Major Som Nath Sharma: First Param Vir Chakra recipient 

The name of Maj Som Nath Sharma remains etched in history as the first Param Vir Chakra (PVC) recipient, the highest gallantry award for exhibiting valour, for protecting the crucial Srinagar airport during the war with Pakistan in 1947.

Born into a family of distinguished Army officers at Dadh in Kangra on January 31, 1923, Major Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment (later 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment) on February 22, 1942. While he had Maj Gen Amar Nath Sharma as his illustrious father, his younger brother Gen VN Sharma rose to become the 14th Chief of Army Staff in 1988.

With many of his relatives serving in the Army, joining it was a natural choice for Major Sharma, who made the supreme sacrifice at the age of 24.

On October 22, 1947, Pakistan launched the tribal invasion of J&K named Operation Gulmarg. Before the Partition, the land route to Srinagar was through Muzaffarabad, Uri, and Baramulla, and with the Pathankot road having a host of challenges, the only viable route to Srinagar was by air. Therefore, the airfield at Srinagar had great strategic importance.

In order to prevent the advance of the raiders into Srinagar, the Indian authorities dispatched troops to Srinagar. Despite his left hand being in a cast due to a fracture he suffered while playing hockey, Major Sharma insisted on accompanying his company to Srinagar.

On November 3, Major Sharma led a handful of his men in a bid to protect the airport. Notwithstanding the fact that he and his men had to face almost 500 enemy soldiers, Major Sharma, despite heavy casualties and personal injury, stood his ground valiantly, thwarting the attack and providing the much-needed time for the Indian Army to fortify its defence around Srinagar.

“The enemy is only 50 yards from us. We are heavily outnumbered. We are under devastating fire. I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to the last man and the last round,” was the message from Major Sharma before he laid down his life.

Despite the enemy’s overwhelming numerical superiority, Major Sharma motivated his men to hold onto their position for over six hours, giving time for the reinforcements to be flown in. He led the aerial attacks, and while he was helping a gunner load the gun, a mortar shell landed on the open ammunition box next to them, killing both.

By the time the relief company from the Ist Battalion Kumaon Regiment arrived, Major Sharma, along with a Junior Commissioned Officer and 20 soldiers, had been killed in the battle.

The making of a valiant soldier and able leader was evident even during Major Sharma’s participation in World War II in the Burma campaign against the Japanese. A defining moment in his career was when he carried a wounded soldier on his shoulders, despite repeated instructions from the higher authorities to abandon him. He eventually managed to save the soldier, a spirit which highlights the Army ethos to never leave behind their soldiers on the battlefield.

He was posthumously awarded the PVC, the first given to anyone for exhibiting exceptional gallantry.