Vir Chakra

The Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋiːɾa tʃakɾa) is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of gallantry on the battlefield, on land or in the air or at sea.[3]

"VrC" redirects here. For other uses, see VrC (disambiguation).
Vir Chakra
Vir Chakra

Vir Chakra and its ribbon, the third highest military decoration of India
TypeMedal
Awarded forActs of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land or at sea or in the air.
CountryIndia Republic of India
Presented byIndia Republic of India
EligibilityMilitary Personnel Only
Post-nominalsVrC
StatusCurrently Awarded
First awarded1947
Last awarded2021
Total awarded posthumously361
Total recipients1322 (As of 2017)[1]
Precedence
Next (higher) Ati Vishisht Seva Medal[2]
Equivalent Shaurya Chakra[2]
Next (lower) Yudh Seva Medal[2]

It is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.[4]

Origin

It was established by the President of India on 26 January 1950 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were amended on 12 January 1952 to readjust the order of wearing as new decorations were established.[5]

It replaced the British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC) and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Award of the decoration carries with it the right to use Vr.C. as a postnominal abbreviation [note the care to distinguish this abbreviation from that for the Victoria Cross (V.C.)

Appearance

The medal is 1-3/8 inch circular silver medal.[6] A five pointed star, with the chakra in the centre, and, on this, the domed gilded state emblem. The decoration is named on the rim and suspended from a swiveling straight-bar suspender. The decoration is almost always named and dated on the edge. Around a plain centre, two legends are separated by lotus flowers; with Vir Chakra in Hindi above and in English below. The ribbon is 32 mm, half dark blue and half orange-saffron; dark blue 16 mm, saffron 16 mm.[7]

The award carries with it a cash allowance and, in some cases, a lump sum cash award. This has been a rather controversial issue throughout the life of the decoration. From 1 February 1999, the central government set a monthly stipend of Rs. 850 for recipients of the award. In addition, many states have established individual pension rewards for the recipients of the decoration.

List of Vir Chakra recipients

A total of 1327 personnel received Vir Chakra. Some of the notable Vir Chakra awardees include:[8]

RankRecipientServiceDate
Major TGN Pai Indian Army 1947 Kashmir War
2nd Lieutenant R Kanikasamy Indian Army 1947 Kashmir War
Brigadier Harbaksh Singh Indian Army 1 May 1948 1948 Operation Polo
Captain Ranjan Dutt Indian Army 26 January 1950 Kashmir War[3]
Major Tirath Singh Oberoi Indian Army 26 January 1950 Kashmir War
Wg Cdr Krishan Kant Saini Indian Air Force 18 Nov 1962 Operation Leg Horn
Lt Gen Zorawar Chand Bakshi Indian Army 05 Aug 1965 Operation Ablaze
Wg Cdr Trevor Keelor Indian Air Force 03 Sep 1965 Operation Riddle
Flt. Lt. Virendera Singh Pathania Indian Air Force 04 Sep 1965 Operation Riddle[9]
Air Cmde Alfred Tyrone Cooke Indian Air Force 07 Sep 1965 Operation Riddle
Naib Subedar Ganesh Datt Joshi Indian Army 07 Sep 1965 Indo-Pakistan War of 1965
Wg Cdr Amar Jit Singh Sandhu Indian Air Force 17 Sep 1965 Indo-Pakistan War of 1965[10]
Air Mrshl Denzil Keelor Indian Air Force 19 Sep 1965 Operation Riddle
Lt Gen Mohammad Ahmad Zaki Indian Army 20 Sep 1965 Operation Riddle
Adm Laxminarayan Ramdass Indian Navy 01 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Brigadier JK Tomar Indian Army 03 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Lt Col Satish Nambiar Indian Army 11 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Brigadier P V Sahadevan Indian Army 16 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lilly
Late Lt Col Vikram Deuskar Indian Army 16 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lilly
Air Cmde Jasjit Singh Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Hav. Gurdev Singh Hans Indian Army 17 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lilly
Squadron Leader Ramesh Chander Kohli Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 Multiple missions during the 1971 Indo-Pak War
Adm Arun Prakash Indian Navy 21 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Wing Commander Sukhdev Singh Dhillon Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 Operation Cactus Lily
Squadron Leader M A Ganapathy Indian Air force 1972 Boyra Encounter (1971)
Group Captain Donald ‘Don’ Lazarus Indian Air force 1972 Boyra Encounter (1971)[11]
Flight Lieutenant Lawrence Frederic Pereira Indian Air Force 26 Jan 1972 Operation Cactus Lilly
Naik Naib Singh Gill Indian Army, 6 Sikh Regiment 26 Jan 1972 1971 Pakistan–India War
Lieutenant-General Francis Tiburtius Dias Indian Army 15 August 1972 Operation Cactus Lilly
Major-General Dalvir Singh Indian Army 26 Jan 1988 Jaffna University Helidrop, Operation Pawan
Lt Commander Deepak Agarwal Indian Navy 26 Jan 1988 Operation Pawan
Flight Lieutenant Abdul Naseer Hanfee[12] Indian Air Force, 128 Helicopter Unit 26 January 1989 Siachen, 1987
Captain Jintu Gogoi Indian Army, 18 Garhwal Rifles 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Sqn Ldr Ajay Ahuja Indian Air Force 01 Jan 1999 Operation Safed Sagar, Kargil War
Col Magod Basappa Ravindranath Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles 28 Jun 1999 Battle of Tololing, Kargil War
Lt Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers Jun 1999 Battle of Tololing, Kargil War
L/HAV Ram Kumar Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers Jun 1999 Battle of Tololing, Kargil War[13]
Major Mariappan Saravanan Indian Army, 1 Bihar Regiment 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Col Lalit Rai Indian Army, 1/11 GR 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay (1999), Kargil War
Lt. Col. Yogesh Kumar Joshi Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay (1999), Kargil War[14]
Captain Sanjeev Singh Jamwal Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Sepoy Roshan Kumar Indian Army 15 Aug 1999 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Captain Vijyant Thapar Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles 16 Dec 1999 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Havildar Chuni Lal Indian Army, 8 JAK LI 30 Aug 2000 Operation Vijay, Kargil War
Wg Cdr Abhinandan Varthaman Indian Air Force 15 Aug 2019 2019 India-Pakistan standoff
Sepoy Gurtej Singh Indian Army, 3 Panjab Regiment 26 Jan 2021 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes
Sepoy Kamkholam Kuki Indian Army, Assam Regiment 17 Dec 1989 Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War[15]

References
  1. "Awardees | Gallantry Awards". Archived from the original on 2017-08-16.
  2. "Precedence Of Medals". indianarmy.nic.in/. Indian Army. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. "TDA - The Defence Aspirant Academy". www.tdaacademy.in. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  4. "Vir Chakra". Archived from the original on 2002-12-05.
  5. "Vir Chakra: India's Third Highest Gallantry Award".
  6. "Statutes and rules relating to the awards of the Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Air Chakra". 1 January 1970 (amendment of 1950 version).
  7. "Bharat Raksahk Monitor: Volume 3(6)". Bharat-rakshak.com. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  8. "Awardees". MoD, GOI. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  9. "Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania".
  10. "Service Record for Wing Commander Amar Jit Singh Sandhu 4705 F(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  11. https://guardingindia.com/pakistan/in-1971-the-indian-air-force-shot-down-3-pakistani-planes-within-3-minutes/
  12. "Vir Chakra Awardee Capt Abdul Naseer Flew MI-17 Tirelessly to Help India Win Siachen in 1987". 11 November 2017.
  13. "L/HAV RAM KUMAR".
  14. "Lt Col Yogesh Kumar Joshi".
  15. https://twdi.in/node/4809

Further reading
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