to Islam and
  married a local girl Amanat, fathering a son with
  her. From 1979 to 1983 he passes on critical
  information to the Indian defense forces which
  were of great help.

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Ravinder Kaushik (cont.)

• Kaushik spent the last 16 years of his glorious
  life in various jails including Mianwali and
  Sialkot. Due to the poor facilities in the
  Pakistani jails, he contracted Asthma and TB
  which turned fatal. After enduring extreme trauma
  he finally succumbed to a heart disease in the
  New Central Multan Jail. The finest Indian spy is
  still buried today behind that jail.
• Using the secret information provided by Ravinder
  Kaushik, India  formulated a strategy that was
  always one step ahead of Pakistan's and 
  checkmated it's war plans. On many occasions
  Pakistan prepared to wage  war across the borders
  of Rajasthan in India, but they were foiled due
  to the timely advance warning given  by Ravinder
  Kaushik, as he was a senior military officer in
  Pakistan by  now and had access to top secret
  information.

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Interesting facts about Kalam's life

• Born on 15 October, 1931, in a Tamil Muslim
  family to a boat owner, Jainulabudeen, and
  Ashiamma, a housewife, in Ramanathapuram district
  of Tamil Nadu, Kalam's childhood was not easy and
  privileged.
• In order to support his poor family, young Kalam
  used to distribute newspapers after his school
  hours to add to his father's income. 
• Kalam was a hardworking student too, who enjoyed
  spending hours on his studies.
• His favourite subjects were Mathematics and
  Physics and ultimately, he took up aerospace
  engineering later in life.
• His interest and work in aerospace engineering
  brought him close to India's civilian space
  program and military missile development efforts.
• For his work on the development of ballistic
  missile and launch vehicle technology, Kalam came
  to be known as Missile Man of India.

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• India owes its development as a nuclear nation to
  Kalam's organizational and technical support
  for Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first
  such tests after a gap of 24 years.
• At ISRO, He was one of the pioneers of India's
  first space launch-vehicle program. 
• Kalam was recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma
  Vibhushan and Bharat Ratna.
•  He was also a recipient of honorary doctorates
  from 40 universities. 
• A prolific writer, Kalam has authored around 15
  books on various subjects ranging from nuclear
  physics to spiritual experiences.
• His autobiography Wings of Fire An
  Autobiography, first published in English, has
  been translated into 13 languages including
  French and Chinese.

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• Also, there are six additional biographies on his
  life and works.
•  Kalam's life also inspired I Am Kalam, a 2011
  Hindi film directed by Nila Madhab Panda.
•  The film showcases a poor Rajasthani boy, who is
  inspired by the life of the former President of
  India, APJ Abdul Kalam. It's Kalam's life which
  fuels a strong desire to learn in the young boy.
•  Sworn in on 25 July, 2002, Kalam became 11th
  President of India, succeeding KR Narayanan. For
  his simple and humble attitude, he was
  affectionately known as the 'People's
  President.' 
• He died doing what he had been doing throughout
  his career  sharing knowledge. A man of astute
  scientific knowledge who spent most of his life
  at India's civilian space program and Indian
  Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Kalam will be
  remembered for his simplicity, humility and
  inspiring words. 

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• Also known as Sher Shah, Captain Vikram Batra
  joined the Indian Military Academy in June 1996
  at Dehradun. After graduating in December 1997,
  he joined the army as a Lieutenant of 13 JAK
  Rifles at Sopore, Jammu Kashmir.
• June 1, 1999, his unit proceeded to the Kargil
  Sector where by now war like situation had
  erupted. The first task assigned to the young
  officer was the recapture of Point 5140, which
  was at an altitude of 17000 feet.
• In a short while Captain Vikram Batra and his
  company of troops killed 8 enemy soldiers and
  captured a heavy anti-aircraft machine gun.
  Mission Point 4140 was a success!!

• Vikram Batra

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Vikram Batra (cont.)

• Upon reaching the point he got into a cheeky
  conversation with a terrorist commander on the
  radio. The enemy commander challenged him by
  saying, Why have you come Sher Shah (Vikrams
  nick name given by his commanding officer), you
  will not go back. Captain Vikram Batra with
  immense confidence replied, We shall see within
  one hour, who remains on the top.
• Soon after the victory of Point 5140 he radioed
  his commanding officer and said victoriously Yeh
  Dil Maange More( The heart wants more).
• Yeh Dil Maange More became the catch line for
  the war!
• With the victory of Point 5140 cleared the
  Srinagar-Leh highway, which led to capturing of
  Point 5100, 4700 Junction, Three Pimples and the
  ultimate prize- Tiger Hill.

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Vikram Batra (cont.)

• After taking rest for couple of days he was sent
  for the task of capturing Point 4750, where he
  was engaged in the fiercest battle since the war
  had started. Vikram was challenged by an enemy
  officer, Shershah, nobody shall be left to lift
  your bodies to which Captain Vikram replied,
  Dont you worry about us, Pray for your safety.
  Point 4750 was captured in no time adding one
  more victory to the count of Captain Vikram
  Batra.
• Captain Batra was on a victory rampage, his heart
  asking for more honor and victory. He stoutly
  volunteered for the next mission, which was very
  crucial. It was the capture of Point 4875 at an
  altitude of 17000 feet. He went for the mission
  along with his company and another led by Captain
  Anuj Nayyar.

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Vikram Batra (cont.)

• A number of enemy troops were killed in this
  mission. On 5th July 1999 Point 4875 was
  captured. But the enemy troops set in for a
  counter attack on 7th July 1999 which was well
  retaliated by Captain Batra. In all this action
  one of his junior officers (Lieutenant Naveen)
  has severely injured his leg.
• Captain Vikram Batra went for his rescue. While
  dragging Lieutenant Naveen back under cover he
  pleaded to Captain Batra to let him continue the
  fight inspite the injuries to which Captain Batra
  heroically replied Tu baal bachedaar hai!! Hatt
  jaa peeche, (You have kids and wife to look
  after! Get back).
• For his display of bravery he was awarded Param
  Vir Chakra, Indias highest medal for gallantry.
  His father G.L Batra received the medal from the
  President of India on behalf of his brave son.

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Vikram Batra (cont.)

• It didnt take long for this war hero to realize
  that he had been hit in the chest by an enemy
  bullet and then in a spilt of a second he was hit
  by a artillery splinter in the waist region. This
  great martyr gave away his last breath with Jai
  Mata Di (Long Live Mother Durga) on his lips.
  Before succumbing to his injuries he killed 5
  more enemy soldiers.

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• Ajit Kumar Duval , an  IPS officer who rose on to
  become the Intelligence Bureau director and now
  is India's National Security Advisor. 
• He is the  first cop to get the gallantry award
  Kirti Chakra which was till then reserved for the
  Army .
• But, it is not these designations that make him
  extraordinary, its the work this man has
  accomplished.

• James Bond of India - Ajit Doval
• As it turned out, he is currently the National
  Security Advisor of our country. But so what?
  Does that make him a James Bond, The James Bond?

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Mission Zone North-EastHe went undercover and
  won over 6 out of 7 commanders of the Mizo
  National Army thereby quenching the Mizo
  insurgency.His next assignment was Sikkim , the
  specific  details of the covert work done there
  are not available but it is to his credit the
  merger of Sikkim with India is credited.It is
  interesting to note that he was undercover during
  this period and spent a long time in the  Chinese
  territory.

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Mission Zone Kashmir
• He was able to turn militants and persuade them
  to assist Indian forces against the terrorists.
  Kuka Parray is a notable example . Kuka Parray
  was a kashmiri folk singer who was disgruntled
  with the Indian administration and supported the
  terrorists but Duval was able to persuade him to
  instead assist in counter insurgency and thus a
  great source of insider information about the
  terrorist strategies became available to the
  Indian forces via Parray which helped to  diffuse
  the militant movement and eventually led  to 
  elections in the state .  (Sadly , Kuka Parray
  who became a MLA was later assasinated by the
  militants). These 2 missions bring out Duval's
  charisma and his ability to turn people to his
  side ! (On Youtube many of Duval's talks are
  present and indeed you just want to keep
  listening to him . )Yes, he is a great talker
  and charming in his own way but still he is more
  of a Poirot than a Sherlock... more of a Father
  Brown than a James Bond.

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Mission Zone Pakistan He was undercover in
  Pakistan for 7 years!! He sent vital information
  regarding their Nuclear development. This is all
  that is known about his work in Pakistan, other
  details remain classified.Duval sharing a
  incident while he was in Pakistan.  For Non
  -Hindi speakers I am giving a rough translation
  of what he told in first person but it is only a
  approximate translation and of course lacks the
  charisma of the man telling it himself-
• " When in Pakistan , I happened to go to  a
  Dargah since I was supposed to be a Muslim man.
  There, in front of the Dargah I saw a  man with a
  long white beard who called me  and asked me
  whether I was a Hindu? I said it was not true .
  He asked me to follow him and took me through
  some lanes to a nearby house . He closed the room
  and told me I was a Hindu since he had seen a 
  hole in my ear ( In some Hindu traditions , both
  boys and girls have their ears pierced at birth).
  I told him I used to be a Hindu but i had
  converted but he insisted I was still a Hindu .
  Further, he said that he could observe all this
  because he himself was a Hindu and showed me
  Durga and Shiva idols in his almirah. His family
  has been killed off and he had since been  living
  in disguise. He said he felt happy whenever he
  could  meet another Hindu .

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Ajit Doval stayed undercover in Pakistan for 7
  years! 7 years, can you imagine that? 7 years of
  life in a foreign country living a fake life
  among alien people while following a different
  religion! And its not a movie we are talking
  about.

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Mission Zone Golden Temple, Amritsar
• This might as well be a scene from a movie. It
  was the late 1980's and the Golden temple, the
  holiest shrine of the Sikhs had been captured by
  pro- Khalistani Militants. The Army was in a
  dilemma . Besides the moral crisis of storming
  the holy place was the strategically flaw of not
  knowing the enemy number, positions or strength 
  who were holed up inside the temple. At this
  stage entered  a vendor who loitered around for 
  some days outside the temple complex. At the
  backdrop of the tense situation ,  an outsider
  who nobody had seen before moving around was sure
  to attract notice  but the truth was he was 
  deliberately playing out a suspicious character
  to get the attention of the militants . Soon , he
  was taken inside by the fanatics.  He revealed
  himself to be an  ISI agent who had come to help
  them against their fight against the Indian
  government . The terrorists were bought the tale.
• (Convincing terrorists? Now, Who does that but 
  the one and only Ajit Duval) 

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

•  Soon he had access to  the  entire complex. The
  militants Zealously showed him around and told
  him about the arrangements they had made for the
  fighting.  Duval  thus obtained and revealed
  enemy statistics to the Army which then
  successfully carried out "Operation Black
  Thunder".
• And Mr Duval was even present at the premises
  during the fighting ! No wonder, the government
  had to break all protocol to give him the Kirti
  Chakra despite him not being an army man.  

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• IC814 Hijack
• Doval was the main negotiator with the terrorists
  during IC814 hijack. Moreover, he has been
  involved in the termination of all 15 airplane
  hijacks that took place between 1971-1999.

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Ajit Doval (cont.)

• Iraq Mission Bringing back 46 Nurses from Iraq
• When the situation for 46 nurses seemed bleak in
  the violence torn country Iraq, Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi asked Doval to carry out a high
  level meeting for bringing back 46 nurses and if
  necessary to carry out a mass evacuation of
  Indians from Iraq.
• Just the day after meeting, Mr Doval went on a
  secret mission to Iraq to complete the task as he
  always did. 
• Today, Mr Doval is the National Security Advisor
  to Narendra Modi since 30 May, 2014. He was also
  the director of Intelligence Bureau in 2004-2005
  after heading its operation wing for a decade.
• In 1988, he was awarded with Kirti Chakra, one of
  the highest gallantry awards that is only given
  to military men. But seeing his contribution to
  our country, an exception was made, and he became
  the first Police Officer to receive Kirti Chakra.

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• For displaying the most conspicuous personal
  bravery and junior leadership of the highest
  order, Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey was awarded the
  Param Vir Chakra, India's highest medal for
  gallantry, posthumously.
• "He died the most glorious death", said Rai, a
  Vir Chakra awardee, recounting the epic battle of
  Kargil and Capt. Manoj's will to fight and
  indomitable spirit in capturing the Khalubar
  Hills on the night of July 2-3, 1999.
• Even in his death, there was glory, because his
  rifle were pointing towards the enemy bunkers,
  which were empty by then and the frozen fingers
  squeezing the triggers. 
• He cleared NDA in his very first attempt and in
  his SSB interview his assessor asked
• "Why do you want to join army?
• He replied, "To get the
• PARAM VIR CHAKRA".

• Manoj Kumar Pandey

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Manoj Kumar Pandey (cont.)

• Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw had once said, "If a
  man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either
  lying or is a Gurkha". The Gorkha regiment is one
  such ferocious regiment in our Indian Army and
  Captain Manoj was commissioned in to it. He was
  the platoon commander of 1/11 Gorkha rifles,
  which played a major role in the success
  of Operation Vijay. 
• Captain Manoj Pandey's regiment was in Siachen,
  from where they got the orders to move to Batalik
  Sector. His commanding officer Colonel Lalit Rai
  gave him the responsibility to re capture
  Khalubar post. Earlier, two patrolling party
  belonging to 16 Grenadiers and 3 Punjab had gone
  there, but even after 16 days there was still no
  news of them. They were all were killed by
  enemy's mortar and  heavy machine guns.

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• Captain. Manoj moved to Kukarthan, where he faced
  heavy fire and couldn't advance further.  He,
  then, decided to halt there and wait till the
  night. By taking the advantage of darkness, he
  attacked on the enemy post and fought whole night
  to capture it. In early morning hours, Capt.
  Manoj decided to end the night long battle and
  went up the post without caring about the
  possible mines. He fought ferociously and finally
  captured the post but lost 9 of his men.
• This young officers appetite of victory was not
  over yet. Unstoppable Capt. Manoj got yet another
  difficult task to recapture Jubar post on 11 June
  1999, which was considered as important due to
  its strategic location. He led his men to enemy
  position through a narrow ridge. The Pakistani
  troops started heavy fire and due to the enemy's
  position(they were on the top), it was very tough
  to find the location of their position.

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• He volunteered himself to locate the position of
  their bunkers and commanded his Platoon to stay
  in the positions. While doing so, he was hit by a
  bullet in his shoulder. He came back, informed
  his fellow Officer about the location of 6
  bunkers (2 left and 4 right) and asked him to
  take half the men and go attack the the 2 bunkers
  towards left while he took in charge to destroy
  the other 4 bunkers. 
• Even though hit, Capt. Manoj charged at the enemy
  with a loud battle cry"Jai Maa Kali, Aayo
  Gorkhali". In between, he was hit again on his
  leg and waist. He continued firing at enemy's
  bunker and then charged at enemy with his
  Khukhari, in a hand-to-hand battle to kill two
  more enemies. Inspired by him, his troop fell
  upon the enemy. 

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• Unmindful of his grievous wounds, he rushed from
  bunker to bunker urging his men to go on.
  Critically bleeding, he collapsed at the final
  bunker and finally succumbed to his injuries, but
  not before the last of the enemy had been
  annihilated. His last words were, "Na Chodnu"
  (Don't Leave Them).
• When asked, what if you are not able to achieve
  the victory? What if  you are not able to capture
  the post? He had said, "Some goals are so
  worthy, it's glorious even to fail". The words of
  this brave Indian son, still inspires me and all
  the men and women in our Country. 

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Neerja Bhanot A Brave Indian Daughter and
Heroine of the Hijack
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Neerja Bhanot (cont.)

• On 5th September, 1986, four terrorists hijacked
  the Pan Am flight 73, en route to Frankfurt and
  onward to New York City, at Karachi. Their
  targets were the American travellers on the plane
  but with quick presence of mind, Neerja Bhanot
  activated a hijack code on the aircrafts
  intercom, which let the three-member cockpit crew
  escape.
• According to reports, she hid American passports
  after realising that they were the main target of
  the terrorists.
• When the armed men began to fire blindly, Neerja
  managed to fling open the emergency door and
  asked passengers to flee.
• As she shielded three children, Neerja was hit by
  several bullets and succumbed to her injuries.
  She was dubbed as the Heroine of the Hijack
  after she saved hundreds of lives before dying to
  a hail of bullets.
• This unforeseen incident took place two days
  short of her 23rd birthday, which changed her
  life, that of her family and left an imprint on
  the pages of history.

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Neerja Bhanot (cont.)

• Such an act of bravery was acknowledged and
  rewarded by the Indian, Pakistan and American
  governments.
• Neerja posthumously became the first and only
  woman recipient of the Ashok Chakra, Indias
  highest civilian award for bravery.
• A postage stamp was also issued in her honour in
  2004.She also received the Justice for Crimes
  Award and Tamgha-e-Insaniyat award(Awarded for
  showing incredible human kindness-Pakistan).

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• Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat was an Indian
  soldier who won the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously
  at the Battle of Nuranang.
• The man was single-handedly responsible for
  baffling 300 Chinese soldiers. 
• Rifleman (RFN) Jaswant Singh, number 4039009, was
  serving with the 4th Battalion of the Garhwal
  Rifles. On 17 November the battalion was
  subjected to repeated Chinese assaults. A Chinese
  medium machine gun (MMG) located at a vantage
  point close to the A company lines was proving to
  be a dangerous menace.
• Jaswant, Lance Naik Trilok Singh Negi and RFN
  Gopal Singh Gusain went after the Chinese MMG and
  after approaching within 12 metres threw grenades
  at the bunker and charged it, killing a number of
  Chinese and capturing the MMG.

• Jaswant Singh Rawat One man Army, 1962
• Indo China war

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Jaswant Singh Rawat (cont.)

• Jaswant took the MMG and began crawling back
  towards the Indian lines but he and Trilok were
  fatally hit by Chinese automatic fire when
  nearing safety.
• Gopal Gusain was wounded but managed to drag the
  MMG into the Indian post. This turned the course
  of the battle and the Chinese retreated, leaving
  some 300 dead behind. Trilok and Gopal the Vir
  Chakra.
• A popular and widely-disseminated local story
  goes as follows  it was the final phase of
  the sino-indian war in november 1962. Even as his
  company was asked to fall back, jaswant singh
  remained at his post at an altitude of 10,000
  feet and held back chinese soldiers for three
  days assisted by two local monpa girls named sela
  and nura.
• They set up weapons at separated spots and
  maintained a volume of fire that made the Chinese
  think they were opposed by a body of troops.

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• Finally the Chinese captured the man who was
  supplying rations to Jaswant and he revealed to
  them that they were opposed by only one man.
• They attacked in force, Sela died in a grenade
  burst, Nura was captured and Jaswant supposedly
  shot himself with his last cartridge when he
  realized that he was about to be captured.
• It is alleged that the Chinese cut off Jaswant
  Singh's head and took it back to China. However,
  after the ceasefire, the Chinese commander,
  impressed by the soldier's bravery, returned the
  head along with a brass bust of Jaswant Singh.
  The bust, created in China to honor the brave
  Indian soldier, is now installed at the site of
  the battle.
• At the spot where he fought,a small temple has
  come up with a bust of his and many of his
  personal effects.

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• Yogendra Singh Yadav was a member of an Indian
  grenadier battalion during a conflict with
  Pakistan in 1999. Their mission was to climb
  "Tiger Hill" (actually a big-ass mountain), and
  neutralize the three enemy bunkers at the top.
• Unfortunately, this meant climbing up a sheer
  hundred-foot cliff-face of solid ice. Since they
  didn't want to all climb up one at a time with
  ice-axes, they decided they'd send one guy up,
  and he'd fasten the ropes to the cliff as he
  went, so everyone else could climb up the sissy
  way. Yadav, being awesome, volunteered.
• Half way up the icy cliff-o'-doom, enemies
  stationed on an adjacent mountain opened fire,
  shooting them with an RPG, then spraying
  assault-rifle fire all over the cliff. Half his
  squad was killed, including the commander, and
  the rest were scattered and disorganized. Yadav,
  in spite of being shot three times, kept
  climbing.

• Yogendra Singh Yadav

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• When he reached the top, one of the target
  bunkers opened fire on him with machine guns.
  Yadav ran toward the hail of bullets, pitched a
  grenade in the window and killed everyone inside.
• By this point the second bunker had a clear shot
  and opened fire, so he ran at them, taking
  bullets while he did, and killed the four
  heavily-armed men inside with his bare hands.
• Meanwhile, the remainder of his squad was
  standing at the top of the cliff staring at him
  saying, "dude, holy shit!" They then all went and
  took the third bunker with little trouble.
• For his gallantry and sheer balkiness', he was
  awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest
  military award. Unlike the Medal of Honour, the
  Param Vir Chakra is only given for "rarest of the
  rare gallantry which is beyond the call of duty
  and which in normal life is considered impossible
  to do." That's right, you actually have to break
  the laws of reality just to be eligible.

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• Major "Baba" Harbhajan Singh was an Indian
  army soldier who died near the Nathula Pass in
  eastern Sikkim, India. He is revered by soldiers
  of the Indian army as the "Hero of Nathula" and
  the army men have also built a shrine in his
  honour.
• He has been accorded the status of saint by
  believers who refer to him as the Baba (saintly
  father).
• Baba Harbhajan Singh born into a Sikh family on
  August 3, 1941 in the village of Batthe
  Bhaini in Punjab (India). In June 1956 he
  enrolled himself as a soldier in Amritsar and
  joined the Corps of Signals. On June 30, 1965 was
  granted a commission and posted to the 14 Rajput
  regiment. During the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war he
  served as an Adjutant of his unit. Later he was
  transferred to 18 Rajput. It was with this
  regiment that he met his end on September 11,
  1967 in Sikkim. 

• Baba Harbhajan Singh
• (August 3, 1941 September 11, 1967)

44

• His death is that he was a victim of battle at
  14500 feet of the Nathula Pass, Sikkim where
  there were many fierce skirmishes between the
  Indian Army and Chinese Red Army during the 1965
  Sino-Indian war. He was posthumously awarded the
  Maha Vir Chakra medal for his bravery and
  martyrdom on September 11, 1967.
• However, according to legend, Harbhajan Singh
  drowned in a glacier while trying to lead a
  column of mules carrying supplies to a remote
  outpost. As the first casualty of the 23rd Punjab
  Regiment in that war, a manhunt was launched to
  find him. His remains were found after three days
  and he was cremated with full military honours.
  The legend further claims that it was Harbhajan
  Singh who himself helped the search party to find
  his body. Still later, through a dream, he
  instructed one of his colleagues to build and
  maintain a shrine in his memory.

45

• Some Indian soldiers believe that in the event of
  a war between India and China, Baba would warn
  the Indian soldiers of any impending attack at
  least the three days in advance. During flag
  meetings between the two nations at Nathula, the
  Chinese set a chair aside to honour of Harbhajan
  Singh who has since come to be known as saint
  ("Baba")
• Every year on September 11, a jeep departs with
  his personal belongings to the nearest railway
  station, New Jalpaiguri, from where it is then
  sent by train to the village of Kuka,
  inKapurthala district in Punjab. While empty
  berths on any train of the Indian Railways are
  invariably allocated to any passenger without a
  confirmed reservation (Reservation against
  cancellation, RAC, or wait listed) or on a first
  come first served basis by the coach attendants,
  a special reservation for the Baba is actually
  made for him and his berth left empty for the
  entire journey to his home town every year with
  other soldiers accompanying "him" so as to reach
  him till his home. A small sum of money is also
  contributed by soldiers posted in Nathula to be
  sent to his mother each month.

46

• There are also stories of soldiers discovering
  that he visited the camps at night, used the
  bedclothes and boots in his room and on that can
  be found in various social network posts about
  him. It has also been claimed that the regiment
  still keeps an empty bed and other items of daily
  use. Some sources suggest that he continues to
  draw a major's salary every month till date.
• The carpeted central room in the shrine is
  occupied by a brass bust and large framed
  portraits of the young soldier. The complex is
  manned by barefooted uniformed personnel from the
  nearby army unit who do the droll drill-polishing
  an array of baba's boots, cleaning his uniforms,
  making his bed and shuttling his portrait between
  the bedroom and office. The soldiers insist they
  find the bed linen crumpled and the boots muddy.

47

• These legends only seem to add to the aura of the
  'immortal' soldier, with devotees - both military
  and civil - thronging his shrine. They leave
  behind offerings of water in sealed bottles with
  names inscribed, which are collected after a
  week-the time baba is believed to take to purify
  them.
•  He has defeated dead. Believe it or not but it
  is true, one of its kind of story in the world- a
  man from an Indian army in a Nathula border is
  still doing his duty even after his death some
  three decades back.
• 60km from Gangtok towards the panoramic view of
  the Nathula landscape a road leads towards the
  valley of Kupup. Here is the shrine of Baba
  Harbhajan popularly known as Baba Mandir. Baba
  Harbhajan has been guarding the international
  boundary of the two Asian giants, the China and
  India over the last three decades.

48

• Search for Sepoy Harbhajan was made with no
  results it was on the fifth day of the missing,
  his colleague Pritam Singh had a dream of
  Harbhajan Singh informing him of his tragic
  incident and his dead body being found under the
  heap of snows.
• Pritam Singh ignored the dream as just as an
  imagination but later when the body of Sepoy
  Harbhajan Singh was found at the spot where
  Harbhajan Singh had informed the army official
  was taken aback and to mark respect and towards
  his wish a samadhi was constructed near Chhokya
  Chho.
• Baba Harbhajan Singh warns the dangerous
  activities on the border through the dreams of
  fellow army men. Even Chinese army men believe to
  have seen a human figure doing patrolling in the
  night across the border.

49

• He was the only person from Indian air force to
  be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
• It was  his immediate response and a brave fight
  that led to the abortion of the enemies' bombing
  run on Srinagar airfield during the Indo pak war
  of 1971.
• During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was
  serving with the No. 18 Squadron, "The Flying
  Bullets" of IAF, flying the Folland Gnat fighter
  aircraft based at Srinagar.
• On 14 December 1971, Srinagar airfield was
  attacked by sixPakistan Air Force F-86 Sabre
  jets of 26 Sqn from PAF base Peshawar. Flying
  Officer Sekhon was on readiness duty at that
  time.
• As soon as the first aircraft attacked, Sekhon
  rolled for take-off as No 2 in a two-Gnat
  formation, with Flt Lt Ghumman in lead, just as
  the first bombs were falling on the runway.

• Flying officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon

50

• Sekhon took off in spite of the danger from the
  enemy jets which were strafing the runway.
• Fighting alone, he managed to hit two of the
  enemy air-crafts in a fierce dogfight. He secured
  hits on one aircraft and set another on fire. By
  this time the other Sabre aircraft came to the
  aid of their hard-pressed companions and Flying
  Officer Sekhon's Gnat was again outnumbered, this
  time by four to one.
• Even though alone, Flying Officer Sekhon engaged
  the enemy in an unequal combat. In the fight that
  followed, at treetop height, he almost held his
  nerves, but was eventually overcome by the sheer
  weight of numbers. His aircraft crashed and he
  was killed.

51
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52
SOME EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL INSPIRING
ENTREPRENEURS
53
'Ask shamelessly, be empathetic'

• "I don't want to make a list only because I'm a
  woman and a minority.
• "As an entrepreneur, I am just starting out and
  have a long way to go. But in the future, I don't
  want to hear of women entrepreneurs as a category
  at all.
• Entrepreneur Ashwini Ashokan talks about her
  early struggles as an entrepreneur and what it
  means to be a woman in a man's world.

54
I left Silicon Valley to come to India to start
an AI company with my husband I am a woman
co-founder of an Artificial Intelligence company
and I don't write a single line of code. And I
wear this story on my sleeve to tell everyone to
back off with their stereotypes," says Ashwini
Asokan of Mad Street Den (MSD). As a woman in
technology who doesn't code, a mother of two and
married to her co-founder, Ashwini is vocal about
what is the need of the hour as regards women in
start-ups, and how women need to take
charge. Not one to just say what needs to be
done but lead by example, Ashwini had some great
inputs to share. In a candid chat she spoke
about her life, challenges and women in tech.
Here are some excerpts
55
Growing up Chennai is home to Ashwini. As a
trained classical dancer and musician she
travelled around the country performing between
the ages of 14-21. Knowing that she would be an
artist she barely attended college. However, her
dad had other ideas and insisted she do a masters
in Interaction Design. Interestingly, her thesis
at Carnegie Mellon was on movement grammars,
exploring how cultural forms of dance can help us
think about how we design movement into our
robots and other digital agents. "My entire life
has been spent building on the threads that run
through dance, music, design, computers, people,
culture and I owe all that to one man -- my
dad. "Somehow, he seems to know everything about
everything," says Ashwini. Her mother is the
backbone of the family and a doting grandmother
who is unmatched in her child care skills to her
kids.
56
At Intel Intel proved to be a good, end to end
learning experience for Ashwini. Dr Genevieve
Bell, an anthropologist and also Ashwini's boss
for over 10 years, was setting up a UX
organisation inside the Smart Home business and
putting together a team of designers,
anthropologists, human factor engineers to study
the future of TV and help design a path
forward. Ashwini got to be a part of the team
and work with people in manufacturing, in
hardcore silicon design, software and
sensors. "My entire journey at Intel has been a
lesson in the entire stack and working out how
UX, design and people centric research help drive
technology research and development. During the
last four years at Intel, Ashwini was driving the
mobile research agenda for their lab and working
closely with machine learning, image recognition,
teams working with sensors and contextual
computing and that's where her interest in
Artificial Intelligence grew.
57
One of the biggest lessons she learnt in her
professional life has been to be open and try out
as many different roles and dabble in all types
of adjacent fields. "I understand how neural
networks work, I understand the core principles
of machine learning, I know enough about how tech
is put together and more than anything else, I
know my core well understanding and applying
technology in a meaningful way for people around
the world.  
58
Starting up and Mad Street Den
59
"I have been married to a neuroscientist and
Artificial Intelligence (AI) head. Our days and
nights were filled with conversations about AI
and the future of people and tech. "It was only
natural for us to go down this path together. I
don't think I'd have done this if I wasn't
married to him. "Our ideas for the future have
been an integral part of how we've discovered and
grown with each other. "I've changed so much
since we've been married and I have no one else
but him to credit for that. Ashwini has had
enough of the doomsday scenarios and the negative
light in which AI is usually seen. She is using
her blog as a medium to change that mindset. Mad
Street Den (MAS) for her is not just a technology
company -- it is a company that is hoping to
bring AI and computer vision to people in a
meaningful way.
60
On being an entrepreneur According to Ashwini, an
entrepreneur needs to view the market as people,
place, systems with stories, emotions and habits
for it is important to understand the market as a
space where our products are going to live
in. For Ashwini, the life of an entrepreneur is
defined by constant change. "One has to
constantly keep changing and learning. Also, as
an entrepreneur you have to nurture a few
qualities and the most important one according to
her is empathy. Women in tech Ashwini is very
vocal about women in tech on social media and
according to her it is a pipeline problem that
the number of women that graduate and are
eligible for employment falls drastically into a
few years of employment as they get married and
have kids. It is not the woman's problem,
Ashwini says, "The system is stacked up against
them."
61
How this works is that there is a lack of
infrastructure and policies that support a
woman's journey through different stages of her
life. In fact, the entire tech industry is
designed for a typical male a male who doesn't
have to care about domestic chores or raising
children. "Start-up spaces too are predominantly
male for example start-ups pick up foosball
tables, console games and shiny cafes to nursing
rooms and child care centres. Ashwini is
hopeful about the number increasing but it won't
happen on its own. The push has to come from
women in positions of power forging ahead with
changing the status quo, not just supporting each
other but doing the things that will change the
numbers and conditions for women. The other
important contributing factor has to be educating
founders and investors on the need to level the
playing field.
62
"You can't just sit there and say OK! You're
equal, come on prove it to us.' You have to work
to even the playing field, which has been uneven
for generations. We continue to lament about
the insignificant percentage of women in tech,
but you have to give it to this small body of
women that is trying to lead the change and
Ashwini is doing her bit as well. "At MSD, we
are a team of four women and four men now. I've
planned adequately for play/ care space if a mom
joins us at work in the near future. I've a space
for them to nurse/pump. She is working with a
few people in Chennai to start and maintain a
women in tech group as part of a pipeline to get
women into mainstream start-up groups.
63
Breaking stereotypes As women, we are responsible
for our own careers and needs. It is essential to
be clear about who you are in the first place and
then you have "to ask shamelessly" --  those were
the first few lessons Ashwini learnt from her
women mentors at Intel. Sharing her own example
she says, "I moved to India recently after living
my whole adult life in the US. I am not a
20-year- old starting up. I am a mother of two
kids. "I have a six-month-old, a
four-and-a-half-year-old. I took my breast pump
with me everywhere I travelled on day trips these
past six months pitching to VCs around the
country. "I went to the rest room at least twice
during my time in those VC meetings to pump for
my newborn and carried that milk back to Chennai
from Bombay, Bangalore and everywhere else I
went.
64
MSD recently raised funding which means there
will be more work and travel coming Ashwini's
way. But since she is married to her co-founder
be it the family, household, kids, work -- they
are in it together. "We demand that from each
other and we will take nothing lesser than that
from each other. And like I've often said, he's
more of a feminist than I've ever been. As
regards, asking shamelessly, she says, Ask for a
nursing mom's room and make them realise they
weren't empathetic towards working moms at their
workplace. Ask for a child care section at a
tech conference to make them realise they didn't
consider working women who also have children to
care for after 7 pm. Ask to move a hackathon
from a 48 hour all-night event to a day time
event. I will not stop asking.
65
Ashwini says one day she will be an entrepreneur
and not a woman entrepreneur, an entrepreneur
making it to the top entrepreneurs' list and not
the top women entrepreneurs' list. "I don't want
to make a list only because I'm a woman and a
minority. I'll take that today because I know
that unfortunately I am a part of a minority and
I need to speak up for that minority. "I'm well
aware of that. "As an entrepreneur, I am just
starting out and have a long way to go. But in
the future, I don't want to hear of women
entrepreneurs as a category at all. _____________
________________________________________________
66
The child bride who is now the CEO of a 112
million company

• "Living is hard, but dying is easy.
• "These were my last thoughts as I downed a bottle
  of poison.
• "My aunt caught me in the act and rushed me to
  the local hospital...
• "When I opened my eyes in the hospital room I was
  not the same person any more.
• "Gone was the naive helpless girl the world had
  deemed too worthless to exist.
• "I felt strong, recharged and empowered.

67
Padmashree awardee Kalpana Saroj who fought child
marriage, poverty and a host of social injustice
went on to become the CEO of a million dollar
company and lived to tell her tale.
68
Kalpana Saroj is described as the 'original
slumdog millionaire', a compliment as backhanded
as it is degrading. Born in poverty and
subjected to inhuman abuse, she overcame
impossible odds to become one of the most sought
after entrepreneurs in the country. Today she is
at the helm of a 112 million empire that is
growing rapidly. How she did that is as
heart breaking as it is faith affirming. The
only lesson you need to understand from her
journey, she insists, is that ivy league degrees
and fancy MBAs are not what make an
entrepreneur. Grit, perseverance and a
superhuman ability to have faith in yourself
does. Her story, in her words
69
Early life I was born in Vidarbha. My father was
a constable and we used to live in the police
quarters assigned to us. I had three sisters and
two brothers. I was a bright student and loved
school. In the quarters where we stayed, I and
the other children would play with abandon. It
is the adults who posed the problem. They
expressed displeasure if I ever came over,
scolded their children for playing with me and
forbade them from visiting my home or accept any
food I offered. This attitude, though hurtful,
was unsurprising.
70
It is the behaviour of the faculty at school that
shocked me. They tried to make me sit apart from
other students, constantly prevented me from
participating in extracurricular activities and
undermined any dreams I had for myself. It
didn't matter anyway as I was pulled out of
school in class seven and married off. Victim of
child marriage My father was not a very educated
man, but courtesy his job in the law enforcement,
he was emancipated in his views and wanted me to
complete my education. But in the Dalit community
where I grew up, child marriage was the norm. My
father's refusal was drowned out by the clamour
and clangour of the extended family -- people who
placed little to no worth in the life of a little
girl. My father was powerless against their
united front. I was powerless.
71
Life post marriage The kind of society where I
grew up, it was a given that life post marriage
would not be a bed of roses. I was mentally
prepared for all the slavery that was expected of
me. But even I couldn't have foreseen the hell
that was to come next. I was a scrawny kid of
twelve, responsible for all the cooking,
cleaning, laundry etc. for a household of about
ten people. But that wasn't enough. They were a
sadistic lot and I was the easiest scapegoat
around. They would look for the slightest excuse
-- too much salt in food, house not scrubbed
clean enough and so on- to hit me, brutally
kicking, punching and thrashing. They starved me
and heaped emotional and physical abuses on
me. When my father came to see me six months
later, he was horrified. He said he saw a
walking corpse, not his daughter.
72
Walk of shame In my community, and most poverty
stricken societies across the nation, girls are
burdens to be cast off at marriage, never to be
thought of again. When my father brought me back
home, not a single eyebrow was raised at what I
had been made to go through. What caused the
hysterics was the 'shame' I was bringing upon my
family, community and society at large by daring
to return home a married girl. I was determined
not to be a burden on my father. I applied at a
local women's constable recruitment camp, nursing
school and even the military. But either my age
or lack of education got me rejected. Forlorn, I
picked up some tailoring skills and started
sewing blouses at rupees ten apiece. But the
levels of hate and taunts kept rising.
73
My father gently suggested I go back to school,
but I could not fathom putting up with the
humiliation and vitriol coming my way every time
I tried to leave home. People kept whispering
that only if I killed myself would the dishonour
that I had wrought upon my family be expunged. So
I obliged. A second chance at life Living is
hard, but dying is easy. These were my last
thoughts as I downed a bottle of poison. My aunt
caught me in the act and rushed me to the local
hospital. I was in a critical condition and
doctors informed my parents that if I didn't
regain consciousness within twenty four hours
then all hope was lost. I don't know how it is I
didn't die, given the quantity of poison I had
had. But when I opened my eyes in the hospital
room I was not the same person any more.
74
Gone was the naïve helpless girl the world had
deemed too worthless to exist. I felt strong,
recharged and empowered. I had been given a
second chance at life and wasn't going to waste
it on self-pity for one more second. A new
life I convinced my parents to let me move to
Mumbai, where I stayed with an uncle and
committed to my tailoring gig full time. A
little while later, due to bureaucratic shuffles,
my father lost his job. I was the eldest daughter
and only earning member of the family. I put
down my savings as deposit and rented a small
room at forty rupees a month. My siblings and
parents joined me here. The space was cramped
and money was tight, but we were together and
that's what mattered.
75
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76
The tragedy that made me an entrepreneur As I
mentioned, money was scarce. Amidst this, my
youngest sister fell ill. We could not afford her
treatment. We scrounged everywhere, but to no
avail. She kept crying, Didi save me. I don't
want to die. But I could not help her. Her
words are seared in my memory. That's when I
realised that life without money is useless and I
was going to earn lots of it. I started working
sixteen hours a day, a habit I still maintain.
77
Getting started I went through various government
schemes and applied for a loan (Mahatma Jyotibhai
Phule scheme). With that small seed fund, I
started a small furniture business where I sold
cheap versions of high end furniture from
Ulhasnagar. I did not give up my tailoring gig
either. Our circumstances gradually began to
improve. I learnt everything about being an
entrepreneur from the ground up through this
business -- sourcing raw materials, the art of
negotiating, identifying market trends and, above
all, holding my own among a sea of crooks trying
to take advantage of me. I also started a small
NGO where we aggregated and distributed knowledge
about the various government loans and schemes
available to people like me. I did not want a
single child, boy or girl, go through what had
happened to me.
78
I wanted to let them know that they could do
wonderful things with their life if only they
cared to find out how. Seizing opportunities It
took me two years to pay off my initial loan.
Meanwhile I was on the lookout for other business
opportunities and an interesting offer came my
way. The proprietor of a litigation locked land
needed cash urgently. He offered to sell me his
property for a pittance because the land was
practically worthless to him. I 'begged and
borrowed' the funds to buy it and then threw
myself into the ensuing legal torture that
unfolded. The next two years I was in and out of
the courts, trying to get my property cleared
up. After that was successful I wanted to get
the land developed, but had no resources for the
same.
79
So I took on a partner who agreed to invest if
his share was sixty five per cent of the
profit. Soon a building came up on that
land. With my thriving furniture and real estate
business, I felt life had come a full circle. But
the best was yet to come. The strange case of
Kamani Tubes Ramjibhai Kamani was a disciple of
both Nehru and Gandhi, a pioneering entrepreneur
in a newly independent India. After independence
he came to Kurla and opened three companies --
Kamani Tubes, Kamani Engineering and Kamani
Metal. His ideas were firmly rooted in worker
rights and their welfare. He had big visions for
the country's economic progress and wanted to be
a key player in the nation's development.
80
All went well for him. But in 1987, not long
after his death, dispute broke out among his
sons. The Union at the time went to court to
demand that the ownership be transferred to the
workers since the owners were acting against the
best interests of the company. At that time such
changes were sweeping across countries like
France, Germany and Japan. In India, Kamani
became the first company where the Supreme Court
passed the ownership from the legal heirs to the
Workers Union. But if there are going to be
three thousand owners, who is going to do the
actual work? Soon tussles and the inevitable ego
clashes broke out. The union leaders had no
vested interest in the company, they were just
out to make a quick buck.
81
Since this was the first time the rights of the
workers had been, supposedly, upheld people
assumed that Kamani industries was at the
forefront of a revolution. Banks poured in with
loans, extensions and credits. The government
provided them with various funds and
benefits. They had huge capital and no expertise
with which to utilise it. From 1987 to 1997 the
company kept limping along. Shutting it down was
not an option. Since the servants were the
masters, who was supposed to do the shutting
down? Once the investors realised what was
actually going on, they came down heavily. The
electricity and water supply was cut. Once IDBI
surveyed the situation and realised that the
workers had become defaulters, the court mandated
that a new promoter be brought in.
82
140 litigation cases had been filed against the
company. A debt of 116 crores had been
incurred. Two unions were battling it out for
supremacy. Of the three Kamani firms, two had
already gone into liquidation. The third seemed
set to go down the same way. That is when the
workers came to me, entreating me to save their
company and, thus, their livelihood. My
flourishing NGO and my business acumen had earned
me a decent reputation among certain circles. My
knowledge was nil, but the thought of 566
starving families gave me pause. I have nothing
to lose, I thought.
83
The battle In my first order of business I formed
a core team of ten, each an expert in their
respective fields. Then we hired some
consultants and created a proposal on how to go
about fixing the damage. When I took my proposal
to the board (which comprised of several IDBI and
bank representatives), they said they would give
me the go ahead if I agreed to sit on the board
and took charge of all liabilities. I agreed.
They appointed me president. This was in
2000. From 2000 to 2006, we were just running in
and out of courts. I realised that penalty taxes
and interest were the main contributing factors
of the Rs 116 crore amount. I approached the
then finance minister and pleaded with him to
forgive the penalty and interest.
84
If the company goes into liquidation, then no
one will benefit, I told him. This way at least
the lenders can get their money back. He held
extensive talk with the banks. I feel proud to
report what happened next. Not only were the
penalty and interest amounts forgiven, they
deducted 25 per cent from the principle amount as
well. Now that the debt had been reduced to less
than half the original sum, life got much
easier. In 2006 I was appointed chairman of the
company. The court transferred ownership of
Kamani tubes to me. We were told to pay off the
bank loans within seven years. We did it within
one. We were instructed to clear the workers back
wages within three years.
85
We did it within three months. We gave out five
crores and ninety lakhs, instead of the requisite
five crores only. While we were paying off debts
and clearing liability, it was imperative to
focus on restarting manufacturing and getting the
firm back on its feet. We started by replacing
all the machinery which either had been stolen or
fallen to disrepair. The union had also sold the
land in Kurla, on which the factory operated,
long before I came on board. In 2009 I shifted
the factory to Wada, where I had bought a plot of
seven acres.
86
The future beckons Ramji Bhai Kamani had started
Kamani industries with a vision for what the
newly minted nation of India would look like and
the radical role companies like his would play in
the nation's growth. I share those dreams and
will take this company forward in the way he
envisioned it -- on the principles of justice,
fair play and equality. I am in the process of
acquiring the other two branches of the Kamani
firm that had gone into liquidation -- soon I
will have reunited the empire that once was.
87
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88
How to get a job at Facebook

• "Good grades is definitely a plus point, but it
  is neither necessary nor sufficient."
• "Relax and prepare hard. You will get what you
  wish for."
• Computer science student Deepali Adlakha who
  recently secured a job at Facebook talks about
  the various interview stages and tells us how she
  cracked it.

89
It is the season of campus placements. Deepali
Adlakha, a final year computer science graduate
at the IIT Bombay recently bagged a job offer at
Facebook. Adlakha has interned with Microsoft in
May 2014 and has been an internship co-ordinator
with the placement cell at IIT-Bombay. She
scored 93.80 per cent in class 10, 96.20 per cent
in class 12 and secured a CGPA of 8.95 per cent
at the IIT. We speak to the young achiever to
find out how she cracked the interview
90
What were your thoughts when you realised that
you've been offered a job at Facebook? I don't
consider it as a 'rare' feat. Many people have
got such good offers both in the present and
past. Did you receive any other offers besides
Facebook? I gave interviews to Facebook, Google
and Microsoft. Facebook was one among my top
preferences. Since I got the the Facebook offer
first I was out of the campus placement
process.  Can you brief us about the interview
process? Facebook had one coding test, after
which there were three rounds of interview. All
the interviews tested your technical
knowledge. What did the interviews test
candidates for? In all the three interviews I
appeared, the student is tested on his/her
thought process, how s/he arrives at the answer
rather than just the answer. What was your
preparation strategy? I practised coding,
answering algorithmic design questions. I had a
rough overview of all my courses, hence I didn't
spend much time revising them.
91
What kind of skills do you think helped you get
the job? A student should know how to code, both
on paper and on the system. That is all that
matters. What resources did you follow? I used
Hackerrank and Codechef for practicing
problems. How important is academic excellence
to crack a job interview? Good grades is
d