ST. TERESA’S SCHOOL st 1 Raj. Girls Battalion NCC NAME: AVANI SHEKHAWAT FATHER’s NAME: MR. BHAWANI SINGH SHEKHAWAT RANK: CADET CLASS: IX PROFESSTION: STUDENT TOPIC: WARTIME GALLENTRY AWARD ‘PARAM VEER CHAKRA’ WINNERS PARAM VEER CHAKRA India's highest military adornment, after Bharat Ratna which is awarded to those courageous and daring or the braves ,who self-sacrifice their life for their motherland, while fighting with enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. Param Veer Chakra cannot be asked, it need to be earnrd. This award comes to those ,if death strikes before them, they prove their blood, they swear, they can kill death. It was introduced on 26 January, 1950 on the first Republic Day. This award may be given posthumously. The medal of the PVC was designed by Savitri Khanolkar. The list of 21 Brave Military Men who have received this award to date are: 1. Maj. Somnath Sharma 4 Kumaon|Badgam, Kashmir|November 3, 1947 Major Sharma, with a broken arm, staved off enemy attacking on Badgam aerodrome and Srinagar. He was personally filling magazines and issuing them to the light machine gunners. His death inspired the fellow soldiers to fight the enemy 7:1 for six hours. 2. Naik Jadunath Singh 1 Rajput|Taindhara, Naushera, Kashmir| February 6, 1948 Naik Singh was commanding a forward post when the enemy attacked. We suffered heavy losses. Eventually Singh somehow saved his troops, but fell to bullets. 3. 2nd Lt Rama Raghoba Rane Bombay Engineers|Naushera-Rajouri Road|April 8-11, 1948 Rane braved machine gun fire, cleared mines and roadblocks as he laid a path for tanks. His diligence over days, despite being wounded, facilitated the advance on Rajouri. He drove to a roadblock in a tank, crouched under it, and cleared the mines. 4. Company Haviladar Major Piru Singh 6 Rajputana Rifles|Tithwal sector, J&K|July 18, 1948 Major Singh single-handedly occupied an enemy post and moved to attack another when a grenade hit him. He still lobbed grenades and managed to destroy another bunker before succumbing to death. 5. Lance Naik Karam Singh 1 Sikh|Tithwal sector, J&K|October 13, 1948 Lance Naik Singh commanded a post when the enemy launched eight strikes. The Sikhs repulsed each wave but Karam Singh was wounded. When 2 enemy soldiers came too close, he bayoneted the intruders to death. 6. Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria 3/1 Gorkha Rifles|Elizabethville, Katanga, Congo|December 5, 1961 Part of the UN Force, Capt. Salaria and his Gorkhas charged a roadblock, killing 40 and knocking out two enemy cars. The rest fled. Salaria died of heavy bullet wounds. 7. Major Dhan Singh Thapa 1/8 Gorkha Rifles|Ladakh|October 21, 1962 Major Thapa's post in Ladakh came under Chinese attack. He killed many in hand- to-hand combat before he was overpowered. He was presumed dead but it came to light that he'd been taken PoW. Major Thapa was later freed. 8. Subedar Joginder Singh 1 Sikh|Tawang, Arunachal|October 20-23, 1962 Holding a position in Tongpeng La area, Subedar Singh faced repeated attacks by the Chinese. Despite a wound in the thigh, he refused evacuation. He manned a light machine gun and killed a large number of enemies. Finally better weapons of the enemy prevailed and Singh was martyred. 9. Major Shaitan Singh 13 Kumaon Regiment|Rezang La, Chusul sector, Ladakh|November 18, 1962 Holding a key position, Major Singh's men came under heavy Chinese attack. Hurt, he ordered his men to leave him there. They placed him behind a boulder where he succumbed to his injuries. 10. Lt. Col. A B Tarapore 17 Poona Horse|Phillora, Sialkot, Pakistan|September 11-16, 1965 Told to deliver the armoured thrust to capture Phillora, Lt.Col. Tarapore was at the helm of the tank battle of 1965 Indo-Pak war. He led assault on Jassoran & Butur-Dograndi. He was mortally wounded. 11. Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid 4 Grenadiers|Cheema, Khem Karan|September 10, 1965 Havilar moved out with his anti-tank recoilless rifle mounted on a jeep when Pak forces attacked Karan sector. Hamid was mortally wounded. 12. Lance Naik Albert Ekka 14 Guards|Gangasagar, 6 1/2km west of Agartala|December 4, 1971 Ordered to capture a position during the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Ekka charged an enemy bunker, bayoneted enemy soldiers, silenced a LMG, hurled a grenade into an enemy bunker before finally succumbing to injuries. 13. Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon No.18 "Flying Bullets" Squadron|Srinagar|December 14, 1971 Srinagar airfield was attacked by a wave of 6 Sabre aircraft. Flying officer Sekhon engaged a pair of the attacking Sabres, succeeded in damaging two of the enemy aircraft before his plane crashed. 14. Second Lt. Arun Khetarpal 17 Poona Horse, 47 Infantry Brigade| Shakargarh sector|December 16, 1971 To establish a bridge-head across a river in the '71 war, he attacked enemy points, captured soldiers and destroyed tanks. Later he died when his tank was hit. 15. Major Hoshiar Singh Grenadiers Regiment| Shakargarh sector| December 17, 1971 Facing a wave of counter attacks, Major Singh, while he was injured, rushed to a machine-gun pit and manned the gun himself till the enemy retreated. Singh refused to be evacuated till the ceasefire. 16. Naib Subedar Bana Singh J&K Light Infantry|Siachen|1987 Leading his men through a hazardous route to rid the area of Pakistani infiltrators in '87, Naib Subedar Singh lobbed grenades, charged with a bayonet, and, moving from trench to trench, cleared the post of all intruders. 17. Major Ramaswamy Parameswaram Mahar Regiment|Sri Lanka (Operation Pawan)|November 25, 1987 Parameswaram's column was ambushed. He encircled the enemy and charged. Despite getting shot in the chest, he snatched the rifle from a militant and shot him in the head. He gave orders till his last breath. 18. Captain Vikram Batra 13 J&K Rifles|July 7, 1999 During the Kargil war, Captain Batra engaged three enemy soldiers in close combat and killed them as his Delta Company recaptured Point 5140 before overrunning enemy posts at Point 4750 and Point 4875. He was killed by enemy fire as he tried to rescue a fellow officer. 19. Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey 1/11 Gorkha Rifles|July 2-3, 1999 Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey forced back intruders from Batalik and led his men to recapture Jaubar Top. In a bid to recapture Khalubar, the battalion was halted by enemy fire but Pandey surged ahead through a hail of bullets, collapsing only after the last of the enemies had been killed. 20. Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav 18 Grenadiers|July 3-4, 1999 Tasked to capture 3 Tiger Hill bunkers, Grenadier Yadav, after being hit by three bullets, climbed the remaining 60 feet to an enemy bunker at the top and lobbed a grenade, killing 4 and neutralising enemy fire. 21. Rifleman Sanjay Kumar 13 J&k Rifles|July 4, 1999 Tasked with capturing a point in Ladakh's Mushkoh Valley, Rifleman Kumar crawled alone up the ledge, picked up an enemy machine gun and killed three enemy soldiers. These were the real heroes, who were awarded with param veer chakra award, the highest gallantry award after bharat ratna. Some sacrificed their life in the war. These 21 legends showed great bravery during the war. They came back after hoisting the national tricolor, or they came back wrapped in it. Thanks to my motherland that she had given me such brave soldiers who self sacrificed, their life to safe their motherland. Jai Hind…… .