Who was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra?
- A.Major Somnath Sharma
- B.Captain Vikram Batra
- C.Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey
- D.Subedar Joginder Singh
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Major Somnath Sharma, of the 4th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment, who received the award posthumously for the action at Badgam near Srinagar in November 1947. His company held off a much larger body of raiders and kept them from reaching the airfield, which allowed reinforcements to continue arriving in Kashmir.
Option B, Captain Vikram Batra, and option C, Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, both received the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for the Kargil conflict of 1999, more than fifty years later. Option D, Subedar Joginder Singh, was awarded it for an action of the 1962 conflict. All four are genuine recipients, so the question turns purely on the word first, and the answer is fixed by the year 1947. Note also that the award was instituted only in 1950 but takes effect from 15 August 1947, which is precisely why an action of November 1947 could be honoured with it at all.
Read the full article: Gallantry Awards: Param Vir Chakra to Shaurya Chakra, with MCQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich is the highest wartime gallantry award of India?
- A.Ashoka Chakra
- B.Param Vir Chakra
- C.Maha Vir Chakra
- D.Kirti Chakra
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It is given for the most conspicuous act of bravery or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy, on land, at sea or in the air, and its name means the wheel of the ultimate brave.
Read the full explanation →Which is the highest peacetime gallantry award of India?
- A.Shaurya Chakra
- B.Kirti Chakra
- C.Ashoka Chakra
- D.Vir Chakra
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It is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or an act of daring or self-sacrifice of the highest order away from the field of battle, and it may be given to civilians as well as to members of the armed forces.
Read the full explanation →The Param Vir Chakra was designed by
- A.Nandalal Bose
- B.Savitri Khanolkar
- C.Pingali Venkayya
- D.Deenanath Bhargava
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Born in Switzerland to a Swiss father and a Hungarian mother, she married an officer of the Indian Army, took Indian citizenship and made a deep study of Indian languages and tradition, which she drew on for the design of the medal and its vajra motif.
Read the full explanation →The Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted on
- A.15 August 1947
- B.26 November 1949
- C.26 January 1950
- D.4 January 1952
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The three wartime awards were instituted on that date but were given effect from 15 August 1947, so that acts of bravery in the fighting in Kashmir could be recognised.
Read the full explanation →Which award is the peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra?
- A.Ashoka Chakra
- B.Kirti Chakra
- C.Shaurya Chakra
- D.Sena Medal
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The three wartime awards have three peacetime counterparts in the same order: Param Vir Chakra with Ashoka Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra with Kirti Chakra and Vir Chakra with Shaurya Chakra.
Read the full explanation →