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Vir Chakra

The Vir Chakra is an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of gallantry on the battlefield, on land or in the air or at sea.

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Vir Chakra
Vir Chakra

Vir Chakra and its ribbon, the third highest military decoration of India
TypeMilitary medal
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 award1947
Final award15th August, 2025
Total awarded posthumously362
Total recipients1335 (As of 2023)1
Precedence
Next (higher) Ati Vishisht Seva Medal2
Equivalent Shaurya Chakraa2
Next (lower) Yudh Seva Medal2

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.3

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+3⁄8inch 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

Key
† Indicates posthumous honour
Rank Recipient Service Date
Lieutenant TGN Pai Indian Army 1950 1947 Indo-Pakistan War9
Jemadar Kanikasami Indian Army 1947 1947 Indo-Pakistan War10
Major HS Bains Indian Army 1948 1948 Operation Polo11
Brigadier Harbaksh Singh Indian Army 1 May 1948 1948 Operation Polo11
Lieutenant Colonel Girdhari Singh Indian Army 26 February 1948 1947 Indo-Pakistan War1213
Subedar Major and Honorary Captain Bhim Chand Indian Army 23 August 1948 and 27 December 1948 (2) 1947 Indo-Pakistan War1415
Air Vice Marshal Ranjan Dutt Indian Air Force 26 Jan 1950 1947 Indo-Pakistan War16
Major Tirath Singh Oberoi Indian Army 26 Jan 1950 1947 Indo-Pakistan War17
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 Horn18
Signalman DC Dhilan Indian Army 1963 1963
Havildar KG George Indian Army 1965 1965 Indo-Pakistan War19
Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi Indian Army 05 Aug 1965 1965 Operation Ablaze20
Wing Commander Trevor Keelor Indian Air Force 03 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle21
Flight Lieutenant Virendera Singh Pathania Indian Air Force 04 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle2223
Air Commodore Alfred Tyrone Cooke Indian Air Force 07 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle24
Naib Subedar Ganesh Datt Indian Army 07 Sep 1965 1965 Indo-Pakistan War19
Wing Commander Amar Jit Singh Sandhu Indian Air Force 17 Sep 1965 1965 Indo-Pakistan War2526
Lt Col Russi Hormusji Bajina Indian Army 18 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle
Air Marshal Denzil Keelor Indian Air Force 19 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle27
Lieutenant General Mohammad Ahmad Zaki Indian Army 20 Sep 1965 1965 Operation Riddle28
Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas Indian Navy 01 Dec 1971 1971 Operation Cactus Lily29
Brigadier JK Tomar Indian Army 03 Dec 1971 1971 Operation Cactus Lily30
Lieutenant Colonel Satish Nambiar Indian Army 11 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War31
Brigadier P V Sahadevan Indian Army 16 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War32
Captain Prashant Kumar Ghosh Indian Army 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War32
Lieutenant Colonel Vikram Deuskar Indian Army 16 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War33
Captain Satish Chander Sehgal† Indian Army, 75 Medium Regiment 16 Dec 1971 1971 Battle of Basantar34
Air Commodore Jasjit Singh Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War35
Havildar Gurdev Singh Hans Indian Army 17 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War36
Squadron Leader Ramesh Chander Kohli Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War37
Admiral Arun Prakash Indian Navy 21 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War38
Wing Commander Sukhdev Singh Dhillon Indian Air Force 17 Dec 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War39
Squadron Leader M A Ganapathy Indian Air force 1972 1971 Battle of Boyra40
Lance Daffadar Katar Singh 72 Armoured Regiment 1971 1971 Battle of Chhamb
Group Captain Donald ‘Don’ Lazarus Indian Air force 1972 1971 Battle of Boyra4142
Flight Lieutenant Lawrence Frederic Pereira Indian Air force 26 Jan 1972 1971 Indo-Pakistan War43
Naik Naib Singh Gill Indian Army, 6 Sikh Regiment 26 Jan 1972 1971 Indo-Pakistan War44
Subedar Ratan Singh Indian Army, Punjab Regiment 15 August 1972 1971 Battle of Longewala45
Lieutenant General J.B.S. Yadava Indian Army, 11 Gorkha Rifles 15 August 1972 1971 Indo-Pakistan War46
Lieutenant General Francis Tiburtius Dias Indian Army 15 August 1972 1971 Indo-Pakistan War47
Major Ngangom Joy Dutta Singh Indian Army 26 Jan 1988 1987 Operation Pawan48
Major-General Dalvir Singh Indian Army 26 Jan 1988 1987 Jaffna University Helidrop49
Lieutenant Commander Deepak Agarwal Indian Navy 26 Jan 1988 1987 Operation Pawan50
Sepoy Kamkholam Kuki Indian Army, Assam Regiment 17 Dec 1989 1987 Operation Pawan51
Flight Lieutenant Abdul Naseer Hanfee52 Indian Air Force, 128 Helicopter Unit 26 January 1989 1984 Operation Meghdoot53
Naik Kaushal Yadav † Indian Army, 9 PARA (SF) 26 July 1999 1999 Operation Vijay54
Captain Jintu Gogoi Indian Army, 18 Garhwal Rifles 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay55
Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja† Indian Air Force 01 Jan 1999 1999 Operation Safed Sagar56
Colonel Magod Basappa Ravindranath Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles 28 Jun 1999 1999 Battle of Tololing57
Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers Jun 1999 1999 Battle of Tololing58
L/Havildar Ram Kumar Indian Army, 18 Grenadiers Jun 1999 1999 Battle of Tololing59
Major Mariappan Saravanan Indian Army, 1st Bihar Regiment 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay60
Colonel Lalit Rai Indian Army, 1/11 GR 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay61
Lieutenant Colonel Yogesh Kumar Joshi Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay62
Captain Sanjeev Singh Jamwal Indian Army, 13 JAK RIF 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay63
Gunner Sanjeev Gopala Pillai Indian Army, 4 Medium Regiment 15 Aug 1999 1999 Operation Vijay64
Captain Vijyant Thapar Indian Army, 2 Rajputana Rifles 16 Dec 1999 1999 Operation Vijay65
L/Havildar Chuni Lal Indian Army, 8 JAK LI 30 Aug 2000 1999 Operation Vijay66
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman Indian Air Force 15 Aug 2019 2019 India-Pakistan Standoff67
Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren Indian Army, 16th Bihar Regiment 26 Jan 2021 2020 Operation Snow Leopard68
Naik Deepak Singh Indian Army, 16th Bihar Regiment 26 Jan 2021 2020 Operation Snow Leopard69
Sepoy Gurtej Singh Indian Army, 3rd Punjab Regiment 26 Jan 2021 2020 Operation Snow Leopard70
Havildar Mangal Singh sisodiya Indian Army 4 April 1971 1971 Indo-Pakistan War71
Colonel Koshank Lamba Indian Army, 302 Medium Regiment 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Lieutenant Colonel Sushil Bisht Indian Army, 1988 (Independent) Medium Battery 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Naib Subedar Satish Kumar Indian Army, 4th Dogra Regiment 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Rifleman Sunil Kumar Indian Army, 4th Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Group Captain Manish Arora Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Group Captain Animesh Patni Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Group Captain Kunal Kalra Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Wing Commander Joy Chandra Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Squadron Leader Siddhant Singh Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Flight Lieutenant Aarshveer Singh Thakur Indian Air Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor73
Sub Inspector (GD) Mohd Imteyaj† Border Security Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Constable (GD) Deepak Chingakham† Border Security Force 15 August 2025 2025 Operation Sindoor72
Notes

Notes

  1. Though the Shaurya Chakra is placed below the Vir Chakra in the precedence, it is considered as a peacetime equivalent of Vir Chakra.
References

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". 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. Archived from the original on 2013-05-27. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  8. "Awardees". MoD, GOI. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
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  12. "Lt Col Girdhari Sing VRC, MC ( Bar)".
  13. "GIRDHARI SINGH, MC | Gallantry Awards". Archived from the original on 20 July 2019.
  14. "Subedar Major and Hony Captain (then Subedar) BHIM CHAND" (PDF). gallantryawards.gov.in.
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  17. "Major Tirath Singh Oberoi". twdi.in. Gallantry Awards.
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  19. "Naib Subedar Ganesh Datt". Gallantry Awards.
  20. "Lieutenant General Zorawar Chand Bakshi". Gallantry Awards.
  21. "Wing Commander Trevor Keelor". Gallantry Awards.
  22. "Flight Lieutenant Virendera Singh Pathania". Gallantry Awards.
  23. "Group Captain Virendera Singh Pathania".
  24. "Air Commodore Alfred Tyrone Cooke". Gallantry Awards.
  25. "Wing Commander Amarjit Singh Sandhu". Gallantry Awards.
  26. "Service Record for Wing Commander Amar Jit Singh Sandhu 4705 F(P) at Bharat Rakshak.com". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  27. "Air Marshal Denzil Keelor". Gallantry Awards.
  28. "Lieutenant General Mohammad Ahmad Zaki". Gallantry Awards.
  29. "Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas". Gallantry Awards.
  30. "Brigadier JK Tomar". Gallantry Awards.
  31. "Lieutenant Colonel Satish Nambiar". Gallantry Awards.
  32. "Brigadier P V Sahadevan". Gallantry Awards.
  33. "Lieutenant Colonel Vikram Denkar". Gallantry Awards.
  34. "Captain Satish Chander Sehgal". Gallantry Awards.
  35. "Air Commodore Jasjit Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  36. "Havildar Gurdev Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  37. "Squadron Leader Ramesh Chander Kohli". Gallantry Awards.
  38. "Admiral Arun Prakash". Gallantry Awards.
  39. "Wing Commander Sukhdev Singh Dhillon". Gallantry Awards.
  40. "Squadron Leader M A Ganapathy". Gallantry Awards.
  41. "Group Captain Donald 'Don' Lazarus". Gallantry Awards.
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  43. "Flight Lieutenant Lawrence Frederic Pereira". Gallantry Awards.
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  45. "Remember and Never Forget: Subedar Ratan Singh, 23 Punjab". Asianet News. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  46. "Bangladesh Marks 1971 War Victory, Honours Indian Soldiers". NDTV. 2017-12-16. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
  47. "Lieutenant-General Francis Tiburtius Dias". Gallantry Awards.
  48. "VrC Major Ngangom Joy Dutta Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  49. "Major General Dalvir Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  50. "Lieutenant Commander Deepak Agarwal". Gallantry Awards.
  51. "Vir Chakra (VrC) Awardee: Nk Kamkholam Kuki, VrC".
  52. "Vir Chakra Awardee Capt Abdul Naseer Flew MI-17 Tirelessly to Help India Win Siachen in 1987". 11 November 2017.
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  56. "Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja". Gallantry Awards.
  57. "Colonel Magod Basappa Ravindranath". Gallantry Awards.
  58. "Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan". Gallantry Awards.
  59. "L/Havildar Ram Kumar". Gallantry Awards.
  60. "Major Mariappan Saravanan". Gallantry Awards.
  61. "Colonel Lalit Rai". Gallantry Awards.
  62. "Lt Col Yogesh Kumar Joshi". Gallantry Awards.
  63. "Captain Sanjeev Singh Jamwal". Gallantry Awards.
  64. "Gunner Sanjeev Gopala Pillai". Gallantry Awards.
  65. "Captain Vijyant Thapar". Gallantry Awards.
  66. "Havildar Chuni Lal". Gallantry Awards.
  67. "Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman". Gallantry Awards.
  68. "Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren". Gallantry Awards.
  69. "Naik Deepak Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  70. "Sepoy Gurtej Singh". Gallantry Awards.
  71. "magal singh sisodiya". Gallantry Awards.
  72. "President approves 127 Gallantry awards, 40 Distinguished Service awards & 290 Mention-in-Despatches on the eve of 79th Independence Day". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
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Further reading

Further reading

External links