The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy, similar to the British Victoria Cross, US Medal of Honor, or French Legion of Honor. It can be awarded posthumously with many of the awards having been awarded posthumously.
Param Vir means "Bravest of the Brave" in Sanskrit. (Param = Highest; Vīr = Brave (warrior); Chakra = wheel/medal).
The PVC was established on 26 January 1950 (the date of India becoming a republic), by the President of India, with effect from 15 August 1947 (the date of Indian independence). It can be awarded to officers or enlisted personnel from all branches of the Indian military. It is the second highest award of the government of India after Bharat Ratna (amendment in the statute on 26 January 1980 resulted in this order of wearing). It replaced the former British colonial Victoria Cross (VC), (see List of Indian Victoria Cross recipients).
Provision was made for the award of a bar for second (or subsequent) awards of the Param Vir Chakra. To date, there have been no such awards. Award of the decoration carries with it the right to use P.V.C. as a postnominal abbreviation.
The award also carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent) and, in some cases, a cash award. On the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the widow until her death or remarriage. The paltry amount of the pension has been a rather controversial issue throughout the life of the decoration. By March 1999, the stipend stood at Rs. 1500 per month. In addition, many states have established individual pension rewards that far exceeds the central government's stipend for the recipients of the decoration.
Subedar Major Bana Singh of the Eighth Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry was the only serving personnel of the Indian defence establishment with a Param Vir Chakra till the Kargil operations
Design
The medal was designed by Savitri Khanolkar (born Eva Yuonne Linda Maday-de-Maros to a Hungarian father and Russian mother) who was married to an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar. This was done following a request from the first native Adjutant General, Major General Hira Lal Atal, who in turn had been entrusted with the responsibility of coming up with an Indian equivalent of the Victoria Cross by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the Indian Union. Coincidentally, the first Param Vir Chakra was awarded to her son-in-law, Major Somnath Sharma for his bravery in the Kashmir operations in November 1947. He died while evicting Pakistani infiltrators and raiders from the Srinagar Airport. This was when India and newly-formed Pakistan had the first war over the Kashmir issue.
The medal is a circular bronze disc with a 1-3/8 inch (approximately 3.5 cm) diameter. In the center, on a raised circle, the state emblem. Surrounding this, four replicas of Indra's Vajra (the all-powerful mythic weapon of the ancient Vedic King of Gods). The decoration is suspended from a straight swiveling suspension bar. It is named on the edge.
On the rear, around a plain center, are two legends separated by lotus flowers. The words Param Vir Chakra are written in Hindi and English.
Ribbon of the Param Vir ChakraThe ribbon which holds the Param Vir Chakra is of 32 mm length and purple in colour. The medal was designed to symbolize Rishi Dadhichi, who had donated his bones to the Gods for making Vajra, and contains an image of Shivaji's sword Bhawani on the other side.[citation needed].The Indian General Service Medial (1947) also contains the Bhavani sword.
IC-521 Major Som Nath Sharma 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment November 3, 1947 Badgam, Kashmir Posthumous
IC-22356 Lance Naik Karam Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment October 13, 1948 Tithwal, Kashmir
SS-14246 Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane Corps of Engineers April 8, 1948 Naushera, Kashmir
27373 Naik Jadu Nath Singh 1st Battalion, Rajput Regiment February 1948 Naushera, Kashmir Posthumous
2831592 Company Havildar Major Piru Singh 6th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles July 17/18, 1948 Tithwal, Kashmir Posthumous
IC-8497 Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria 3rd Battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment) December 5, 1961 Elizabethville, Katanga, Congo Posthumous
IC-7990 Major Dhan Singh Thapa 1st Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles October 20, 1962 Ladakh, India
JC-4547 Subedar Joginder Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment October 23, 1962 Tongpen La, Northeast Frontier Agency, India Posthumous
IC-7990 Major Shaitan Singh 13th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment November 18, 1962 Rezang La Posthumous
2639885 Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid 4th Battalion, The Grenadiers September 10, 1965 Chima, Khem Karan Sector Posthumous
IC-5565 Lieutenant-Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore 17th Poona Horse October 15, 1965 Phillora, Sialkot Sector, Pakistan Posthumous
4239746 Lance Naik Albert Ekka 14th Battalion, Bihar Regiment December 3, 1971 Gangasagar Posthumous
10877 F(P) Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon No.18 Squadron, Indian Air Force December 14, 1971 Srinagar, Kashmir Posthumous
IC-25067 2/Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal 17th Poona Horse December 16, 1971 Jarpal, Shakargarh Sector Posthumous
IC-14608 Major Hoshiar Singh 3rd Battalion, The Grenadiers December 17, 1971 Basantar River, Shakargarh Sector
JC-155825 Naib Subedar Bana Singh 8th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry June 23, 1987 Siachen Glacier, Jammu and Kashmir
IC-32907 Major Ramaswamy Parameshwaran 8th Battalion, Mahar Regiment November 25, 1987 Sri Lanka Posthumous
IC-56959 Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey 1st Battalion, 11th Gorkha Rifles July 3, 1999 Khaluber/Juber Top, Batalik sector, Kargil area, Jammu and Kashmir Posthumous
2690572 Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav 18th Battalion, The Grenadiers July 4, 1999 Tiger Hill, Kargil area
13760533 Rifleman Sanjay Kumar 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles July 5, 1999 Area Flat Top, Kargil Area
IC-57556 Captain Vikram Batra 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles July 6, 1999 Point 5140, Point 4875, Kargil Area Posthumous
More information
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2008)
Of the 21 awardees, 20 are from Indian Army and 1 from Indian Air Force.
Som Nath Sharma, the first recipient of the award, was the award designer Mrs. Savitri Khanolkar's son-in-law.
14 of the 21 awards were posthumous.
Grenadiers Regiment have received the most number of Param Vir Chakras, with 3 awards, one each for the Indo-Pakistan 1965 war, 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and the Kargil War. The Gorkha Rifles have also received 3 awards, with the 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), 8th Gorkha Rifles and 11th Gorkha Rifles each receiving one.
The Sikh Regiment, Kumaon Regiment, 17th Poona Horse and Jammu and Kashmir Rifles have received 2 awards.
The highest rank to be awarded a Param Vir Chakra is that of a Lieutenant Colonel. Lt. Col. Ardeshir Tarapore, thus, had the highest rank to get this award.
The award to Major Dhan Singh Thapa, for the battle of Sirijap in the 1962 War was initially announced as a Posthumous award. It was not known that Major Thapa was taken POW at that time.
By an administrative mistake, the Param Vir Chakra to Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav was also announced posthumously. At that time Gren Yadav was recuperating in a hospital from his wounds. This was because there was another Soldier with the exact same name in his Unit who died in the same operation.
Between 1983-85, The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., took delivery of 15 ships (oil tankers) from Hyundai Shipyard and they were named after the then PVC awardees. The ships were named as "Company Havildar Major Piru Singh PVC". In fact in foreign ports the word PVC had to be explained to the pilots because it was construed by them to mean synthetic PVC.