Param Vir Chakra, The highest decoration for valour,  is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or prominent act of valour, whether on land, at sea or in the air.

Some Facts about the Param Vir Chakra :Param-vir-chakra-awardees

  • PVC is a post-Independent equivalent of the Victoria Cross (VC)
  • Out of the 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees 20 are from the Army, while one is a fighter pilot from Indian Air Force.
  • The Gurkha Rifles and the Grenadiers Regiment are recipients of 3 Param Vir Chakras each, the highest number of this award to a single regiment.
  • Param Vir Chakra was first awarded to Major Somnath Sharma posthumously for evicting enemy from Srinagar Airport during Battle of Badgam, the first war between India and Pakistan in 1947.
  • 14 of the 21 Param Vir Chakra were awarded posthumously.

Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra

Listed below are the warriors who have received the Param Vir Chakra.

Name Regiment At  Date
Major Somnath Sharma 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment Battle of Badgam – Kashmir 3 Nov 1947
2nd Lt. Rama Raghoba Rane Corps of Engineers Battle of Naushera – Kashmir 8 April 1948
CHM Piru Singh 6th Battalion, Rajputana Rifles Tithwal, Kashmir 17/18 July 1948
Naik Jadunath Singh 1st Battalion, Rajput Regiment, Battle of Naushera – Kashmir Feb 1948
Lance Naik Karam Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment Tithwal, Kashmir 13 Oct 1948
Major Shaitan Singh 13th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment Rezang La 18 Nov 1962
Major Dhan Singh Thapa 1st Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles Ladakh 20 Oct 1962
Subedar Joginder Singh 1st Battalion, Sikh Regiment Tongpen La, Northeast Frontier Agency 23 Oct 1962
Lt. Col. A.B. Tarapore The Poona Horse Phillora, Sialkot Sector, Pakistan 15 Oct 1965
CQMH Abdul Hamid 4th Battalion, The Grenadiers Chima, Khem Karan Sector 10 Sept 1965
Major Hoshiar Singh 3rd Battalion, The Grenadiers Basantar River, Shakargarh Sector 17 Dec 1971
2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal The Poona Horse Jarpal, Shakargarh Sector 16 Dec 1971
Fg. Off. N.J.S. Sekhon No.18 Squadron, Indian Air Force Srinagar, Kashmir 14 Dec 1971
Lance Naik Albert Ekka 14th Battalion, Brigade of the Guards Gangasagar 3 Dec 1971
Captain Vikram Batra 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Point 5140, Point 4875, Kargil Area 6 July 1999
Lieutenant Manoj K. Pandey 1st Battalion, 1 1th Gorkha Rifles Khaluber/Juber Top, Batalik sector, Kargil area, Jammu and Kashmir 3 July 1999
Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav 18th Battalion, The Grenadiers Tiger Hill, Kargil area 4 July 1999
Rifleman Sanjay Kumar 13th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Area Flat Top, Kargil Area 5 July 1999
Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria 3rd Battalion, 1st Gorkha Rifles (Elizabethville, Katanga, Congo Malaun Regiment) 5 Dec 1961
Naib Subedar Bana Singh 8th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Siachen Glacier, Jammu and Kashmir 23 June 1987
Major R. Parameswaran 8th Battalion, Mahar Regiment Sri Lanka 25 Nov 1987

Read the detail story of the Valour that made these warriors ‘Our Heroes‘

Part 2 of the document here – Param Vir Chakra Awardee – the act of valour