The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". As of January 2018, the medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army and one has been from the Indian Air Force. Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient. A number of state governments of India as well as ministries of the central government provide allowances and rewards to recipients of the PVC.
The 11 Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army that was re-raised after independence. The regiment consists of primarily the Kirant Tribes Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar of Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars of West Bengal, Sikkim and other parts of Northeast India. Though it is considered to be the youngest of the Gorkha regiments its lineage is as long as those of the 7th Gurkha Rifles and 10th Gurkha Rifles.
Captain Vikram Batra, PVC was an Indian Army officer. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest Indian military decoration, for his actions during the Kargil War; on 7 July 1999, Batra was killed while fighting Pakistani troops around Area Ledge, Point 4875, in the Kargil district of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.
Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey, PVC was an Indian military officer posthumous recipient of India's highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, for his audacious courage and leadership during the Kargil War in 1999. An officer of the first battalion in the 11th Gorkha Rifles, he died in battle on the bunker hill edge of the Khalubar Hills in the village of Garkon Aryan Valley in Kargil.
Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar PVC is an Indian Junior Commissioned Officer, and recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military award for his exemplary bravery during Kargil War. He is the only PVC awardee who is currently serving.
Captain Anuj Nayyar, MVC was an Indian Army officer of 17 Jat Regiment who was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest gallantry award, for exemplary valour in combat during operations in the Kargil War in 1999.
The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regimental center is in Srinagar's Airport Complex at Awantipora with a winter setup near Jammu. Its regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed rifles. The regiment mostly consists of volunteers from the state of Jammu & Kashmir and ethnic groups from the state. The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is considered to be one of the most decorated regiment of the Indian army having won 1 Param Veer Chakra and 3 Ashok Chakra. Naib Subedar Chuni Lal of the 8th battalion Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is one of the most decorated personnel of the Indian Army.
The Garhwal Rifles, formerly known as the Royal Garhwal Rifles, are an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally raised in 1887 as the 39th (Garhwal) Regiment of the Bengal Army. It then became part of the British Indian Army, and after the Independence of India, it was incorporated into the Indian Army.
The Bihar Regiment is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It traces its origins back to the British Indian Army. The Bihar Regiment was formed in 1941 by regularising the 11th (Territorial) Battalion, the 19th Hyderabad Regiment, and raising new battalions. The Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) is located at Danapur Cantonment, Patna, the second oldest cantonment of India. INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy's largest ship and one of its two aircraft carriers is affiliated to the Bihar Regiment, Indian Army's highly decorated and battle-hardened unit.
Ghatak Platoons are special operations capable reconnaissance platoons present in every infantry battalion of the Indian Army. Ghatak is a Sanskrit word meaning "killer" or "lethal". Their name was given to them by General Bipin Chandra Joshi. They act as shock troops and spearhead assaults ahead of the battalion.
Major Mariappan Saravanan , was an officer in the prestigious Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army who was martyred during the Kargil War. He was killed in hand-to-hand combat with intruders after killing four intruders in the Batalik area of Kargil Sector on 29 May 1999, along with 33 soldiers and four other officers. Saravanan had just completed four years of service on 10 March 1999.
The Ladakh Scouts is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, nicknamed as the "Snow Warriors" or "Snow Leopards". The regiment specializes in mountain warfare, and its primary role is to guard India's borders in the high altitudes of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
Colonel Sonam Wangchuk, MVC is an Indian Army veteran, who served with the Assam Regiment and the Ladakh Scouts. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, during his successful operation in the Kargil War. Due to his exemplary feet as a Major during Kargil War, he is known as the Lion of Ladakh in the Indian Army.
The Kargil War Memorial, also known as Dras War Memorial, is a war memorial built by the Indian Army in the town of Dras, near Kargil city in Kargil district of Ladakh, India, commemorating the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan. The memorial is located on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway 1D, about 5 km from the city centre across the Tiger Hill, Kargil.
Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum, MVC was an Indian Army officer of 12 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry. He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second-highest gallantry award, for exemplary valor in combat during operations in the Kargil War in 1999.
Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan, VrC was the second-in-command of 18 Grenadiers which was conducting operations on and around Tololing mountain, Drass sector, Kargil, during Operation Vijay. He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra for his actions during the Kargil War. A Tripunithura a street near Eroor Pisharikovil Temple is named in his honour.
Captain Neikezhakuo Kengurüse, MVC was an Indian Army officer from Nagaland.
Yaldor Sub Sector was the scene of some of the major infiltration by Pakistani Northern Light Infantry battalions and some of the major battles of Kargil War were fought here.
Major Vivek Gupta MVC was an officer in the Indian Army. He was posthumously conferred the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest war-time military honour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War.
Captain Jintu Gogoi, VrC was an Indian Army officer of 17 Garhwal Rifles. He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra, India's third highest wartime military decoration, for his courage and bravery in combat during operations in the Kargil War in 1999.
