From a young age, Vickrant Raj knew he wanted to wear the Army uniform. Today, his speech is slurred and he needs help with every step. Yet whenever he watches an Army film on television, his eyes light up and he dreams of contributing in some way.
Shubham Gupta once imagined himself in the cockpit of a fighter jet, but now he cannot even hold a glass of water.
Kishan Kulakarni depends entirely on his mother, a former schoolteacher, for even the simplest daily tasks. Harish Sinhmar, once full of promise, has lost the will to live.
All of them trained at India’s most prestigious military institutions, the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA), selected after rigorous tests and driven by a passion to defend the nation. Today, they are among the many former cadets living with devastating injuries, fighting their battles quietly and without the recognition they once sought.
Since 1985, about 500 officer cadets have been medically discharged from these academies due to severe training-related disabilities. Most now face soaring medical expenses, surviving on an ex gratia payment far below what their treatment demands. At the NDA alone, roughly 20 cadets were discharged for medical reasons in the past five years, from 2021 to July 2025, according to official sources.
According to existing rules, these cadets are not entitled to ex-servicemen (ESM) status, which would have made them eligible for the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and allowed free treatment at military facilities and empanelled hospitals. Their disabilities occurred during training, before they were commissioned as officers.
Unlike soldiers injured in training who receive ESM status, these former officer cadets are limited to an ex gratia payment of up to Rs 40,000 per month, depending on the extent of disability. The amount, they say, falls far short of basic needs, with average medical expenses alone reaching Rs 50,000 a month or more.
After years of waiting in vain for support, their hopes now rest on a renewed government push for relief. However, The Indian Express found that this effort has been mired in red tape for more than a year.
“Without ESM status, medical care has to be done at private hospitals, including physiotherapy, which leaves families with huge bills. Should cadets like my son not get ESM status so that he can at least get treatment in military hospitals?” asks Suman Raj, mother of 26-year-old Vickrant, who receives Rs 40,000 a month but faces medical bills nearing Rs 1 lakh.
“A disability pension and ex-serviceman status can give me a life of dignity,” says Shubham. “My life is over but this should not happen to any other young cadet,” says Harish.
Bharati, the mother of Kishan, has not been able to start physiotherapy for her son even three years after his discharge from the NDA. “We are not from a military background, we are teachers. We do not understand the processes linked to this ex gratia,” says Bharati, a former school vice-principal.
Over the past month, The Indian Express spoke to former cadets and their families, reviewing medical records and finding a long list of cases involving severe injuries from paralysis to brain damage, leaving behind broken dreams, permanent scars, and deep emotional pain.
“It is so painful for a mother,” says Bharati.
Vickrant Raj, 26
Home: Chandigarh
NDA Tenure: December 2016 to June 2020
Injury: Head injury leading to subdural haemorrhage (bleeding between the brain and its outer covering)
Monthly Ex Gratia: Rs 40,000
Monthly Medical Expenses: Around Rs 95,000
Once seen as a potential fifth-generation officer, Vickrant’s journey changed drastically after a head injury at the NDA left him in a six-month coma. Today, he needs assistance to walk, perform basic tasks, and his speech remains slurred.
Ranked fourth in the NDA entrance exam, Vickrant was known for his discipline and promise. His mother, Suman Raj, recalls how people often said he had “officer-like qualities” and was “General material.” She says he was doing well at the NDA until 2018, when a boxing bout injury left him hospitalised for a week.
Despite lingering symptoms, he went on to complete the Rovers Camp endurance test and his term exams. Later that year, he joined a football match against medical advice. The ball struck the same spot on his head, causing a collapse and brain surgery. He slipped into a coma, his weight dropping from 70 kg to nearly half in a matter of weeks.
Suman, herself the daughter of an Air Force officer, says her son devoted eight years to the military, from joining the Rashtriya Indian Military College at the age of 11 to his medical discharge from the NDA at 19. Even now, military speeches and films reignite his desire to serve. Recently, after watching NSA Ajit Doval’s address at IIT Chennai, he asked how he could join R&AW.
For his mother, the hardest part is watching him long to serve while living with the lasting effects of his injury, along with the pain of losing friends who once trained by his side.
Shubham Gupta, 33
Home: Bathinda, Punjab
NDA Tenure: June 2010 to June 2014
Injury: Cervical spinal injury resulting in quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs and torso)
Monthly Ex Gratia: Rs 40,000
Monthly Medical Expenses: Rs 40,000
From a young age, Shubham was captivated by the sight of aircraft soaring above his home, inspired in part by his uncle’s service in the Indian Air Force. In June 2010, he joined the NDA determined to turn that fascination into a career as a fighter pilot.
Two years later, in April 2012, a training accident changed everything. During a deep dive in the swimming pool, he fractured his neck, leaving him paralysed from the neck down. He survived after eight surgeries and two months on a ventilator, but the injury caused extensive nerve damage.
Shubham underwent long-term treatment at Command Hospital and Military Hospital in Pune, yet showed little recovery. Eventually, he was medically discharged from the NDA. Today, he requires daily physiotherapy, constant assistance from two attendants, and cannot perform even the simplest tasks on his own.
His younger brother serves as a doctor in the Army, while his father is a retired soil conservation officer and his mother a retired school teacher. Shubham spends his time tracking stock market trends and studying astrology. Although he has no school friends living nearby, his NDA batchmates, many now Majors in the Army, visit him whenever they are in town.
Kishan Kulakarni, 25
Home: Hubballi, Karnataka
NDA Tenure: January 2019 to April 2022
Injury: Cardiac arrest leading to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (oxygen and blood deprivation in the brain)
Monthly Ex Gratia: Rs 40,000
Monthly Medical Expenses: Rs 40,000
Since July 2020, Kishan has been bedridden, with medical reports indicating over 90% nerve damage in his brain. According to doctors, the damage resulted from oxygen deprivation and is unlikely to regenerate.
His mother, Bharati Joshi, a former school teacher and single parent, manages all his care on her own. She ensures he is fed regularly, changes his urine bag and diapers, and monitors his condition day and night. Physiotherapy has not yet started, as the family only recently began receiving the ex gratia payment.
Based on information she received from authorities, Bharati says Kishan was serving milk to fellow cadets during breakfast when he became disoriented and collapsed. Medical records link his cardiac arrest to training. He spent two years under treatment at Military Hospital in Kirkee before being medically discharged in April 2022.
The incident left him completely bedridden. Bharati took voluntary retirement to provide full-time care and now plans to take him to Pune for another diagnosis, a journey made challenging by his fragile condition. The family is also searching for an attendant to assist in his care.
Kartik Sharma, 27
Home: Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh
NDA Tenure: June 2015 to November 2021
Injury: Traumatic spinal cord injury with quadriplegia
Monthly Ex Gratia: Rs 40,000
Monthly Medical Expenses: Rs 40,000
An alumnus of Sainik School Sujanpur Tira, Kartik was selected as an Air Force cadet with dreams of becoming a fighter pilot. Today, he relies on an automatic wheelchair and an attendant for daily tasks, his limbs too weak to move a manual chair.
The injury occurred in 2016 during an organised training activity. Initially treated at Command Hospital in Pune, his condition worsened after contracting pneumonia, prompting an airlift to R&R Hospital in Delhi in March 2016. He spent over five years undergoing rehabilitation at Military Hospital in Khirkee before being discharged in November 2021.
Refusing to let his circumstances define him, Kartik turned to sports and academics. He represented his state twice in para table tennis at the national level, earned a degree in political science, and is pursuing a master’s in the same field through IGNOU. He has also cleared the UGC NET and is preparing for the civil services examination.
Harish Sinhmar, 40
Home: Rohtak, Haryana
IMA Tenure: June 2006 to December 2007
Injury: Severe head injury
Monthly Ex Gratia: Rs 40,000
Monthly Medical Expenses: Rs 70,000
An alumnus of Sainik School, Kunjpura (Haryana), Harish sustained a severe head injury during a boxing match at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. The blow led to brain surgery and a 42-day coma. Nearly two decades after being discharged, he spends much of his day asleep—up to 15 hours—with little to keep him engaged.
While he can walk around the house and occasionally visit the local grocery store, Harish continues to struggle with serious after-effects. “My mental health has suffered. Sometimes I collapse without warning, sometimes I lash out at those around me. I take regular medication for seizures, live with partial loss of motor control, memory lapses, and blurred vision,” he said.
Harish admits to feeling bitterness about the course his life has taken. “My coursemates are Colonels now, and I don’t have any friends from my IMA days. My parents still take care of me, but for how long? My father even says he hopes I go before he does, so that I am never left alone,” he shared quietly.
This is a stark reminder that behind the glory of military service are stories of sacrifice that often go unseen, and that a nation’s duty to its defenders must extend beyond the battlefield to ensure they live with dignity, care, and respect.
Conclusion
These stories reflect the resilience and determination of young men who once trained to defend the nation and are now navigating life with immense courage despite life-altering injuries.
From the parade grounds of premier military academies to the quiet corners of their homes, their journeys have changed course, but their spirit remains strong.
Supported by their families and driven by memories of service, they continue to face each day with dignity.
Their experiences stand as a reminder of the commitment they once pledged and the strength they still embody, inspiring others with their perseverance and will to carry on.
(With Inputs from The Indian Express)
