On 03 November 1947, Major Somnath Sharma’s company of 4 KUMAON was ordered on a fighting patrol to Badgam in response to the invasion by Pakistani forces towards Srinagar. The enemy, estimated at about 500, attacked his company position from three sides with the intention of capturing the Srinagar airfield.

Major Somnath Sharma led his company to fight the enemy with dogged determination. With extreme bravery he kept rushing across the open ground to his troops, and skilfully directed their fire onto the enemy. He repeatedly exposed himself to the full fury of the enemy fire and laid out cloth strips to guide our aircraft on to their targets in full view of the enemy. Realising that casualties had affected the effectiveness of his automatics, the officer, whose left hand was in plaster, personally commenced filling magazines and issuing them to the machine gunners. A mortar shell landed right in the middle of the ammunition, resulting in an explosion that caused his death. His leadership, gallantry and tenacious defence inspired his troops to keep fighting for many hours after his death, thus stalling the enemy attack.

He has set an example of courage and qualities seldom equalled in the Indian Army.

His last message to the Brigade Headquarters, a few moments before he was killed, was, “The enemy are only 50 yards from us. We are heavily outnumbered. We are under devastating fire. I shall not withdraw an inch but shall fight to the last man and the last round.”

For exhibiting an act of inspiring leadership, conspicuous gallantry and supreme sacrifice, Major Somnath Sharma was awarded the Param Vir Chakra (Posthumous).

This was the first Param Vir Chakra ever awarded.

Major Dhan Singh Thapa of 1/8 GORKHA RIFLES was in command of a forward post in Ladakh. On 20 October 1962, his post was attacked by Chinese troops in overwhelming strength after an intense artillery and mortar bombardment. Under his leadership, the greatly outnumbered post repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. The enemy attacked a second time and met a similar fate.

The Chinese attacked for the third time, now with tanks to support their infantry. The post had already suffered large casualties in the earlier two attacks. Though considerably thinned, the post held out to the last. When it was finally overrun by overwhelming numbers of Chinese, Major Thapa got out of his trench and killed several enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand fighting before he was eventually overpowered by Chinese soldiers and taken prisoner. 

Major Thapa’s cool courage, conspicuous fighting qualities and leadership were in the highest traditions of the Army, for which he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra (Posthumous).

During ‘Operation Vijay’, on 20 June 1999, Captain Vikram Batra, Commander Delta Company, 13 JAK RIF was tasked to attack Point 5140. Captain Batra with his company skirted around the feature from the East and maintaining surprise reached within assaulting distance of the enemy. Captain Batra reorganized his column and motivated his men to physically assault the enemy positions. Leading from the front, he in a daredevil assault, pounced on the enemy and killed four of them in a hand-to hand fight.

On 7 July 1999, in another operation in the area of Pt 4875, his company was tasked to clear a narrow feature with sharp cuttings on either side and heavily fortified enemy defences that covered the only approach to it. For speedy operations, Captain Batra assaulted the enemy position along a narrow ridge and engaged the enemy in a fierce hand –to-hand fight and killed five enemy soldiers at point blank range. Despite sustaining grave injuries, he crawled towards the enemy and hurled grenades clearing the position with utter disregard to his personal safety. Leading from the front, he rallied his men and pressed on the attack and achieved a near impossible military task in the face of heavy enemy fire. The officer, however, succumbed to his injuries. Inspired by his daredevil act, his troops fell upon the enemy with vengeance, annihilated them and captured Point 4875.

Captain Vikram Batra, thus, displayed the most conspicuous personal bravery and leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

For this, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra (Posthumous).

During Operation Vijay, Rifleman Sanjay Kumar was the leading Scout of a company of 13 JAK RIF for the capture of area Flat Top on 04 July 1999 in Mushkoh Valley, Jammu & Kashmir.

As the attack progressed, enemy automatic fire from one of the sangars posed stiff opposition, thereby stalling the column. Rifleman Sanjay Kumar, realising the gravity of the situation, displayed indomitable spirit and unadulterated courage when he charged the enemy sangar with utter disregard to personal safety. In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, he killed three of the intruders, and was himself seriously injured. Despite being injured, he charged on to the second sangar. The enemy was taken totally by surprise and they left behind a Universal Machine Gun (UMG) and started running. Rifleman Sanjay Kumar picked up the UMG and killed the fleeing enemy. Although Rifleman Sanjay Kumar was bleeding profusely from his wounds, he refused to be evacuated. This super-human act of rifleman Sanjay Kumar motivated his comrades, who took no notice of the treacherous terrain and charged on to the enemy, thus wresting the area Flat Top from the hands of the enemy.

Rifleman Sanjay Kumar displayed most conspicuous and extraordinary gallantry, cool courage and devotion to duty of an exceptionally high order in the face of the enemy, and was thus awarded the Param Vir Chakra.