The Ashoka Chakra is India's highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action, or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) and is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy. The decoration may be awarded either to military or civilian personnel.
Frederick Marshman Bailey was a British political officer and one of the last protagonists of The Great Game. His expeditions in Tibet and Assam Himalaya gave him many opportunities to pursue his hobbies of photography, butterfly collecting, and trophy hunting in the high Tibetan region. Over 2000 of his bird specimens were presented to the Natural History Museum, although his personal collection is now held in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. His papers and extensive photograph collections are held in the British Library, London.
The Indian Army, the land component of the Indian Armed Forces, follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile British Indian Army (BIA).
Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi.
Squadron Leader Rana Tej Pratap Singh Chhina, MBE is a writer, a military historian and a veteran of the Indian Air Force.
Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand 'Zoru' Bakshi PVSM, MVC, VrC, VSM was a General Officer of the Indian Army, most widely known as one of the commanders of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. He also has the distinction of being "India's most decorated General".
Major General Sir Charles Metcalfe MacGregor KCB CSI CIE was a British explorer, geographer and officer of the British Indian Army. He was the Quartermaster General for the British Army in India, the head of the Intelligence Department for the British Indian Army and served under Frederick Roberts in the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The MacGregor Medal is awarded in his honour.
Lieutenant General Syed Ata HasnainPVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM & Bar is a retired General of the Indian Army. His last assignment in service was as the Military Secretary of the Indian Army. Prior to that, he commanded the Indian Army's 15 Corps in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, amongst other appointments. He has also commanded 21 Corps (Strike). In 2018, General Hasnain was appointed Chancellor of Central University of Kashmir.
United Service Institution of India (USI) is a national security and defence services think tank based in New Delhi, India. It describes its aim as the "furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of the defence services".
The Armed Forces of India are eligible for many military decorations awarded for extraordinary bravery and distinguished service during times of war and peace. Service and campaign medals have been awarded throughout India's history as an independent state.
Commodore Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar is a retired military officer who served in the Indian Navy. He is one of India's leading experts and outspoken critics on security and strategic affairs.
Lt Gen (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM is the former Governor of Mizoram and former Governor of Arunachal Pradesh.
Colonel Narendra Kumar, PVSM, KC, AVSM, FRGS was an Indian soldier and mountaineer. He is known for his expeditions across various mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and Karakorams, and respective subranges such as the Pir Panjals and Saltoro Mountains. His reconnaissance efforts on the Siachen glacier were key to the Indian Army's reclamation of the forward posts of the glacier in Operation Meghdoot in 1984. He was the deputy leader of the first successful Indian Mount Everest expedition in 1965.
Manohar Lal Chibber is an Indian Army officer and writer, known for his involvement in the Siachen conflict of 1986. He held the position of a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and is a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.
Mihir Chowdhury FNA, FASc was an Indian physical chemist and Professor and Head of Department of Chemistry at Presidency College, Kolkata and at the Department of Physical Chemistry of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS). He is known for his studies on the electronic structure of molecules using optical, magneto-optical and quantum-mechanical methods. He was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1977, for his contributions to chemical sciences. Three of his research students were also Shanti Swarup Bhatnager awardees.
Kshitindramohan Naha (1932–1996) was an Indian geologist and a professor and CSIR Emeritus scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He was known for his studies on structural geology of Precambrian era and was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 1972.
Commander Abhilash Tomy, KC, NM (Retd) is a retired Indian Navy officer, naval aviator and yachtsman. In 2013, he became the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world under sail. He also competed in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. In January 2021, he retired from military service to concentrate on the 2022 Golden Globe Race. He finished second in the race, becoming the only Asian skipper to win a podium finish in a round the world race.
Captain Dilip Donde is a retired Indian Naval officer and the first Indian to complete a solo, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe under sail. From April 2006 to May 2010 he planned and executed Project 'Sagar Parikrama' which involved constructing a sailboat in India and then sailing it around the world. He was the hundred and ninetieth person to complete the journey solo.
Integrated Theatre Commands of the Indian Armed Forces are varying degrees of synergy and cross–service cooperation between the military wings of the Indian Armed Forces. Following Independence, in 1949 a joint educational framework was set up starting with the first tri-service academy in the world, the National Defence Academy, and over the years this joint educational framework has been expanded to bring officers from the different services together at different stages of their careers.
With the inception of Company rule in India by the East India Company in 1757, the tradition of giving medals also began. Campaign medals and awards were given to soldiers who fought in the Company's presidency armies and after 1895 to the British Indian Army and also the Imperial Service Troops of the princely states. Alongside them awards were given to the personnel of Royal Indian Navy and of Royal Indian Air Force with its incorporation in 1932.
The company's powers were removed in 1858 after the Indian Mutiny, and the British Crown assumed direct control of India. During the British Raj, new medals and orders were established and were awarded for the services to the Crown and the Indian Empire by Europeans and Indians of British India and the princely states. After 1914, Indians also became eligible for British Honours. The following is a list of orders, decorations and medals related to British in India:
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