Success is defined as an achievement on something you’ve been trying to do. But success is not a piece of cake, it takes a lot of determination and hard work to achieve success.

When it comes to India a lot of people have achieved success with determination from a very young age. One of these are soldiers, they are men of steel, standing tall in the harshest of conditions. They disregard freezing cold temperatures and scorching heat and are always there to protect you and me. There are also soldiers who have been brutally injured or handicapped by fighting for the country, and for each one of us. But these soldiers haven’t lost hope and still have stood in the forefront , fighting for us. One such soldier is Major General Ian Cardozo.

Major general Ian Cardozo was born on 7th August 1937 in Mumbai. He has fought many wars like Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and the Battle of Sylhet. He has also won the Sena Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal .In 1971, during the time of war he was a young major with 5 Gorkha Rifles. In the Indo-Pakistan war , he stepped on a land-mine and injured his leg heavily. His leg had to be amputated, but due to various reasons the doctors failed in performing the surgery so he himself fetched a Gorkha knife and cut off his leg and shockingly asked the doctors to bury it. Cardozo wasn't the least affected by this and went on to become the first handicapped soldier in the Indian army.

Once a wise man rightly said ,” Success is achieved by ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”The life of Ian Cardozo is a sole example of untanned determination and selfless love for one’s country. So, let us promise ourselves that once we set a goal, we will strive to achieve it through our hard work and determination and always think and work for the betterment of our society.