2020-01-20 Mon

Subedar and Honorary Captain Karam Singh PVC, an exemplary soldier who proved his bravery in the battleground died today on 20th January 1993. He was the first Sikh and non-posthumous recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India’s highest gallantry award.

Karam Singh was born on 15 Sep 1915, at Bhaliawala village in Sangrur district of Punjab. His father, Uttam Singh, was a farmer. After completing his schooling in his village, in 1941, he enrolled in the 1st battalion of the Sikh Regiment.

He participated in World War II and proved his mettle as a dedicated and brave soldier. As a result, the British Government awarded him the Military Medal, the gallantry award of Britain. He was also one of the five soldiers chosen to raise the Indian flag for the first time after independence in 1947. Singh was conferred the ‘Param Vir Chakra’ for his exemplary acts of courage and endurance during the 1948 operations of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir. He later rose to the rank of subedar and was conferred the rank of honorary captain before his retirement in September 1969. To honor him a commemorative postage stamp of value 300 Paise was issued in the series of ‘50 Years of the Republic of India: Gallantry Award Winners’. The Golden Jubilee of the of the Indian Republic provides the appropriate occasion to pay a grateful nation’s proud homage to the courageous soldiers who have won these awards through their outstanding deeds.

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