Army pays tribute to Maj Somnath Sharma, India’s first Param Vir Chakra recipient

Major Sharma,PVC, was boron on 31 January 1923 at Dadh, Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh (then in the Punjab Province of British India).

The Indian Army paid tributes to Major Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of India's highest gallantry award- Param Vir Chakra- on Friday in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

Major Somnath Sharma lost his life in action on 3 November 1947.

Major Sharma, PVC, was born on 31 January 1923 at Dadh, Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh (then in the Punjab Province of British India).

In 1942, Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment.

He served in Burma during the Arakan Campaign of World War II, for which he was mentioned in dispatches. He later fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

Sharma was martyred on 3 November 1947 while evicting Pakistani infiltrators from Srinagar Airport, and was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions.

The first episode of the TV series on the lives of Param Vir Chakra awardees, Param Vir Chakra (1990) covered Major Sharma's actions of 3 November 1947. In that episode, his part was played by late Farooque Sheikh. The episode was directed by Chetan Anand.

OneIndia