Indian Military Medals and Decorations Part One

Greetings to all the fervid readers, Close on the heels of India’s 66th republic day celebrations we bring to your notice certain decorations and medals which the personnel in the Indian Military are conferred with according to the measure of their service towards the nation. Today we will discuss the various gallantry awards given to our feted warriors.

Indian Military Medals and Decorations

WARTIME GALLANTRY AWARDS

These awards are given to the soldiers who display formidable courage and fortitude for the nation during the time of a full blown war. These awards are exclusively meant to be given in the case of a comprehensive war and are given to the men who exhibit exceptional courage in the battlefield.

PARAM VIR CHAKRA :- This is the highest honour given to personnel who show unprecedented bravery in the time of war be it on land, sea or the sky. It takes precedence after the Bharat Ratna. It is equivalent to the Medal of Honour in the United States and Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom. So far 21 brave hearts have bagged this glorious award. The first person to get this award was Major Somnath Sharma of the 4th Battalion Kumaon Regiment during 1947-48 Indo-Pak war. Out of the 21, 20 awards have been fetched by the Indian Army and one by the Indian Air force. Flying Office Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon of the 18th squadron is the only one in the Indian Air Force to get this prestigious honour for his ostentatious act of bravery during 1971 Indo- Pak war.
MAHAVIR CHAKRA :- This is the second highest honour given to the warriors who show unstinting effort to protect the nation. It takes precedence after the Param Vir Chakra. It is given in place of the Distinguished Service Order of the British rule.
VIR CHAKRA :- This is the third highest award given to the valiant fighters of the nation who do just about anything to protect the national flag.

PEACETIME GALLANTRY AWARDS

These awards are given to the personnel who prove their mettle during peaceful times that is when there is no major war declared in the country but there are attacks on the nation to disturb its sovereignty and integrity. These awards are exclusively given for the operations which do not involve sacrosanct battlefields. Counter insurgency operations, Anti terrorist operations are some examples of peace time operations.

ASHOK CHAKRA :- Ashok Chakra is the highest award given to the warriors of our nation who give it their all to fight for the our country. It is the highest honour given to the fighters in the face of the enemy, during peaceful times.
KIRTI CHAKRA :- This is the second highest military honour given for the acts of bravery during peace time operations, comes after the Ashok Chakra.
SHAURYA CHAKRA :- This is the third highest honour given to defense personnel during the peacetime operations, comes after the Kirti Chakra

All these medals are given by the President of India during the Republic Day Celebrations. Awards can also be given posthumously (after the death) to the family members of the warrior. These awards are just a souvenir and a token of appreciation given by the Govt. of India to people showing ultimate spirit to save the honour of our nation, in fact no medal or honour can be fitting enough to replace the degree of sacrifice which our patriots show.
It is a wrap in today’s edition of Military Awards and honours, keep posting your views and reviews in the comment box below. Thank you for following ssbcrack. JAI HIND

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