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 :
- 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
