# Vir Chakra

The Vir Chakra (pronunciation: ʋiːɾa tʃakɾa, lit. 'wheel of bravery') is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of gallantry on the battlefield, on land or in the air or at sea.
It is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra.

## 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.
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+3⁄8inch circular silver medal. 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.
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:
Key :
| † | Indicates posthumous honour |
| Rank | Recipient | Service | Date | |
| Lieutenant | TGN Pai | Indian Army | 1950 | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Jemadar | Kanikasami | Indian Army | 1947 | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Brigadier | Harbaksh Singh | Indian Army | 1 May 1948 | 1948 Operation Polo |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Girdhari Singh | Indian Army | 26 February 1948 | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Subedar Major and Honorary Captain | Bhim Chand | Indian Army | 23 August 1948 and 27 December 1948 (2) | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Air Vice Marshal | Ranjan Dutt | Indian Air Force | 26 Jan 1950 | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Major | Tirath Singh Oberoi | Indian Army | 26 Jan 1950 | 1947 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Major General | Ashwani Kumar Diwan | Indian Army | 18 Nov 1962 | 1962 Sino-Indian War |
| Wing Commander | Krishan Kant Saini | Indian Air Force | 18 Nov 1962 | 1962 Operation Leg Horn |
| Lieutenant General | Zorawar Chand Bakshi | Indian Army | 05 Aug 1965 | 1965 Operation Ablaze |
| Wing Commander | Trevor Keelor | Indian Air Force | 03 Sep 1965 | 1965 Operation Riddle |
| Flight Lieutenant | Virendera Singh Pathania | Indian Air Force | 04 Sep 1965 | 1965 Operation Riddle |
| Air Commodore | Alfred Tyrone Cooke | Indian Air Force | 07 Sep 1965 | 1965 Operation Riddle |
| Naib Subedar | Ganesh Datt | Indian Army | 07 Sep 1965 | 1965 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Wing Commander | Amar Jit Singh Sandhu | Indian Air Force | 17 Sep 1965 | 1965 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Air Marshal | Denzil Keelor | Indian Air Force | 19 Sep 1965 | 1965 Operation Riddle |
| Lieutenant General | Mohammad Ahmad Zaki | Indian Army | 20 Sep 1965 | 1965 Operation Riddle |
| Admiral | Laxminarayan Ramdas | Indian Navy | 01 Dec 1971 | 1971 Operation Cactus Lily |
| Brigadier | JK Tomar | Indian Army | 03 Dec 1971 | 1971 Operation Cactus Lily |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Satish Nambiar | Indian Army | 11 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Brigadier | P V Sahadevan | Indian Army | 16 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Vikram Deuskar | Indian Army | 16 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Captain | Satish Chander Sehgal | Indian Army, 75 Medium Regiment | 16 Dec 1971 | 1971 Battle of Basantar |
| Air Commodore | Jasjit Singh | Indian Air Force | 17 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Havildar | Gurdev Singh Hans | Indian Army | 17 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Squadron Leader | Ramesh Chander Kohli | Indian Air Force | 17 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Admiral | Arun Prakash | Indian Navy | 21 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Wing Commander | Sukhdev Singh Dhillon | Indian Air Force | 17 Dec 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Squadron Leader | M A Ganapathy | Indian Air force | 1972 | 1971 Battle of Boyra |
| Group Captain | Donald ‘Don’ Lazarus | Indian Air force | 1972 | 1971 Battle of Boyra |
| Flight Lieutenant | Lawrence Frederic Pereira | Indian Air force | 26 Jan 1972 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Naik | Naib Singh Gill | Indian Army, 6 Sikh Regiment | 26 Jan 1972 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Lieutenant General | Francis Tiburtius Dias | Indian Army | 15 August 1972 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |
| Major | Ngangom Joy Dutta Singh | Indian Army | 26 Jan 1988 | 1987 Operation Pawan |
| Major-General | Dalvir Singh | Indian Army | 26 Jan 1988 | 1987 Jaffna University Helidrop |
| Lieutenant Commander | Deepak Agarwal | Indian Navy | 26 Jan 1988 | 1987 Operation Pawan |
| Sepoy | Kamkholam Kuki | Indian Army, Assam Regiment | 17 Dec 1989 | 1987 Operation Pawan |
| Flight Lieutenant | Abdul Naseer Hanfee | Indian Air Force, 128 Helicopter Unit | 26 January 1989 | 1984 Operation Meghdoot |
| Captain | Jintu Gogoi | Indian Army, 18 Garhwal Rifles | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Squadron Leader | Ajay Ahuja | Indian Air Force | 01 Jan 1999 | 1999 Operation Safed Sagar |
| Colonel | Magod Basappa Ravindranath | Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles | 28 Jun 1999 | 1999 Battle of Tololing |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan | Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers | Jun 1999 | 1999 Battle of Tololing |
| L/Havildar | Ram Kumar | Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers | Jun 1999 | 1999 Battle of Tololing |
| Major | Mariappan Saravanan | Indian Army, 1st Bihar Regiment | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Colonel | Lalit Rai | Indian Army, 1/11 GR | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Yogesh Kumar Joshi | Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Captain | Sanjeev Singh Jamwal | Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Gunner | Sanjeev Gopala Pillai | Indian Army, 4 Medium Regiment | 15 Aug 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Captain | Vijyant Thapar | Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles | 16 Dec 1999 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| L/Havildar | Chuni Lal | Indian Army, 8 JAK LI | 30 Aug 2000 | 1999 Operation Vijay |
| Wing Commander | Abhinandan Varthaman | Indian Air Force | 15 Aug 2019 | 2019 India-Pakistan Standoff |
| Naib Subedar | Nuduram Soren | Indian Army, 16th Bihar Regiment | 26 Jan 2021 | 2020 Operation Snow Leopard |
| Naik | Deepak Singh | Indian Army, 16th Bihar Regiment | 26 Jan 2021 | 2020 Operation Snow Leopard |
| Sepoy | Gurtej Singh | Indian Army, 3rd Punjab Regiment | 26 Jan 2021 | 2020 Operation Snow Leopard |
| Havildar | Mangal Singh sisodiya | Indian Army | 4 April 1971 | 1971 Indo-Pakistan War |