Understanding Bravery: India’s Gallantry Awards Explained (Full List)

Soon after Independence, India decided it needed its own symbols of military courage, free from colonial honours. On 26 January 1950, the Government of India officially instituted three wartime gallantry awards – the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), and Vir Chakra (VrC) – with effect from 15 August 1947.

Two years later, the state recognised that courage is not confined to the battlefield. In 1952 came a parallel set of awards for exceptional bravery ‘otherwise than in the face of the enemy’: Ashoka Chakra Class I, II, and III. In 1967, these were renamed the Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra, titles under which they are known today.

Together, these six form the core of India’s gallantry system. They are announced twice a year – on Republic Day (26 January) and Independence Day (15 August) – and presented at solemn investiture ceremonies at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

At the very summit stands the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest wartime gallantry award. Literally translating to ‘Wheel of Supreme Bravery’, it is given for the ‘most conspicuous bravery’ in the presence of the enemy.

As of 2025, it has been awarded only 21 times, the vast majority posthumously – a stark reminder of the cost of the courage it represents. The first recipient was Maj Somnath Sharma in the 1947–48 Kashmir conflict; among the most widely remembered in recent memory is Capt Vikram Batra of Kargil, whose radio call sign ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ became a national memory of fearless advance under fire.

Just below it is the Maha Vir Chakra, awarded for acts of ‘conspicuous gallantry’ in the presence of the enemy, followed by the Vir Chakra, given for gallant action on the battlefield. These three decorations together form the wartime ladder of heroism. In the official order of wearing medals, the Param Vir Chakra sits just below the Bharat Ratna, with the Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra following in that hierarchy.

What unites all three is context: they are reserved for moments when the enemy is directly present – on a ridgeline in Kargil, in a dogfight above the frontier, at sea under hostile fire.

India’s modern security challenges are not limited to conventional war. Counter-insurgency operations, hostage rescues, anti-terrorist actions, and even daring peacetime rescues can be just as lethal. That space is where the Ashoka Chakra series comes in.

Ashoka Chakra – the highest peacetime gallantry award – recognises ‘most conspicuous courage or self-sacrifice’ away from the battlefield. It can go to personnel of the Armed Forces, paramilitary forces, police, and civilians.

Kirti Chakra honours distinguished acts of bravery not involving direct engagement with the enemy, often in counter-insurgency or internal security operations.

Shaurya Chakra rewards valour in dangerous situations such as anti-terror operations, rescues and other hazardous duties in peacetime.

In recent years, investiture ceremonies have highlighted a cross-section of courage. In 2025, for example, President Droupadi Murmu conferred six Kirti Chakras (four posthumous) and 33 Shaurya Chakras on personnel from the Armed Forces, Central Armed Police Forces, and state police for actions in counter-terrorism and other operations.

The message is clear: even when Parliament has not declared war, the nation recognises that its defenders – and sometimes ordinary citizens – routinely step into situations just as deadly.

Talk of gallantry awards often stops at those six, but the story of bravery in India’s honours system is broader.

Each service has its own medal that can be awarded ‘for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage’ – the Sena Medal (Army), Nao Sena Medal (Navy) and Vayu Sena Medal (Air Force). These can be given either for gallantry or for distinguished service, which is why on Republic Day and Independence Day lists you’ll often see them specifically noted as ‘(Gallantry)’ when awarded for acts of courage under dangerous conditions. On Independence Day 2025, for instance, the President approved 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry), six Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), and 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), alongside the Chakra awards.

There is also the quietly powerful distinction of a ‘Mention in Despatches’. It is used to recognise gallantry or meritorious service in operational areas that do not quite meet the threshold for a full medal. The recipient earns a lotus-leaf emblem to wear on the ribbon of the relevant campaign medal and an official certificate from the Ministry of Defence.

Parallel to these, but technically in a different category, are distinguished service medals like the Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, and Yudh Seva Medal, which reward exceptional leadership and planning during war rather than direct acts of combat bravery. Understanding the difference helps decode those long Republic Day lists: some honours salute the commander who planned the operation brilliantly, others the soldier who stormed the last bunker.

These awards are not museum pieces. In August 2025 alone, the government announced 127 gallantry awards – from Vir Chakras and Shaurya Chakras to Sena and Nao Sena Medals – and 290 Mentions in Despatches, underlining just how frequently courage is demanded in today’s India. Across the country, regiments and states take pride in their heroes; some, like Himachal Pradesh, even track their tally of Param Vir Chakras and Maha Vir Chakras as part of their identity as ‘Veer Bhoomi’, land of the brave.

New spaces of memory are also emerging. A dedicated Param Vir Chakra gallery in Maharashtra, for example, now tells the stories of all 21 PVC awardees through photographs and narratives, designed to inspire younger generations.

In each of these spaces – a regimental museum, a small town war memorial, a school exhibition – the language of honour is the same: purple for supreme bravery in war, green and orange for courage in peacetime, silver and bronze discs carrying the Ashoka lions, Indra’s Vajra, or a simple bayonet.

Look closely at the full list of India’s gallantry awards, and a pattern emerges. The terms repeat: most conspicuous bravery, supreme sacrifice, devotion to duty, self-sacrifice of the highest order. These are not just legal phrases; they quietly define what the Republic believes is worth living – and sometimes dying – for.

Bravery here is not the absence of fear but the decision to act despite it: to hold a position when outnumbered, to enter a house knowing a militant is waiting inside, to dive into floodwaters for a stranger, to fly a helicopter into a narrow valley in bad weather because someone on the ground needs help.

The medals and ribbons are small, and the list of names grows longer every year. But understanding India’s gallantry awards – from the rarefied Param Vir Chakra to the humble Mention in Despatches – is really about understanding a promise: that when someone risks everything for the safety and dignity of others, the nation will not let that act vanish into silence.

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