PARAM VIR CHAKRA

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 or Russian Cross of St. George.^[2] It can be, and often has been, awarded posthumously.

Param Vir means "Bravest of the Brave" in Hindi. (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 Ashoka Chakra is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy. The decoration may be awarded either to military or civilian personnel and may be awarded posthumously.
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.

Param Vir Chakra
Param Vir Chakra and its ribbon, the highest military decoration of India
Awarded by India
Type	Medal
Eligibility	Military personnel only
Awarded for	"... most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air." [1]
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Established	26 January, 1950
First awarded	3 November, 1947
Last awarded	6 July, 1999
Total awarded	21
Posthumous awards	14
Distinct recipients	21
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Next (lower)	Maha Vir Chakra

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 Indian 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 Lt Gen Surinder Nath Sharma's (ENC) elder brother , 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 1.375 inches (3.49 cm) in diameter. The state emblem appears in the center, on a raised circle. 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.
A purple ribbon, 32 millimetres (1.3 in) long, holds the Param Vir Chakra. The medal symbolizes Rishi Dadhichi, who had donated his bones to the Gods for making Vajra. Some people claim that on back "It has an image of Shivaji's sword Bhavani on the other side", but that is a popular perpetuated myth. The Indian General Service Medal (1947) which contained the Bhavani sword was withdrawn later.^[3]

] Recipients

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 Shekhawat	6th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles	17 July 1948–18 July 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 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	Captain 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 & Kashmir Rifles	July 5, 1999	Area Flat Top, Kargil Area
IC-57556	Captain Vikram Batra	13th Battalion, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles	July 6, 1999	Point 5140, Point 4875, Kargil Area	Posthumous

Incidentally, both Major Sharma (the first recipient) and Captain Batra belong to the same village, Palampur, in India's Himachal Pradesh state. Major Dhan Singh Thapa and rifleman Sanjay Kumar are other PVC holders from hill state of Himachal Pradesh.
IMPORTANT FACTS

• Of the 21 awardees, 20 are from the Indian Army and one from the Indian Air Force.
• Som Nath Sharma, the first recipient of the award, was the award designer Mrs. Savitri Khanolkar's son-in-law.
• Fourteen 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 three 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 two awards.
• The highest rank to be awarded a Param Vir Chakra is that of a Lieutenant Colonel. Lt. Col. Ardeshir Tarapore.
• 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 exactly the 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 polyvinyl chloride