Vir Chakra
Vir Chakra | |
---|---|
Vir Chakra and its ribbon, the third highest military decoration of India | |
Awarded by Republic of India | |
Country | Republic of India |
Type | Medal |
Eligibility | Military Personnel Only |
Awarded for | Acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land or at sea or in the air. |
Status | Currently Awarded |
Post-nominals | VrC |
Statistics | |
First awarded | 1947 |
Last awarded | 1999 |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Ati Vishisht Seva Medal[1] |
Next (lower) | Shaurya Chakra[1] |
Vir Chakra is an Indian gallantry award presented for acts of bravery in the battlefield. It replaced the British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC) and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Award of the decoration carries with it the right to use Vr.C. as a postnominal abbreviation (note the care to distinguish this abbreviation from that for the Victoria Cross (V.C.). It is third in precedence in the war time gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.[2]
Origin
Established by the President of India on 26 January 1950 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were amended 12 January 1952 to readjust the order of wearing as new decorations were established.
Appearance
The medal is 1-3/8 inch circular silver medal. A five pointed star, with the chakra in the center, and, on this, the domed gilded state emblem. The decoration is named on the rim and suspended from a swiveling straight-bar suspender. The decoration is almost always named and dated on the edge. Around a plain center, two legends separated by lotus flowers; above Vir Chakra in Hindi and in English. The ribbon is 32 mm, half dark blue and half orange-saffron. Dark blue 16 mm, saffron 16 mm.[3]
The award carries with it a cash allowance and, in some cases, a lump sum cash award. This has been a rather controversial issue throughout the life of the decoration. From 1 February 1999, the central government set a monthly stipend of Rs. 850 for recipients of the award. In addition, many states have established individual pension rewards for the recipients of the decoration.
List of Vir Chakra recipients
Some of the notable Vir Chakra awardees include:[4]
Rank | Name | Branch | Award Date | Awarded for |
---|---|---|---|---|
Subedar | Nadikerianda Bheemaiah | Indian Army | 1947 | Kashmir War |
2nd Lieutenant | R Kanikasamy | Indian Army | 1947 | Kashmir War |
Capt | Harbaksh Singh | Indian Army | 1 May 1948 | Operation Polo |
Hony Lt | Gopal Singh Gusain | Indian Army | 1962 | Operation Leg Horn at Nuranang |
L Hav | Narender Dutt | Indian Army (Bengal Sappers) | 18 Nov 1962 | Operation Leg Horn |
Hav. | Ishwar Singh | Indian Army | 15 March 1948 | Operation Polo |
Flt Lt | Vonthibettu Prabhakara Hegde | Indian Air Force | 26-Jan-1950 | Kashmir operations |
Gp Capt | Zafar Ali Shah | Indian Air Force | 20 Nov 1950 | Kashmir operations |
Wg Cdr | Krishan Kant Saini | Indian Air Force | 18 Nov 1962 | Operation Leg Horn |
Lt Gen | Zorawar Chand Bakshi | Indian Army | 05 Aug 1965 | Operation Ablaze |
Wg Cdr | Trevor Keelor | Indian Air Force | 03 Sep 1965 | Operation Riddle |
Air Cmde | Alfred Tyrone Cooke | Indian Air Force | 07 Sep 1965 | Operation Riddle |
Air Mrshl | Denzil Keelor | Indian Air Force | 19 Sep 1965 | Operation Riddle |
Lt Gen | Mohammad Ahmad Zaki | Indian Army | 20 Sep 1965 | Operation Riddle |
2 Lt | Gopal Krishan Duggal | Indian Army | 17 Nov 1965 | Operation Riddle |
Adm | Laxminarayan Ramdass | Indian Navy | 01 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Subedar | Gurdev Singh Hans | Indian Army | 04 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Maj | Nanjappa K P | Indian Army | 05 Dec 1971 | Battle of Daudkandi |
Wg Cdr | Kukke Suresh | Indian Air Force | 05 Dec 1971 | Battle of Longewala |
Lt Col | Raj Singh | Indian Army | 15 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily [5] |
Flt. Lt. (Now Gp. Captain) | Mahabir P. Premi | Indian Air Force | 17 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Major | PK Sharma | Indian Army | 06 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Captain | Jatinder Kumar | Indian Army | 06 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Col | Gopal Krishan Trivedy | Indian Army | 11 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Lt Col | Satish Nambiar | Indian Army | 11 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Capt. | Gurbux Singh Bhatti | Indian Army | 16 Dec 1971 | Battle of Basantar |
Air Cmde | Jasjit Singh | Indian Air Force | 17 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Grenadier | Rafiq Khan | Indian Army | 19 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Vice Adm | Arun Prakash | Indian Navy | 21 Dec 1971 | Operation Cactus Lily |
Squadron Leader | M A Ganapathy | Indian Air force | 1972 | Boyra Encounter (1971) |
Rifle Man | Kuldeep Singh | Indian Army | 24 May 1988 | Operation Savage (Sikkim) |
Capt | Ashish Sonal | Indian Army | 26 Jan 1991 | Indian Peace Keeping Force |
H/capt | Swaran Singh | Indian Army | 28 Apr 1990 | Operation Pawan |
Capt | Sunil Khokhar | Indian Army | 01 Jan 1996 | Kashmir operations |
Sub | Randhir Singh | Indian Army | 01 Jan 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Sqn Ldr | Ajay Ahuja | Indian Air Force | 01 Jan 1999 | Operation Safed Sagar, Kargil War |
Capt | R Jery Prem Raj | Indian Army | 07 Jul 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War[6] |
Hav | Sish Ram Gill | Indian Army | 15 Aug 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Capt | Jintu Gogoi | Indian Army | 30 June 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Capt | Vijyant Thapar | Indian Army | 15 Aug 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Major | Mariappan Saravanan | Indian Army | 15 Aug 1999 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Col | Lalit Rai | Indian Army | 15 Aug 1999 | Operation Vijay (1999), Kargil War |
Capt | Baleyada Muthanna Cariappa | Indian Army | 2000 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
Havildar | Chuni Lal | Indian Army | 30 Aug 2000 | Operation Vijay, Kargil War |
References
- 1 2 "Precedence Of Medals". http://indianarmy.nic.in/. Indian Army. Retrieved 9 September 2014. External link in
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(help) - ↑ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Awards/awavrc.htm
- ↑ "BHARAT RAKSHAK MONITOR: Volume 3(6)". Bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
- ↑ "Vir Chakra Awardee List". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- ↑ http://twdi.in/node/4378
- ↑ Singh, Ishwar. "hav".
External links
- Vir Chakra awardees, TWDI
- IAF Vir Chakra awardees, Bharat Rakshak