Martyred in 1947, no memorial yet raised to first PVC awardee Maj Sharma

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, November 16

No memorial to Major Som Nath Sharma, the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), has been built in his native village Dadh near Palampur despite assurances from successive state governments.

Sacrificed life in Kashmir

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• Major Som Nath Sharma was martyred in Kashmir in 1947 while leading his unit to Badgam village for evicting Pakistani raiders from the Srinagar airport.
• For his exceptional bravery, he was posthumously awarded the country’s first Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award.
• Unfortunately, no member of his family now lives in Dadh village. No school, college or any other institute have been set up in his memory in the past 76 years.

Major Sharma was martyred in Kashmir in 1947 while leading his unit to Badgam village for evicting Pakistani raiders from the Srinagar airport. For his exceptional bravery, he was posthumously awarded the country’s first Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award.

Unfortunately, no member of his family now lives in Dadh village. No school, college or any other institute have been set up in his memory in the past 76 years.

Also, a small statue of Major Sharma installed in Palampur after the Kargil War in 1999 is in a bad shape. In 2011, the Prem Kumar Dhumal government had announced a plan to set up a memorial to the martyr at Dadh village. However, the Congress came to power in the state in 2012 and it did not show interest in the proposal.

Parveen Sharma, former Palampur MLA, who is fighting for the installation of the martyr’s memorial for the past 12 years, says despite assurances, the successive state governments gave no funds for the memorial. He had met former Chief Ministers Jai Ram Thakur, Prem Kumar Dhumal and Virbadhra Singh in this regard many times, but in vain.

He says that since no member of Major Sharma’s family lives in Palampur, there is no one to raise the issue of the memorial.

He adds that the Indian Army had set up a memorial to Major Sharma in Srinagar but no efforts have been made in this regard in his home state.

Major Sharma was born at Dadh village, 15 km from Palampur, on January 31, 1923. He belonged to a family of soldiers; his father, brothers and a sister had served in the Army.

He went to Sherwood College, Nainital, and at the age of 10, enrolled in the Prince of Wales Royal Military College, Dehradun, before joining the Royal Military Academy on February 22, 1942.

On November 3, 1947, Major Sharma and his company were ordered to reach Badgam village to take charge of the situation there. His left hand was already injured and in a plaster cast. However, he insisted on being with his company in the combat.

A group of 500 raiders approached Badgam from Gulmarg and soon surrounded the company from three sides. Major Sharma’s company came under heavy fire and mortar bombardment and sustained heavy casualties.