INDIAN GOVERNMENT AWARDS

 

                                       'Shaurya Gatha' 

                                                        By: Mansi Mandot And Shrutika Ghugari

 

'Shaurya Gatha' is remembrance of courage and sacrifice of the brave hearts of our country.

It talks about awards as a token of respect and honour conferred to the people with noteworthy achievements.

The major categories of Awards in India are:

1.     Civilian Awards

2.     Gallantry Awards

In this blog, we are going to get a glimpse of gallantry awards that are presented to the personnel in the forces for bravery and valour.

The Gallantry awards that are conferred in India are as follows (in the order of precedence):

1.     Param Vir Chakra

2.     Ashoka Chakra

3.     Mahavir Chakra

4.     Kirti Chakra

5.     Vir Chakra

6.     Shaurya Chakra

The first 3 awards in this category that came into existence after independence are- Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra. These awards are conferred twice a year- on Republic Day and Independence Day. 

Wartime gallantry awards (Instituted in 1950)

·         Param Vir Chakra 

·         Maha Vir Chakra

·         Vir Chakra 

       

Peacetime awards  (Instituted in 1952)

·         Ashoka Chakra

·         Kirti Chakra

·         Shaurya Chakra

Investiture Ceremony

Gallantry awards along with some other Defence Distinguished Service awards are conferred to the awardees/Next-of-Kins (NoKs) by the President at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held every year at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. However, the Param Vir Chakra and the Ashoka Chakra are conferred by the President to the awardees/NoKs on the occasion of the Republic Day Parade at the Rajpath.

1. Param Vir Chakra

Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration. The name of the award is also referred to as the “Wheel of the Ultimate Brave”.

The award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". It is a very rare honour and awarded only 21 times since its inception in 1950. 14 of these awards were given posthumously.

The bronze medal has Indian National Emblem at the centre, surrounded by four replicas of 'Indra's Vajra'. This Indra's weapon of thunderbolts derived power from Sage Dadhichi's bones. Similarly Indian military derived its strength from Sacrifice of Param Vir Chakra Holders. On the reverse, there are 2 inscribed legends separated by lotus flowers. The words ‘Param Vir Chakra’ are written in Hindi and English.

The TV series Param Vir Chakra (1990), which focuses on the lives of Param Vir Chakra winners, was directed by Chetan Anand. 

The Bollywood film LOC Kargil (2003) gives an account of all of the PVC recipients from the Kargil War. 

In the 2021 film Shershaah, Sidharth Malhotra played Vikram Batra in a biopic directed by Vishnuvardhan.

2. Ashoka Chakra 

Ashok Chakra is conferred to civilians or military personnel for most conspicuous bravery or some act of daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.

The medal of gold gild is circular in shape and 'Ashok Chakra' in the centre, surrounded by a lotus wreath. Along the rim, on the inner side, shall be a pattern of lotus leaves, flowers and buds. On the reverse side 'Ashok Chakra' is inscribed both in Hindi and English and these 2 versions are separated by 2 lotus flowers

3. Mahavir Chakra

It is the third highest wartime award given to military personnel.

 The silver medal has embossed on the obverse a five-pointed heraldic star with the points of the star just touching the rim. The star shall have in the centre a domed gilded State Emblem. The words “Mahavira Chakra” are embossed in Devanagari and English on the reverse with two lotus flowers in the middle.

4. Kirti Chakra

This award is presented to the Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle and is awarded to civilians as well as military personnel.

It is the peacetime equivalent of the Maha Vir Chakra and it comes in between Ashoka Chakra and Shaurya Chakra. Before 1967, the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class II.

It is circular in shape and is made of silver. On the front, a replica of Ashoka Chakra in the centre is embossed and is surrounded by a lotus ring. On its reverse the words Kirti Chakra is embossed in both in Hindi and English; the versions being separated by two lotus flowers.

 

 

5. Vir Chakra

 Vir Chakra is the third-highest honorary gallantry award in India and is conferred to personnel for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield.

The medal is a circular silver medal. A five-pointed star, with the wheel or chakra in the centre, and, on this, the state emblem is inscribed. Around a plain centre, two legends separated by lotus flowers and 'Vir Chakra' is embossed in Hindi and in English.

6. Shaurya Chakra

Circular in shape and made of bronze, one and three-eighth inches in diameter, with rims on both sides. On the obverse of the medal shall be embossed a replica of Ashoka’s Chakra in the centre, surrounded by a lotus wreath. Along the rim, on the inner side, shall be a pattern of lotus leaves, flowers and buds. On its reverse shall be embossed the words ‘Shaurya Chakra’ both in Hindi and English, the two versions being separated by two lotus flowers.

 

The President of India may cancel and annul any honour if the recipient commits any acts of criminal misconduct or otherwise abuses the award. As there are no specific guidelines for otherwise withdrawing a national honour from a recipient, the acts of returning/renouncing an award to register a protest, or refusing an award after an official awards list has been published, are only symbolic actions.

War Memorials and Museums in India

War Memorials are national monuments built to commemorate the wartime gallantry awardees and soldiers of the Indian military who fought in armed conflicts of independent India. 

1. War memorial, Kargil

The memorial has been constructed at the site to honour Indian troops in the year 2000. The memorial in its present form was constructed by the Indian Army in November 2014.The central feature of the memorial is a pink sandstone wall bearing a brass plate engraved with names of the soldiers who had made supreme sacrifice during Operation VIJAY.

2. National War Memorial, Delhi

Since-Independence, more than 26,000 soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces have made the supreme sacrifice to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country. The National War Memorial represents the gratitude of a nation to its Armed Forces.

3. War memorial, Leh

The Hall of Fame, located near the Leh Airfield mostly commemorates the army's role in Ladakh from helping populace with cloudburst relief in 2010 to the high-altitude battles fought with Pakistan.

Salute to the Armed Forces of India. Jai Hind!