Major Somnath was born on January 31, 1923, in a Dogra Brahmin family at Dadh, Kangra, Punjab. Major Somnath Sharma, Param Vir Chakra (PVC), was an officer in the Indian Army and the country's first posthumous recipient of the PVC medal, the highest military award for his actions on 3 November 1947 in defending the Srinagar airport. Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment in 1942. During World war 2, Major served in the British Army in Burma under Colonel K. S. Thimmayya's command. On December 28, 2003, a commemorative stamp was issued.

Size: 27.5 x 40.5 mm.

Colors: Multicolor.

Watermark: No Watermark.

Perforation: comb13.

Printing: Photogravure.

Face value:5 ? - Indian rupee.

Image Courtesy: colnect