What is Indian Gallantry Awards?
The highest gallantry award for the people in the Indian army is Param Vir Chakra. India is also providing five other gallantry awards. They are Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra. The government of India instituted the gallantry award on 26th January 1950. A person who made an excellent contribution for serving the nation in the Indian military will qualify for the Indian gallantry awards. This entire article is about India’s top 6 Gallantry Awards and its qualifications.
(Image will be uploaded soon)
Categories of Indian Gallantry Awards
After Independence, the Government of India has announced some awards like Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra, Ashoka Chakra..etc. In that, Param Vir Chakra is the highest gallantry award, which is given to military personnel who made excellent contributions during the war and made a highest degree of valor in the presence of the enemy. The Indian Gallantry Awards are classified into three categories.
They are explained below.
War Time Awards
Peace Time Awards
Distinguished Service Medals:
War Time Awards
Param Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra and Mahavir Chakra are the war time awards, which are given to the military personnels, who made incredible contributions in the war field against enemies.
Peace Time Awards
Ashoka Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and Kirti Chakra are the peace time awards. The person who made excellent service to the nation in the armed forces will receive the peacetime award. The Government of India announced this award twice in a year. One is during Independence day and the other is during republic day.
Distinguished Service Medals
People who are serving in various protection services in India are eligible to get the Distinguished service medal. The list of distinguished service medals are Sena Medal for Army people, Nausena medal for navy people and Vayusena medal for air force people.
Description of Indian Gallantry Awards
Param Vir Chakra
Param Vir Chakra is the highest gallantry award given for the officers and other enlisted personnel of all military personnels of India. The person who made the highest degree of valor in the presence of the enemy will receive the Param Vir Chakra award. The Government of India announced the Param Vir Chakra award for the first time on 26th January 1950. Param in Sanskrit means ‘ultimate’. Vir means Brave and Chakra means ‘wheel’’
The person who receives the Param Vir Chakra award will get a Medal, Ribbon with a Bar. The Param Vir Chakra is made up of bronze and in circular shape with three eighth inches in diameter. Further, the medal will contain the embosse of four replicas of "Indra's Vajra” around the state Emblem embossed in the centre. This medal also contains the embosse of “PARAM VIR CHAKRA” in both Hindi and English languages with two lotus flowers. The ribbon is in plain purple colour. If the same person is involved in the bravery activities and qualified for receiving Param Vir Chakra, then he / she will receive the bar with riband, in which chakra is attached to it. The bar represents a replica of the "Indra's Vajra" in miniature.
Mahavir Chakra
The second highest military decoration in India, given to the army people is Mahavir Chakra. This award is mainly given for the personnels, who made conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, that can be in the land or sea or in the air. Till 2017, 218 people received the Maha Vir Chakra award for their bravery and selfless courage in the war field. Many people received the Maha Vir Chakra award during the Indo-Pakistan War, which was held in 1971. About eleven Indian Air Force authorities received the award at that time.
Vir Chakra
Indian gallantry awards that provide the Vir Chakra award for the people, who acted bravely on the battlefield against the enemy troops. The Vir Chakra is represented as Vr.C. This is the third-highest award presenced in the wartime gallantry awards. The person who received the Vir Chakra award will receive a medal, ribbon with Bar. The Vir Chakra medal is in a circular shape and made of silver. They are three eight inches in diameter with the embossed of the five-pointed heraldic star. The centre of the medal contained the gilded State Emblem. The medal also contains the emboss of “VIR CHAKRA” in English and Hindi. The ribbon of the Vir Chakra award is in half blue and half orange in colour. If a person is again eligible for the Vir Chakra award during his service, he will receive a bar, which is attached to the riband and chakra with it. The Bar represents the replica of chakra.
Ashok Chakra
Usually, the Ashok Chakra series awards are given to all civilian persons. The Ashok Chakra is one of the highest peacetime awards. The person who is most conspicuous in bravery or some daring or preeminent valour and sacrifices their lives in the field will receive the Ashok Chakra. All the military or civilian personnel are eligible to receive the Ashok Chakra award. The civilians who are serving in the state governments or union territories administrations or ministries of the central government can receive this award. The Indian Gallantry Award will announce the Ashok chakra award twice a year. The President of India will distribute this award during Republic day and Independence Day of every year. The Ashok Chakra medal is made of a gold rim, that contains Ashok chakra emboss at the centre and is surrounded by the lotus leaves, flowers and buds. The ribbon provided with the Ashok Chakra award is in green colour with single orange vertical line at the centre.
Kirti Chakra
Kirti Chakra award is given to the Indian military personnel, who made valour or courageous actions and made self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. All the civilians and military personnel are eligible to receive the Kirti Chakra award. In the peacetime award, the Kirti Chakra award is equivalent to the Maha Vir Chakra award. Before 1967, the Kirti chakra award was given in the name of Ashoka Chakra. Later, the award name was renamed Kirti Chakra. The ribbon provided in the Kirti chakra award is in green colour with two orange colour vertical lines. The medal is made up of silver and has Ashoka chakra emboss at the centre and is surrounded by the lotus leaves, flowers and buds.
Shaurya Chakra
The Shaurya Chakra award was given to all the people who made valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice for the nation are eligible to receive the award. The person who is not engaged directly to fight against the enemies will receive this award. The Shaurya Chakra award will be given to the civilians and military personnel for their excellent contribution. This is the third-highest award in India for people who contributed to the nation during peacetime.
Before 1967, the Shaurya Chakra award was given in the name of Ashoka Chakra, Class III. After that, this award was renamed as Shaurya Chakra award. The person who is receiving this award will get a medal, ribbon and bar. The Shaurya Chakra medal is made up of bronze and this medal contains emboss of Ashok chakra at the centre and is surrounded by the lotus leaves, flowers and buds. The ribbon provided with the Shaurya Chakra award is in green colour, that are divided into four equal parts by three vertical lines
List of Highest Military Decorations on the World
This article explained the Indian gallantry awards with facts at a glance. Indian gallantry awards are mainly announced twice in a year to increase patriotism among people. All these awards are given to motivate the people, who made excellent contributions in the war field against enemies.
FAQs on Indian Gallantry Awards
1. Which is the highest gallantry award in India?
The Param Vir Chakra means the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave". The Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military decoration. Usually, this was given to the army people who made an auspicious work in the war field in front of the enemy.
2. What is the meaning of the gallantry award?
The Government of India has an institution called gallantry awards, which was mainly for honoring the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the officers/personnel of the Armed Forces. They are also working on making proud of other lawfully constituted forces and civilians.
3. Who got the first Param Vir Chakra in India?
Major Somnath Sharma, who served in the Indian Army from 31st January 1923 – 3rd November 1947 was the first person to receive the Param Vir Chakra Award. The Param Vir Chakra was the highest military decoration in India.
