Param Vir Chakra: The Highest Military Decoration of India

Param Vir Chakra

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Param Vir Chakra is the highest gallantry award in India which is awarded for the highest valor before enemy to the bravest of brave soldiers in action. This is a rare military decoration, and so for it is awarded to 21 bravest soldiers of India. Out of the 21 soldiers, 20 were from Indian Army, while one was a fighter pilot from Indian Air Force. Compare this number with the recipients Mahavir Chakra, the second highest military decorations. The number of Mahavir Chakra winners is 155.

Param Vir Chakra is equivalent ofVictoria Cross in United Kingdom,Medal of Honor in United States,Hero of the Russian Federation in Russia and Order of Blue Sky and White Sun in Republic of China. It is also equivalent toNishan-E-Haider of Pakistan and Bir Shresto of Bangla Desh.

Some Facts about Param Vir Chakra

The medal is a circular disc made from Bronze. The medal was designed by Savitri Khanolkar, originally Eva Yuonne Linda Maday-de-Maros, a Hungarian-Russian, who was married to Vikram Khanolkar, an Indian Army Officer.

Param Vir Chakra was first awarded to Major Somnath Sharmaposthumously for evicting enemy from Srinagar Airport during the first war between India and Pakistan in 1947.

All the recipients of Param Vir Chakra are either non - commissioned soldiers or commissioned officers up to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The only Air Force man to receiver this award was a Flying Officer. No one from Indian navy has received this award.

The Grenadiers Regiment and the Gurkha Rifles are recipients of 3 Param Vir Chakras each, the highest number of this award to a single regiment. The regiments which received 2 Param Vir Chakras are: Jammu & Kashmir Rifles,Poona Horse, Sikh Regiment and Kumaon Regiment.

5 Param Vir Chakra were awarded in 1947-48 India-Pakistan war, 1 in 1961 Civil war in Congo, 3 in 1962 India-China war, 2 in 1965 India-Pakistan War, 4 in 1971 India-Pakistan War, 2 in 1987 (one in an action in Sri Lanka and another in an action in Jammu and Kasmir) and 4 in 1999 Kargil war between India and Pakistan.

14 of the 21 Param Vir Chakra were awarded posthumously.

The recipients of Param Vira Chakra belong to different religions, namely Hindu,Sikh, Muslim, Christian and Parasi.

The Recipients of Param Vir Chakra

Here is the list of all the recipients of Param Vir Chakra:

1. Major Som Nath Sharma
2. Lance Naik Karam Singh
3. Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane
4. Naik Jadu Nath Singh
5. Company Havildar Major Piru Singh Shekhawat
6. Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria
7. Major Dhan Singh Thapa
8. Subedar Joginder Singh
9. Major Shaitan Singh
10. Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid
11. Lieutenant-Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore
12. Lance Naik Albert Ekka
13. Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon
14. Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal
15. Major Hoshiar Singh
16. Naib Subedar Bana Singh
17. Major Ramaswamy Parameshwaran
18. Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey
19. Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav
20. Rifleman Sanjay Kumar
21. Captain Vikram Batra

On Postage Stamps

A postage stamp depicting the picture of Param Vir Chakrea Medal was issued by India post in 1976. The value of the stamp was 25 Paise. In year 2000, five stamps were issued on the occasion of 50th year of Republic of India, each valued 3 Rupees depicting portraits of recipients of gallantry awards, out of which 4 stamps were dedicated to winners of Param Vir Chakra. The brave soldiers on the stamps were: Lance Naik Karam Singh, Lance Naik Albert Ekka, Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hameed and Flying Officer Niramal Jit Singh Shekhawat.

On Television

In 1988 a TV serial Param vir Chakra was telecasted on Doordarshan. The serial was produced and directed by Chetan Anand, a renowned producer and director of Hindi films, who had previously directed the two great war movies Haqeekat andHindustan ki Kasam. In Param Vir Chakra Serial, renowned actors of films and stage performed various characters, including the great actor Nasaruddin Shah as Havildar Abdul Hamid.

High Wire Rider Nik Wallenda Set Guinness World Record

Wednesday morning around 8:30, as high-wire Rider Nik Wallenda -- seventh generation of the famous Wallenda family of tightrope walkers -- set a guinness world record in riding a bicycle across a 235-foot wire suspended from two cranes some 135 feet in the air.

The event took place near the Prudential Center arena in Newark, N.J., where Wallenda is performing with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus.


Wallenda's only grounding during his ride was the 45-pound balancing pole he carried that served as an extension of his arms. The wire was no thicker than a cigar. He wore shoes, or slippers, specially made by his mother. His father was on the ground below holding tension on the wire. He also was speaking to his son through an earpiece Nik was wearing. There was no safety net. There was no margin for error.

Nik Wallenda set the world record for the longest distance crossed on a tightrope on a bicycle. He did it in front of his family, his wife and three children.

I watched the amazing feat on NBC's "Today" show as it was happening live. Wallenda first walked across the tightrope to get to the other side where his bicycle was waiting. But before he got there, he stopped at the center of the wire, sat down and pulled out his cell phone to call NBC's control room in New York City.

Though he reported conditions were "windier than expected," this 'Evel Knieval of the Tightrope' had the mindset that he was going to accomplish a lifelong dream of setting a world record.

High Wire Rider Nik Wallenda Set Guinness World Record 2008 Video by AP



Click here for more Bicycle & Motorcycle World Records 2008

Worlds Highest 'Open Air' Escalator

The Umeda Sky Building is the seventh-tallest building in Osaka City, Japan, and one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. It consists of two 40-story towers that connect at their two uppermost stories, with bridges and an escalator crossing the wide atrium-like space in the center. The escalator ride is an event in itself as it feels like you are floating up into the sky. They lead to the observation area of the twin towers. Located in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, the building was originally conceived in 1988 as the "City of Air" project, which planned to create four interconnected towers in northern Osaka. Eventually, practical considerations brought the number of towers down to two.

Making Of The Highest Bridge On Earth

Angel Falls-The World's highest waterfall

The water of Angel Falls (the World's highest waterfall) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet. It is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls.

Angel Falls or Kerepakupai merú (which means "waterfall of the deepest place", in Pemon language, or: Parakupa-vena, which means "the fall from the highest point"; Spanish: Salto Ángel) is a waterfall in Venezuela.

It is the world's highest waterfall, with a height of 1,054 m (3,458 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft). The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyantepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State, Venezuela.

The height of the fall is so great that before getting anywhere near the ground, much of the water is evaporated or carried away as a fine mist by the strong wind. The base of the falls feeds into the Kerep River (alternatively known as the Río Gauya), which flows into the Churun River, a tributary of the Carrao River.

The height figure 3,212 ft (979 m) mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 0.25 mi (400 m) of sloped cascades and rapids below the drop and a 100-foot (30 m) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids. While the main plunge is undoubtedly the highest single drop in the world, some feel that including the lower cascades somewhat stretches the criteria[2] for the measurement of waterfalls, although there are no universally recognized standards of waterfall measurement.

The highest dam in the world

Dam construction or dam is built to hold the rate of water into reservoirs, lakes, or place of recreation. Often the dam is also used to drain water into a Water Power Plant. Most of the dam also has a section called the floodgates to remove unwanted water or sustainable gradually.

Dams (dams) and the weir (Weir) is actually a different structure.

Weir (Weir) is a low head dam structure (lowhead dams), which serves to raise the water level, usually in a river. The surface water of the river will be raised through the peak melimpas / crow weir (overflow).

Can be used as a measure of water flow velocity in the channel / river and can be used as the motion in pengilingan traditional European countries. In countries with large rivers and heavy flow, a series of dam can be operated to form a water transport system. In Indonesia, the dam can be used for irrigation when the river water level such as lower than the face of the land that would have waterly.

1. Nurek Dam in Rusia (317m)

2. Grande Dam Dixence in Swiss (284m)

3. Inguri Dam in Rusia (272m)

4. Vajont Dam in Italia (262m)

5. Mica Dam in Kanada (242m)