Portraits of PVC recipients replace British officers at Rashtrapati Bhavan

Param Vir Dirgha, the majestic corridor of the stately home to India's highest constitutional functionary, was opened in the presence of family and kin of PVC awardees, whom President Droupadi Murmu personally honoured.

The move, the President House said, was an exercise in decolonisation and reclamation of national consciousness.

“The corridors where the Param Vir Dirgha has now been created, earlier displayed portraits of British ADCs. The initiative to display portraits of Indian national heroes marks a meaningful step toward shedding the colonial mindset and embracing, with pride, the richness of India’s culture, heritage and timeless traditions,” the President House said after the inauguration.

The gallery aims to educate visitors about India’s national heroes who displayed exemplary valour and unconquerable spirit in defending the country.

“It is also an initiative to honour the memory of our bravehearts who have laid down their lives in the service of the motherland,” said the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Param Vir Chakra Awardees whose portraits now adorn the President House gallery include Lance Naik Karam Singh of 1 SIKH (4 MECH) regiment, who was honoured for action in the 1948 Indo-Pak War, and Naib Subedar Bana Singh of 8 Ja&K Light Infantry regiment, feted for his role in the Siachen Glacier ‘Operation Meghdoot’ in 1987.

Other PVC recipients are Captain Manoj Kumar Pandey(posthumous) of Gorkha Rifles for ‘Operation Vijay’ in the Kargil War(1999); Major Somnath Sharma (posthumous) of 4 Kumaon Regiment for the 1947-48 Indo-Pak War; Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav of 18 Grenadiers for the 1999 Kargil War; Company Havildar Major Piru Singh of 6 Rajputana Rifles for 1947-48 Indo-Pak war; Major Dhan Singh Thapa of Gorkha Rifles for 1962 Sino-Indian War; Major Shaitan Singh (posthumous) of 13 Kumaon regiment for the 1962 Sino-Indian War; Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore (posthumous) of 17 Poona Horse for the 1965 Indo-Pak War; Major Hoshiar Singh Dahiya of Grenadiers for the 1971 Indo-Pak War; Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran of 8 Mahar regiment for Sri Lankan Peacekeeping Operations (1987) ; Captain Vikram Batra (posthumous) of 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles for the 1999 Kargil War; Naik Jadunath Singh (posthumous) of 1 Rajput for the 1947-48 Indo-Pak War; Rifleman Sanjay Kumar of 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles for the Kargil War; Second Lieutenant Rama Raghoba Rane of Bombay Engineers for Indo-Pak War (1947-48); Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria of 3/1 Gorkha Rifles for the 1961 UN Mission Congo; Subedar Joginder Singh (posthumous) of 1 Sikh for the 1962 Sino-Indian War; Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon of No 18 Squadron for the 1971 Indo-Pak War; Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid (posthumous) of 4 Grenadiers for the 1965 Indo-Pak War; Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal of Poona Horse for the 1971 Indo-Pak War and Lance Naik Albert Ekka of Guards regiment for the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

The replacement of British ADCs' pictures with those of PVC awardees is part of the effort to erase colonial influences. “This effort is both symbolic and systemic, and seeks to reorient India’s narrative towards self-respect and cultural sovereignty,” top sources said.

This shift had started with the renaming of Rajpath, a symbol of colonial rulership, to Kartavya Path, emphasising duty over entitlement.