Param Vir Chakra

Template:Infobox Indian Awards

The Param Vir Chakra is an Indian military decoration given for valour in combat operations. It is India's highest military honour. The name is sometimes abbreviated as PVC. Literaly, Param Vir means Bravest of the Brave (Sanskrit: Parama = Highest; Vīra (Pronounced veer) = Brave (warrior); Chakra = wheel but it can also mean medal, depending to the context). It is pronounced Param Vīr and not Parama Vīra because of a modern North Indian convention of not pronouncing word-final unstressed vowels (schwas)).

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). and presently 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).

The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is the highest gallantry award for officers and other enlisted personnel of all military branches of India for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy. It may be awarded posthumously and, indeed, most of the awards have been posthumous.

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 Mrs. Savitri Khanolankar (born Eva Yuonne Linda Maday-de-Maros to a Hungarian father and Russian mother) who was married to an Indian Army officer. By coincidence, 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 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 centimetre) diameter. In the center, on a raised circle, the state emblem. Surrounding this, four replicas of Indra's Vajra (the all-powerful mythic weapon on the ancient Vedic god of war). The decoration is suspended from a straight swiveling suspension bar. It is named on the edge.

On the rear, around a plain center, two legends separated by lotus flowers. The words Param Vir Chakra are written in Hindi and English.

File:PVC ribbon.jpg

Ribbon of the Param Vir Chakra

The ribbon which holds the Param Vir Chakra is of 32 mm length and purple in colour.

The medal was designed to symbolise Rishi Dadhichi who donated his thigh bones to gods for making Vajra, and contains an image of Shivaji's sword Bhawani on the other side.

Decorated personnel

The Param Vir Chakra has been awarded to:

Number	Name	Regiment	Date	Place	Notes
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, Brigade of the Guards	December 3, 1971	Gangasagar	Posthumous
10877 (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-57556	Captain Vikram Batra	13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles	July 6, 1999	Point 5140, Point 4875, Kargil Area	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

Incidentally, both Major Sharma (the first recipient) and Captain Batra belong to the same village, Palampur, in India's Himachal Pradesh state.

Commemorations

In 1990, a TV Series was aired on the Indian National Channel DoorDarshan titled Param Vir Chakra. The tele-series was made by noted film maker Chetan Anand and ran for 15 episodes.
A number of noted celebrities participated in the series. Film actor Farooq Shaikh played Somnath Sharma, Puneet Issar played Nk Jadunath Singh, Vijayendra Ghatge played Lance Naik Karam Singh, Naseeruddin Shah played Abdul Hamid. Anu Kapoor played Albert Ekka.
The serial received full support from the Indian Armed Forces. The Army and the Air Force provided all the equipment for the shooting.
The title track Shaan teri kabhi kam na ho (May your honour never decrease) was a much famous track during those days.

Trivia

Of the 21 awardees, 20 are from Indian Army and 1 from Indian Air Force.
Som Nath Sharma, the first receipient of the award, was the award designer Mrs. Savitri Khanolankar's son-in-law.
14 of the 21 awards were posthumous.
Grenadiers Regiment has won the most number of Param Vir Chakra awards, with 3 awards, one each for the Indo-Pakistan 1965 war, 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and the Kargil War. The Gorkha Rifles have also won 3 awards, with the 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), 8th Gorkha Rifles and 11th Gorkha Rifles each winning one.
The Sikh Regiment, Kumaon Regiment, 17th Poona Horse and Jammu and Kashmir Rifles has won 2 awards.
The highest 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.
It is supposed to have one of the most rigorous selection systems.

External links