Who was the first woman to be awarded the Ashoka Chakra?
- A.Neerja Bhanot
- B.Kamaljeet Sandhu
- C.Punita Arora
- D.Kiran Bedi
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Neerja Bhanot. She was the flight purser on a hijacked aircraft at Karachi in 1986 and was killed while shielding passengers as she helped them escape. The Ashoka Chakra was conferred on her posthumously, and she remains the standard answer to this question.
Option B, Kamaljeet Sandhu, was an athlete, the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Asian Games, so she belongs to the sports chapter. Option C, Punita Arora, was the first woman to reach the rank of Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and Vice Admiral in the Navy, a distinction of service rather than a gallantry award. Option D, Kiran Bedi, was the first woman officer of the Indian Police Service. Each name is a genuine first of some kind, which is exactly how this question is made difficult.
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
Show answer
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
Show answer
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 →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
Show answer
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.
Read the full explanation →The Param Vir Chakra was designed by
- A.Nandalal Bose
- B.Savitri Khanolkar
- C.Pingali Venkayya
- D.Deenanath Bhargava
Show answer
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
Show answer
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 →