What Makes a Param Veer?

The Param Vir Chakra and India's Warrior Tradition

Discover the meaning behind India's highest wartime gallantry award - the Param Vir Chakra. Learn about Savitri Khanolkar who designed it, the 21 recipients, and the Sanatana warrior tradition that inspires Indian soldiers to fight not for glory, but for Dharma.

The Wheel of the Ultimate Brave

On the morning of November 3, 1947, barely two months after India gained independence, a young Major named Somnath Sharma stood with his company at Badgam airfield near Srinagar. Over 700 Pakistani tribal raiders were advancing toward them. Outnumbered, outgunned, and with reinforcements nowhere in sight, Major Sharma made a decision that would define the spirit of independent India's military.

He chose to stand and fight.

His final radio message would become the first lines written in the legend of the Param Vir Chakra:

"The enemies are only 50 yards from us. We are heavily outnumbered. We are under devastating fire. I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to the last man and the last round."

Major Somnath Sharma didn't know it then, but he would become the first recipient of India's highest wartime gallantry award - an honor that didn't even exist when he made his last stand. The medal that would bear his name was still being designed, its purple ribbon not yet woven, its bronze not yet cast.

This is the story of that medal, and the extraordinary men who earned it.

The Birth of an Honor

In June 1948, as India's first war continued in Kashmir, the newly independent nation faced a question: How do we honor those who display the highest valor in battle?

The British had their Victoria Cross. The Americans had their Medal of Honor. India needed something uniquely its own - an award rooted not just in military tradition, but in the deeper soil of Dharmic civilization.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru entrusted this sacred task to Major General Hira Lal Atal, India's first Adjutant General. And General Atal made an inspired choice: he asked Savitri Khanolkar to design the medal.

The Artist Behind the Medal

Savitri Khanolkar was born Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1913. Her father was a Hungarian academic; her mother, a Russian educator. In 1932, she married Captain Vikram Ramji Khanolkar of the Indian Army's Sikh Regiment, embracing India as her homeland and adopting the name Savitribai.

When General Atal approached her, Savitri didn't reach for Western military symbolism. Instead, she delved deep into India's ancient traditions to find symbols worthy of supreme sacrifice.

She found her inspiration in an unlikely place: a Vedic sage who gave up his own body.

The Legend of Rishi Dadhichi

In ancient times, the Devas (gods) faced a terrible enemy - the Asura Vritra, whom no weapon could defeat. In desperation, they approached Rishi Dadhichi, a sage whose bones had been hardened through millennia of tapasya (spiritual discipline).

The Devas asked for the ultimate sacrifice: Would the sage give up his body so that his bones could be fashioned into a weapon capable of destroying Vritra?

Dadhichi agreed without hesitation. From his spine, the divine craftsman Vishwakarma forged the Vajra - the thunderbolt of Indra. With this weapon, Vritra was finally slain.

Savitri Khanolkar saw in this legend the perfect symbol for India's highest military honor. What greater parallel could there be? Like Dadhichi, the Param Vir gives everything - body, life, all - for the protection of others.

The Medal's Sacred Design

Savitri also drew inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, including elements reminiscent of his legendary sword Bhavani in her initial concepts.

The medal's name itself carries profound meaning:

• Param (परम) - Supreme, ultimate, highest
• Vir (वीर) - Brave one, hero, warrior
• Chakra (चक्र) - Wheel, circle, emblem

Together: "The Wheel of the Ultimate Brave" - or more poetically, the "Emblem of Supreme Valor."

A Remarkable Coincidence

Fate wove an extraordinary thread through this story. Major Somnath Sharma - the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra - was the brother-in-law of Savitri Khanolkar's daughter. The woman who designed the medal to honor supreme sacrifice would see it first awarded to her own family.

This was not favoritism - Somnath Sharma's valor at Badgam was unquestionable, witnessed by survivors and documented in military records. But the connection added a deeply personal dimension to Savitri's design. She had created a symbol that would honor the sacrifice of someone she knew and loved.

The 21 Param Virs

Since 1947, only 21 individuals have been awarded the Param Vir Chakra. To put this in perspective:

• India has fought five major wars and numerous conflicts
• Millions have served in the armed forces
• Thousands have displayed extraordinary courage
• Yet only 21 have reached the threshold of supreme valor

The three living recipients are:

1. Subedar Major (Hon. Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav - Tiger Hill, Kargil 1999
2. Naib Subedar (Hon. Lieutenant) Bana Singh - Siachen 1987
3. Subedar Sanjay Kumar - Point 4875, Kargil 1999

What Makes a Param Vir Different?

Many soldiers display bravery. Many earn gallantry medals. But what separates a Param Vir from others?

The official criterion is "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy." But the stories of the 21 reveal something deeper - a specific quality that transcends ordinary courage.

The Kshatriya Dharma Connection

In Indian tradition, Kshatriya Dharma is the code of the warrior class. But this is not about caste - it is about attitude. Anyone who takes up arms to protect the innocent embodies Kshatriya Dharma.

The key principles:

1. Raksha (रक्षा) - Protection of the weak is the highest duty
2. Ahimsa through Himsa - Sometimes violence is necessary to prevent greater violence
3. No retreat from righteous battle - Once committed, see it through
4. Death in battle is glorious - Falling while protecting others leads to the highest realms
5. Detachment from outcome - Fight because it is right, not for victory or fame

Every Param Vir story exemplifies these principles. They fought not to win medals (most didn't know the award existed), but because their dharma demanded it.

The Psychology of Supreme Valor

Psychologists have studied what enables some soldiers to perform extraordinary acts while others freeze. The Param Virs share common traits:

• Extreme ownership - Taking personal responsibility for the mission's success
• Protective instinct - Concern for comrades overriding self-preservation
• Training so deep it becomes instinct - Regimental traditions creating automatic courage
• Spiritual grounding - A sense that their actions serve a higher purpose
• Acceptance of death - Not seeking death, but not fearing it either

As Captain Vikram Batra (PVC, Kargil 1999) famously said: "Ya to tiranga lehra ke aaunga, ya tiranga mein lipat ke aaunga. Par aaunga zaroor." (Either I will come back hoisting the tricolor, or I will come back wrapped in it. But I will come back for sure.)

The Regimental Factor

Remarkably, certain regiments have produced multiple Param Virs:

This is not coincidence. Indian Army regiments are families - they have their own traditions, war cries, histories, and expectations. A soldier doesn't just fight for India; he fights for the honor of his regiment, for the brothers beside him, for the ghosts of those who wore the same uniform before.

When a Sikh soldier charges with "Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!" or a Gorkha with "Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali!" - they invoke generations of warriors. The regiment's past glories become a current obligation.

The PVC in India's Order of Precedence

The Param Vir Chakra holds an extraordinary position in Indian honors:

1. Bharat Ratna - Highest civilian award
2. Param Vir Chakra - Highest wartime gallantry award
3. Ashoka Chakra - Highest peacetime gallantry award

A PVC recipient walks ahead of cabinet ministers in official ceremonies. They are saluted by officers of all ranks, regardless of their own rank. The nation recognizes that these men have given something that outranks any position or title.

Commemorating the Param Virs

India has created lasting memorials to honor these 21 supreme warriors:

Param Yodha Sthal

At the National War Memorial near India Gate in New Delhi, bronze busts of all 21 PVC recipients stand in a dedicated area called the Param Yodha Sthal (Abode of Supreme Warriors). Installed in 2019, these busts allow citizens to look into the faces of the men who gave everything.

The Andaman Islands

On January 23, 2023 - the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose - the Indian government renamed 21 previously unnamed islands in the Andaman archipelago after the 21 Param Vir Chakra recipients. Major Somnath Sharma now has an island bearing his name, as do all the others.

Regimental Centers

Each recipient's regiment maintains detailed memorials, museums, and commemorations. Annual ceremonies mark the anniversaries of their sacrifices.

Why This Course Matters

In the lessons that follow, you will meet each Param Vir. You will learn:

• The circumstances that forced ordinary men to make extraordinary choices
• The battles where they earned immortality
• The aftermath - how families and regiments carry their legacy
• The lessons their sacrifice holds for our daily lives

These are not stories of glorified violence. They are stories of protection - of men who placed themselves between danger and those they were sworn to defend. In a world that often celebrates aggression, the Param Virs remind us of a different kind of strength: the courage to sacrifice everything for others.

As the Bhagavad Gita teaches:

हतो वा प्राप्स्यसि स्वर्गं जित्वा वा भोक्ष्यसे महीम्। तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः॥

"If slain, you will attain heaven; if victorious, you will enjoy the earth. Therefore, O Arjuna, arise and resolve to fight."

The Param Virs arose. They resolved. They fought. And in doing so, they wrote their names in letters that will never fade.

Now, let us meet them - one by one.