Who was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest wartime gallantry award?
- A.Major Somnath Sharma
- B.Naik Jadunath Singh
- C.Captain Vikram Batra
- D.Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Major Somnath Sharma. He was decorated after his death for the action at Badgam in which his company held back the advance on the Srinagar airfield in November 1947, and his is the first name on the roll of the Param Vir Chakra.
Option B, Naik Jadunath Singh, also received the award for action in the same operations of 1947 and 1948, but later than Somnath Sharma, which makes him the trap in this question. Option C, Captain Vikram Batra, received the award after his death for the Kargil operations of 1999. Option D, Abdul Hamid, received it for destroying enemy tanks in the war of 1965. Remember the separate peacetime award as well: the Ashoka Chakra, whose first woman recipient was Neerja Bhanot.
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