ST. TERESA’S SCHOOL 1st 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……