Shaurya Chakra

Shaurya Chakra
Shaurya Chakra and its ribbon, the third highest peacetime decoration of India
Type	Medal
Awarded for	Awarded for gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy.[1]
Country	Republic of India
Presented by	Republic of India
Eligibility	Officers, men and women of all ranks of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, of any of the Reserve Forces, of the Territorial Army, Militia and of any other lawfully constituted forces. Members of the Nursing Services of the Armed Forces. Civilian Citizens of either sex in all walks of life and members of Police Forces including Central Para-Military Forces and Railway protection Force.[1]
Post-nominals	SC
Status	Currently Awarded
Established	1952; 73 years ago (1952)
First award	1952
Final award	2021
Total awarded posthumously	627
Total recipients	2122 (As of 2023)[2]
Precedence
Next (higher)	Ati Vishisht Seva Medal[3]
Equivalent	Vir Chakra[a][3]
Next (lower)	Yudh Seva Medal[3]

The Shaurya Chakra (lit. 'Wheel of Gallantry') is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously. It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra. It precedes the Yudh Seva Medal.

History

Established as the "Ashoka Chakra, Class III" by the President of India, 4 January 1952 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were revised and the decoration renamed on 27 January 1967. Before 1967, the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class III. Subsequent awards of the Shaurya Chakra are recognized by a bar to the medal ribbon (to date five have been awarded). It is possible for a recipient to be awarded the Ashoka Chakra or Kirti Chakra in addition for separate acts of gallantry.

Since July 1999, it also being given to Civilians of either gender in all walks of life, other than members of Police Forces and of recognized Fire Services.^[4] From 1 February 1999, the central government set a monthly stipend of Rs. 750 for recipients of the award. Jammu and Kashmir awards a cash award of Rs. 700 (ca. 1960) for recipients of the Shaurya Chakra.

Design

Medal: Circular bronze, 1-3/8 inches in diameter. In the centre, the Ashoka Chakra, surrounded by a lotus wreath and with an ornate edge. Suspended by a straight bar suspender. The medal is named on the edge.

Reverse: For pre-1967 awards, the medal is blank in the centre, with "Ashoka Chakra" in Hindi along the upper edge on the medal and the same name in English along the lower rim, "ASHOKA CHAKRA". On either side is a lotus design. The centre is blank, perhaps with the intent that details of the award be engraved there. There is no indication of the class on the pre-1967 awards. For the post-1967 awards, the, names are changed to "Shauryua Chakra" in Hindi above and "SHAURYA CHAKRA" below.

Ribbon: Green colour ribbon divided into four equal parts by three orange vertical lines.

Bar: If a recipient of the Chakra shall again perform such an act of gallantry as would have made him or her eligible to receive the Chakra, such further act of gallantry shall be recognised by a Bar to be attached to the riband by which the Chakra is suspended and, for every subsequent act of gallantry, an additional Bar shall be added and such Bar or Bars may also be awarded posthumously. For every such Bar, a replica of the Chakra in miniature shall be added to the riband when worn alone.

Eligibility

It is the peacetime equivalent of the Vir Chakra. It is generally awarded for Counter-Insurgency operations and actions against the enemy during peace-time.

Following categories of persons are eligible for the Shaurya Chakra:

• Officers and men and women of all ranks of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, of any of the Reserve Forces, of the Territorial Army, Militia and of any other lawfully constituted forces.
• Nursing officers of military nursing service .
• Civilian citizens of either sex in all walks of life and members of Police Forces including Central Para-Military Forces and Railway Protection Force.

Recipients (1952-2019)

Year	Rank	Name	Regiment	Notes
1952	Major	P.S. Gahoon	Punjab Regiment
	Second Lieutenant	M Thulasiram	The Corps of Engineers
	Subedar	Kartar Singh, MC	Punjab Regiment
	Jemadar	Samandar Singh	GRS
	Lance Naik	Milkha Singh	Punjab Regiment
	Lance Naik	Bishan Singh	Punjab Regiment
	Sepoy	Shankar Dass	Punjab Regiment
	Lieutenant Colonel	R.A Shebbeare	The Grenadiers
	Major	S.L. Menezes	The Grenadiers
	Major	A.T. Stephenson	Garhwal Rifles
	Subedar Major	Dhan Singh	Artillery
	Havildar	Naranjan Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Lance Daffadar	Sultan Singh	Poona Horse
	Rifleman	Bakhtawar Singh Bhandari	Garhwal Rifles
	Sepoy	Harchand Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Sepoy	Richhpal Singh	The Grenadiers
	Niak	Jograj Singh	Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
	Sepoy	Ram Singh	Para, Kumaon
	Rifleman	Til Bahadur Gurung	Assam Rifles
1953	Subedar	Tek Bahadur Sahi	9th Gorkha Rifles
1953	Sepoy	Thakur Singh	Indian Army Service Corps
1953	Shri	Baboo Lal	Indian Civilian
1954	Srimati	Lalita Mukand	Indian Civilian
1955	Jemadar	Kulbir Thapa	8 Gorkha Rifles
1955	Rifleman	Ganesh Bahadur Tamang	5 Gorkha Rifles
1956	Shri	Akshya Kumar Singh	Civilian
1957	Second Lieutenant	JK Grover	Signals
1957	Naik	Sugriv Singh	Rajput Regiment
1963	Second Lieutenant	Dharam Datt Bhalla	Rajput Regiment	Shaurya Chakra was awarded in Investiture Ceremony that took place on 18 April 1963 for an action that took place on 26 October 1961 when as commander of a small patrol of 3 ORs was given a task to carry out reconnaissance of route from the patrol base at Jaura Dhok to Chinamarg Gali and beyond in high altitude snow covered mountains of Pir Panjal Range. After the patrol covered approximately 4 miles it was fired upon by Pakistani infiltrators of much larger strength. In the encounter some infiltrators were killed others ran away leaving some of their arms and ammunition. Thus the infiltrators failed in their mission of blowing up Kalai Bridge on Rajauri- Poonch road. The Indian Government honored 2LT Dharam Datt Bhalla's bravery with the prestigious Shaurya Chakra award.[5]
1973	Grenadier	Ran Singh	Grenadiers
1975	Assistant Engineer (Civil)	Kehar Singh Chima	Border Roads Organisation
1975	Inspector	Vihoi Sema	Border Security Force
1975	Major	Badal Ghosh	Rajput Regiment
1976	Second Lieutenant	Akoijam Dinamani Singh*	Sikh Light Infantry
1980	Sepoy	Manjit Singh*	Punjab Regiment
1981	Flight Lieutenant	Sumit Mukherjee	Indian Air Force
1982	Flight Lieutenant	S L Thantry	Indian Air Force	[6]
1984	Lieutenant Commander	Kulwant Singh Samra	Indian Navy
1986	Colonel	R K Bansal	Army Postal Service Corps	[7]
1987	Captain	Virinder Singh Grewal	Dogra Regiment
1990	Squadron Leader	Sanjeev Mishra	Indian Air Force
1992	Captain	Kishore Geer Bava	Border Roads Organisation
1999	Naik	Urba Datt	3 Kumaon Regiment	On the day of February 23, 1998, a specific intelligence was received that some terrorists are hiding in the Saloor village of Srinagar with an intention to plot explosives on the way of the convoy of VIPs passing through that route. On the same night around 2100h, Sofi Mohalla of that village was cordoned by the army. The next day at 1100h in the morning while searching the last house of the locality Naik Urba Datt noticed some suspicious movement in the heap of hay on the rooftop. He immediately fired however the terrorists jumped off the rooftop into the Nala and ran towards the jungle of Nambal. To this, Naik Urba Dutt too jumped on the Nala and chased the terrorists with a daunting spirit. Despite being severely injured, he gunned down one militant and wounded another militant who succumbed to his injuries later on. This brave soldier also succumbed to his injuries and got martyred. Naik Urba Datt displayed indomitable courage and exemplary valor and laid down his supreme sacrifice on the line of duty for the nation.
	Jemadar	Kulbir Thapa	8 Gorkha Rifles
	Rifleman	Ganesh Bahadur Jamang	5 Gorkha Rifles
	Havildar	S.S. Bhardwaj	Army Ordnance Corps
	Scout	Chatra Ram	Border Scouts
	Scout	Tara Chand	Border Scouts
	Scout	Saudagar Singh	Border Scouts
	Captain	G.S. Grewal	Bihar Regiment
	Subedar	Khem Chand	The Grenadiers
	Subedar	Megh Singh	Dogra Regiment
	Jemadar	Rabe Gurung	4 Gorkha Rifles
	Havildar	Tek Bahadur Gurung	4 Gorkha Rifles
	Lance Havildar	Balwant Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Naik	Raghunath Dange	Parachute Regiment
	Sepoy	Hans Raj	Punjab Regiment
	Second Lieutenant	Ram Labhaya	Jat Regiment
	Sepoy	Narbir Singh	Rajput Regiment
	Sepoy	Shanker Hembrom	Bihar Regiment
	Havildar	Murli Ram	GRS
	Sepoy	Ganak Singh	Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry
	Subedar	Mohar Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Jemadar	Mohinder Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Jemadar	Tek Bahadur Gurung	8 Gorkha Rifles
	Naik	Sugam Singh	Rajput Regiment
	Naik	Padam Singh Gurung	8 Gorkha Rifles
	Sepoy	Mewa Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Sepoy	Ranjit Singh	Sikh Regiment
	Lance Naik	Ganga Prasad Thapa	Assam Rifles
	Rifleman	Puran Bahadur Rana	Assam Rifles
	Rifleman	Gogeshwar Kumar	Assam Rifles
	Second Lieutenant	V.R. Dani	8 Gorkha Rifles
	Jemadar	Dalip Singh	Sikh Regiment
2001	Lance Naik	Chhering Norbu Bodh	Dogra Regiment	CN Bodh's Shaurya Chakra citation:[8] "Lance Naik Chhering Norbu Bodh was selected as a member of the Indian Army Everest Expedition 2001. On 23 May 2001, he was part of the second summit team attempting to summit Everest, after having spent two nights at camp – III (26000 ft). However, blizzards forced them to turn back from 27,000ft. Though exhausted by the effort, he refused to accept defeat. On 23 May 2001, at 2200 hours, he commenced his attempt. Re-entering the Death Zone on Everest above 26,000ft at night required every ounce of physical and mental strength apart from conspicuous courage. He soon started losing strength due to cold, strong winds, poor snow conditions and lack of oxygen. But he continued doggedly and at the same time kept encouraging his team-mates. At Hillary Step he was thoroughly exhausted but in a superhuman effort, he marshalled his remaining energy and clawed his way up the dangerous precipice of rock covered with verglas. His mind fought against loss of energy, numbness in fingers and toes and lack of oxygen but he made it through the step. Then with very little left in him except his mental strength and determination, he willed his body to move. Through this great effort he kept helping and encouraging his team-mates. He finally reached the summit to bring glory to the team and the Army. Lance Naik Chhering Norbu Bodh displayed undaunted determination and conspicuous courage in the face of extreme elements."
2002	Havildar	Radhakrishan Kunju Panicker*	Madras Regiment
2003	Captain	Umang Bharadwaj*	Jat Regiment
2004	Captain	Krishan Yadav, SM	Army Service Corps
2007	Major	Rajinder Kumar Sharma	32 Assam Rifles
2007	Superintendent of Police	Pankaj Sharma	Assam Police
2007	Captain	Kaushal Kashyap	21 Para (Special Forces)
2008	Assistant sub-inspector	Tukaram Omble	Mumbai Police
2008	petty officer (Marcos)	Praveen Kumar Teotia	Indian Navy
2009	Rifleman	Mohammad Abdul Amieen Bhat*	Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry
2011	Naik	Vijay Pal	Jat Regiment
2013	Sepoy	Lallawmzuala	Regiment of Artillery / 18th Battalion The Rashtriya Rifles	On 23 July 2013, Sepoy Lallawmzuala was part of the inner cordon deployed at night during search operation based on intelligence about presence of a terrorist in a house. On commencement of search at approximately 6:30 AM, Sepoy Lallawmzuala was amongst the first to enter the house. His deliberate and methodical search revealed the presence of an armed terrorist in a well concealed hideout behind planks and loose earth in the house. Upon being discovered the terrorist opened indiscriminate fire, however, the soldier’s alacrity and outstanding use of field craft enabled him to manoeuvre to an advantageous position within three metres of the terrorist. His courage under fire, calm collected actions and outstanding fire control led to elimination of a top commander of Jaish-e-Mohammad. His actions ensured that the balance of the search party received critical warning at the opportune time, resulting in effective covering fire and no casualty to own troops.
2014	Sepoy	Vikram Singh SC	The Rajput Regiment, 44RR, Kashmir insurgency.
2016	Captain	Pawan Kumar	10 PARA SF
2016	Lieutenant	Harjinder Singh	3 Kumaon Rifles (General Service)
2016	Captain	Tushar Mahajan	9 PARA SF
2017	Havildar	Mubarik Ali	22 Rastriya Rifles
2017	Sepoy	Arif Khan	55 Rastriya Rifles
2018	Major	Satish Dahiya	Army Services Corps
2018	Captain	Pradeep Shaurya Arya	Parachute Regiment(TA)
2018	Major	Aditya Kumar	10 Garhwal Rifles
2018	Major	Abhinav Shukla	PARA SF
19 March 2019	Pawan Kumar	34 RR	Jat Regiment	Major Pawan Kumar displayed astute tactical acumen, indomitable spirit and raw courage which led to elimination of a hardcore terrorist in September 2017. A top terrorist and the longest surviving terrorist of the valley whilst infiltrating back from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir by taking cover of darkness, thick foliage, boulders and folds of the ground was effectively engaging own troops with deadly fire. The dreaded terrorist could have been engaged only with accurate indirect fire. Major Pawan realising the gravity of situation and danger to safety of own troops, undaunted by heavy volumes of fire, displaying raw courage, used folds of the ground to crawl towards the terrorist and closed in the distance. He lobbed a grenade at the terrorist forcing him to expose himself and in a fierce encounter shot him dead from a close quarter. His elimination not only saved lives of own troops but also prevented revival of terrorism in the valley. Major Pawan Kumar displayed perseverance, dedication to duty, unmatched bravery and raw courage in elimination of a hardcore terrorist.[9][10][11]
2019	Shri	Irfan Ramzan Sheikh	Civilian

Recipients from 2020-2029

List of Shaurya Chakra award recipients (2020–2029)

2020

Year	Rank	Name	Regiment	Notes
2020[12]	Deputy Inspector General	Amit Kumar	Indian Police Service
	Colonel	Krishan Singh Rawat, SM	1 PARA SF	Also a recipient of the Sena Medal
	Major	Anil Urs	4 Maratha Light Infantry
	Havildar	Alok Kumar Dubey	Rajput Regiment/ 44 RR
	Wing Commander	Vishak Nair	Indian Air Force
	Sub Inspector	Mahaveer Prasad Godara	CISF	Posthumous
	Head Constable	Eranna Nayak	CISF	Posthumous
	Constable	Mahendra Kumar Paswan	CISF	Posthumous
	Constable	Satish Kumar Kushwaha	CISF	Posthumous
	Lieutenant Colonel	Jyoti Lama	11 Gorkha Rifles / 37 RR
	Major	Konjengbam Bijendra Singh	AAD/ 23 Assam Rifles
	Deputy Superintendent of Police	Aman Kumar	MHA	Posthumous
	Naib Subedar	Narendar Singh	9 PARA SF
	Naib Subedar	Sombir	Jat/ 34 RR	Posthumous
	Naik	Naresh Kumarthe	Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry/ 42 RR
	Sepoy	Karmdeo Oraon	8 Bihar Regiment
	Shri	Challapilla Narasimha Rao	Indian Civilian	Posthumous
	Constable	Kamal Kishore	MHA	Posthumous
2020	Wing commander	Varun Singh	Indian Air Force

2021

2021[13]	Group Captain	Perminder Antil	Indian Air Force
	Captain	Sachin Reuben Sequeira	Indian Navy
	Wing Commander	Varun Singh	Indian Air Force	Later died on 2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash
	Major	Arun Kumar Pandey	44 RR
	Major	Ravi Kumar Chaudhary	55 RR
	Deputy Commandant	Chitesh Kumar	CRPF
	Captain	Ashutosh Kumar	Madras Regiment	Posthumous
	Captain	Vikas Khatri	40 RR
	Sub Inspector	Manjinder Singh	CRPF
	SPO	Shahbaz Ahmad	Jammu Ahmad	Posthumous
		Li Kumar	9 RR
	Sepoy	Neeraj Ahlawat	45 RR
	Constable	Sunil Choudhary	CRPF
	Commando	Debasis Sethy	Odisha Police	Posthumous
	Commando	Sudhir Kumar Tudu	Odisha Police	Posthumous
	Major	Anuj Sood	The Brigade of the Guards/ 21 RR	Posthumous
	Inspector	Arshad Khan	Jammu and Kashmir Police	Posthumous
	SPO	Bilal Ahmad Magray	Jammu and Kashmir Police	Posthumous
	Rifleman	Pranab Jyoti Das	6 Assam Rifles
	Paratrooper	Sonam Tshering Tamang	4 Para SF
	Constable	GH Mustafa	Jammu and Kashmir Police	Posthumous
	Constable	Ahmad Kolie	Jammu and Kashmir Police	Posthumous
	Lt Col	Krishan Singh Rawat	1 Para SF	NDA 132

2024

Year	Day	Rank	Name	Regiment	Notes
2024[14]	ID	Colonel	Pawan Singh	Army Aviation Corps
		Captain	Sharad Sinsunwal	Indian Navy
		Wing Commander	Vernon Desmond Keane	Indian Air Force
		Major	CVS Nikhil	21 Para SF
		Major	Aashish Dhonchak	Sikh Light Infantry/ 19 RR	Posthumous Also a recipient of the Sena Medal
		Major	Tripatpreet Singh	Army Service Corps/ 34 RR
		Major	Sahil Randhawa	The Regiment ofAritillery/ 34 RR
		Squadron Leader	Deepak Kumar	Indian Air Force
		Lieutenant Commander	Kapil Yadav	Indian Navy
		Deputy Commandant	Lakhveer	CRPF
		Assistant Commandant	Rajesh Panchal	CRPF
		Subedar	Sanjeev Singh Jasrotia	5 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles
		Naib Subedar	Pabin Singha	The Regiment of Artillery/ 56 RR
		SPO	Abdul Latif	Jammu and Kashmir Police/ 33 RR
		Sepoy	Pardeep Singh	Sikh Light Infantry/	Posthumous
		Constable	Pawan Kumar	CRPF	Posthumous
		Constable	Devan C	CRPF	Posthumous
		Constable	Malkit Singh	CRPF
	RD	Wing Commander	Shailesh Singh	Indian Air Force
		Major	Maneo Francis	21 PARA SF
		Major	Amandeep Jakhar	4 Sikh Regiment
		Captain	MV Pranjal	The Corps of Signals/ 63 RR	Posthumous
		Captain	Akshat Upadhyay	20 Jat Regiment
		Flight Lieutenant	Hrishikesh Jayan Karuthedath	Indian Air Force
		Lieutenant	Bimal Ranjan Behera	Indian Navy
		Assistant Commandant	Bibhor Kumar Singh	205 COBRA, CRPF
		Deputy Superintendent of Police	Mohan Lal	Jammu and Kashmir Police
		Naib Subedar	Baria Sanjay Kumar Bhamar Sinh	21 Mahar Regiment
		Sub Inspector	Faroz Ahmad Dar	Jammu and Kashmir Police
		Havildar	Baria Sanjay Kumar Bhamar Sinh	9 Assam Rifles
		Assistant Sub Inspector	Amit Raina	Jammu and Kashmir Police
		Rifleman	Alok Rao	18 Assam Rifles	Posthumous
		Constable	Varun Singh	Jammu and Kashmir Police
		Shri	Parshotam Kumar	Civilian of Jammu and Kashmir

2025

Year	Rank	Name	Regiment	Notes
2025	Lt Col	Neetesh Bharti Shukla	19 Sikh, Indian Army	The following personnel were conferred with the gallantry award on the occasion of the Indian Independence Day on 15 August 2025.[15][16]
	Major	Bhargav Kalita	Rashtriya Rifles, Indian Army
	Major	Ashish Kumar	7 Para SF
	Major	Aditya Pratap Singh	Assam Rifles
	Asst Comdt	Mohammed Shafiq
	Sub	Shamsher Singh	4 Para SF
	Lance Naik	Rahul Singh
	Rfn	Bhoj Ram Sahu	Assam Rifles

Notes

1. Though the Shaurya Chakra is placed below the Vir Chakra in the precedence, it is considered as a peacetime equivalent of Vir Chakra.

References

1. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". Indianarmy.gov.in. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
2. "Awardees | Gallantry Awards". gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
3. "Precedence Of Medals". indianarmy.nic.in/. Indian Army. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
4. "LIST OF PERSONNEL BEING CONFERRED GALLANTRY AWARDS ON THE OCCASION OF INDEPENDENCE DAY – 2018". Indian Army.
5. "LIST OF SHAURYA CHAKRA AWARDEES".
6. "Shaurya Chakra Awardee List for the 503 SU , Indian Air Force - Database". Bharat Rakshak.
7. "LIST OF SHAURYA CHAKRA AWARDEES".
8. "Gallantry Awards | Ministry of Defence, Government of India". www.gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
9. Unknown^{[permanent dead link]}
10. "President Ram Nath Kovind presents Shaurya Chakra to Major Pawan Kumar, Jat Regiment, 34th Battalion, Rashtriya Rifles". 19 March 2019.
11. "आतंकियों से लोहा लेने वाले मेजर पवन कुमार को मिला सेना का बड़ा सम्मान | Major Pawan Kumar got the Shaurya Chakra Award". 24 August 2018.
12. "President approves 409 Gallantry and other defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel on Republic Day". PIB.
13. "Independence Day 2024: President approves 103 Gallantry awards, including nine posthumous, to Armed Forces & Central Armed Police Forces personnel". PIB (Press release).
14. "Independence Day 2024: President approves 103 Gallantry awards, including nine posthumous, to Armed Forces & Central Armed Police Forces personnel". PIB. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
15. "Independence Day: Rare military honour for 7 top officers for Operation Sindoor; 9 Vir Chakra for IAF pilots". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
16. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2156555

External links

• Shaurya Chakra at Indian Army website
• List of Shaurya Chakra Awardees
• Shaurya Chakra Recipients
• Gallantry Awards | Ministry of Defence, Government of India