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81-680: It is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra . It was established by the President of India on 26 January 1950 (with effect from 15 August 1947). The statutes were amended on 12 January 1952 to readjust the order of wearing as new decorations were established. It replaced the British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC) and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Award of

162-725: A dominion of the United Kingdom. This meant that the Governor-General of India could not approve the establishment of the awards without assent from the British Crown . Therefore, a draft of the Royal Warrant was sent to London for approval by King George VI . However, by mid-1948 it became clear that the King's ratification would not be forthcoming for some time. As author Ian Cardozo suggests: "How could

243-409: A "wall of valour" in a thousand educational institutions across the country. The campaign was initiated by the two serving receipts of PVC, Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav and Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar . The campaign was named "Vidya Veerta Abhiyan". The objective is to build a wall of 4.5 by 6 metres (15 by 20 ft) at various educational campuses with the voluntary contributions from the students and

324-518: A Member for Glasgow . In August 1791, Bentinck played in a non- first-class cricket match for Marylebone Cricket Club against Nottingham Cricket Club at King's Meadow, Nottingham. Bentinck married Lady Mary, daughter of Arthur Acheson, 1st Earl of Gosford , on 18 February 1803. The marriage was childless. He died in Paris on 17 June 1839, aged 64. Mary died in May 1843. They are buried together in

405-461: A bar to be attached to the ribbon by which the Chakra is suspended, and for every such additional act of bravery an additional bar shall be added, and any such bar or bars may also be awarded posthumously. For every bar awarded, a replica of Indra's Vajra in miniature shall be added to the ribbon when worn alone. Tenth: The miniature decoration, which may be worn on certain occasions by those to whom

486-595: A conference with Murat. At this conference on the 15th, he brazenly demanded that Tuscany be handed over to himself and evacuated by the Neapolitan forces then in possession of it. It was necessary, he argued, that Tuscany be under British jurisdiction, as otherwise he would have no logistical base from which to conduct future operations - to which Murat replied that it was the same argument on his side which dictated his own necessary possession of it. Suddenly threatening to turn his forces against Naples itself and restore

567-473: A delegation to gain assurances that Murat's pact would be respected. Bentinck replied that it would not. If she did not depart immediately, he said, she would be arrested. With 2,000 British troops dispatched towards the city to carry out this threat, the heavily pregnant Elisa had no choice but to abandon the last of her territories and flee north, where she eventually fell into allied hands at Bologna . Elisa quit Lucca on 13 March. The next day, Bentinck issued

648-547: A petition signed by "several thousand persons, being zamindars , principal and other Hindoo inhabitants of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa etc." and the matter went to the Privy Council in London. Along with British supporters, Ram Mohan Roy presented counter-petitions to parliament in support of ending sati. The Privy Council rejected the petition in 1832, and the ban on sati was upheld. Bentinck prohibited female infanticide and

729-472: A proclamation from Livorno calling on the Italian nation to rise in a movement of liberation. " Italians! " he declared, " Great Britain has landed her troops on your shores; she holds out her hand to you to free you from the iron yoke of Buonaparte...hesitate no longer...assert your rights and your liberty. Call us, and we will hasten to you, and then, our forces joined, will effect that Italy may become what in

810-565: A unified Italy. The English, however, were content to support the Bourbons if they were willing to give the Sicilians more governmental control and a greater respect of their rights. Bentinck saw this as the perfect opportunity to insert his ideas of a Sicilian constitution. Opposition to the establishment of a constitution continued to surface, Maria Carolina proving to be one of the toughest. Her relationship with Bentinck can be summed up in

891-576: A welcome candidate. Though Bentinck recommended they might look to Archduke Francis of Este as a more realistic candidate in order to mollify the Austrians . With Napoleon's double abdication on 11 April however - though the news took time to cross the Alps - Bentinck's capacity to influence events on the ground while, with the war against the Emperor still raging, all was still to a great extent up in

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972-523: A year after Ferdinand IV returned to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies , the constitution was abolished and Sicily was reunited with Naples. The constitutional experiment was deemed a failure although it cannot be said to be his alone. The Sicilian nobles were inexperienced and in the face of the difficulties of 1814 and 1815 could not sustain a constitution without British support, which

1053-560: A year of his arrival in Calcutta. Horace Hayman Wilson and Raja Ram Mohan Roy cautioned Bentinck against abruptly ending the practice and suggested that the practice might be gradually stopped by increasing checks. After observing that the judges in the courts were unanimously in favor of the ban, Bentinck proceeded to lay the draft before his council. Charles Metcalfe , the Governor's most prominent counselor, expressed apprehension that

1134-540: Is India 's highest military decoration , awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". As of January 2018 , the medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts . Of

1215-524: Is almost always named and dated on the edge. Around a plain centre, two legends are separated by lotus flowers; with Vir Chakra in Hindi above and in English below. The ribbon is 32 mm, half dark blue and half orange-saffron; dark blue 16 mm, saffron 16 mm. The award carries with it a cash allowance and, in some cases, a lump sum cash award. This has been a rather controversial issue throughout

1296-645: Is based on Singh's life and his action during Sino-Indian War. The Bollywood film LOC Kargil (2003) gives an account of all of the PVC recipients from the Kargil War . Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey is played by Ajay Devgan , Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav is played by Manoj Bajpayee , Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar is played by Sunil Shetty , and Captain Vikram Batra is played by Abhishek Bachchan . An upcoming Hindi-language film Ekkis will focus on

1377-711: Is equivalent to the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom and the Medal of Honor in the United States . The history of modern-day Indian gallantry awards can be traced back to the rule of the East India Company . Gold medals were awarded to Indian officers for the first time in 1795, with the first recipient being Subedar Abdul Kader of the 5th   Madras Native Infantry . The chain of

1458-500: Is unmarried, the allowance is paid to their parents. In the case of the award being conferred posthumously on a widow or widower, the allowance is to be paid to their son or unmarried daughter. A monthly stipend of ₹ 20,000 is given to the awardee along with their regular pay. The award amount and pension benefits are exempted from income tax. In addition, different ministries under the central government have various financial awards for PVC awardees. A relatively unknown convention in

1539-510: The vajra , the weapon of Indra , the ancient Vedic king of the gods. The motif symbolizes the sacrifice of Rishi Dadhichi , who gave his bones to the gods to make the vajra to kill the demon Vritra . The medal is suspended from a straight-swiveling suspension bar. On the reverse , around a plain centre, are two legends separated by lotus flowers . The words "Param Vir Chakra" are written in Hindi and English . A purple ribbon, 32 millimetres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) long, holds

1620-472: The 1 , 8 , and 11 Gorkha Rifle regiments each having one PVC recipient. As of January 2018 , Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon , who was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously in 1971, is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been honoured with the medal. Subedar Major Bana Singh , Subedar Sanjay Kumar and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav , are the only living recipients of

1701-440: The 2nd Regiment of Dragoons on 4 August 1792, and to captain in the 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons on 6 April 1793. He was promoted to major in the 28th Foot on 29 March 1794 and to lieutenant-colonel in the 24th Dragoons that July. On 9 January 1798, Bentinck was promoted to colonel. In 1803 he was, to some surprise, appointed Governor of Madras , and was promoted to major-general on 1 January 1805. Although his tenure

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1782-703: The Bentinck family vault in St Marylebone Parish Church , London. Explorer Matthew Flinders , who in 1802 charted the South Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria , Australia (now part of the state of Queensland ), assigned the name Bentinck Island in honour of Lord Bentinck, and the island group (Wellesley) and the largest island ( Mornington Island ) in honour of Richard Wellesley, 2nd Earl of Mornington . In 1803,

1863-804: The British Empire —was extended to Indians in 1911. The VC was awarded to 153 Indian and British soldiers of the British Indian Army , and civilians under its command, from 1857 until Indian independence in 1947. During the First World War , in addition to the IOM, the award system of the British Indian Army was expanded. Based on the British practice for recognising actions of gallantry, senior officers would be awarded

1944-597: The Calcutta Medical college which offered western medical education and opening of this college is seen as Introduction of Western Science into India. It was the first western medical college in Asia and it was open to all without discrimination of caste or creed. James Ranald Martin compares the foundation of this college to Bentinck's other acclaimed act of abolishing sati. Bentinck decided to put an immediate end to sati practice after careful enquiry within

2025-828: The Distinguished Service Order , junior officers the Military Cross , and enlisted men with the Military Medal . This system continued through the Second World War . Post-independence, the British honours and awards system in India informally came to an end. A short time later, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru decided to give gallantry awards for the ongoing conflict in Jammu and Kashmir . Although India and Pakistan still had

2106-631: The English Education Act 1835 . English replaced Persian as the language of the higher courts. He founded the Calcutta Medical college after the committee appointed by him found that "The Native Medical Institution established in 1822 , The Committee headed by Dr John Grant as president and J C C Sutherland, C E Trevelyan, Thomas Spens, Ram Comul Sen and M J Bramley as members found the education, examination system, training and lack of practical anatomy clearly below standards" and recommended its closure, which Bentinck accepted and he opened

2187-555: The King of Sardinia re-established in Piedmont . For the next month, Bentinck was therefore operating as effectively an independent actor representative of Britain only, as Rosselli says, in the widest sense: in that he held himself to be furthering Britain's true interests, regardless of whether the current Government recognised them or not. Ordering his troops north to besiege Genoa , Bentinck himself now headed to Reggio Emilia for

2268-440: The 1947–1948 Indo-Pakistani War, Nehru forwarded the draft warrants to Governor-General Chakravarti Rajagopalachari to "institute the awards as your own". But Rajagopalachari felt that, as India was still a dominion, it would be inappropriate for him to establish the awards without the King's approval. He instead suggested to Nehru that, as India was to become a republic on 26   January 1950, it would be appropriate to announce

2349-757: The 19th century, England began worrying about its interests in the Mediterranean. Internal dissensions in the Sicilian government, and an ever-increasing suspicion that Queen Maria Carolina was in correspondence with the French with the French Occupation of Sicily as its object, led to the appointment of Bentinck as British representative to the Court of Palermo in July 1811. At the beginning of his time at

2430-549: The 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army and one has been from the Indian Air Force . Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient. A number of state governments of India as well as ministries of the central government provide allowances and rewards to recipients of the PVC (or their family members in case of the recipient's death). The history of present-day Indian gallantry awards can be traced back to

2511-568: The Governor-General of India. This Act added a law member to the executive council of the governor general. Bishops of Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta were to be appointed for the benefit of the Christians in India. Bentinck returned to the UK in 1835 and refused a peerage, partly because he had no children and partly because he wanted to stand for Parliament again. He again entered the House of Commons as

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2592-598: The Indian Army is for a PVC recipient to be saluted, when in ceremonial uniform, by everyone in the Army irrespective of rank, although no legal provision exists. Many Indian states have established individual pension rewards that far exceed the central government's stipend for recipients of the PVC. A memorial has been built in the memory of PVC recipients at Marina Park, Port Blair , in Andaman and Nicobar Islands . It

2673-644: The Indian government named 21 large uncharted islands in the Andaman Islands after the 21 recipients of the Param Vir Chakra. The TV series Param Vir Chakra (1990), which focuses on the lives of Param Vir Chakra winners, was directed by Chetan Anand . The first episode of the series featured the first recipient of the award, Major Somnath Sharma of the Kumaon Regiment . Indian Punjabi -language biopic movie Subedar Joginder Singh (2018)

2754-515: The King sanction awards for a war between two members of the Commonwealth? Also, the King would have not even have been a symbolic presence on the awards." Therefore, the draft warrants to formally establish the new gallantry awards were not put into effect. On 1   January 1949, a ceasefire was implemented in Jammu and Kashmir , and as it was becoming too late to honour acts of heroism from

2835-501: The Param Vir Chakra. The PVC has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were awarded posthumously and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army, and one has been from the Indian Air Force . The Grenadiers , with three awards, have received the greatest number of Param Vir Chakras. The various Gorkha Rifle regiments of the Indian Army have received three awards, with

2916-492: The President. Seventh: The names of those persons upon or on account of whom the decoration may be conferred shall be published in The Gazette of India, and a Register thereof kept under the directions of the President. Eighth: Ninth: If any recipient of the Chakra shall again perform such an act of bravery as would have made him or her eligible to receive the Chakra, such further act of bravery shall be recorded by

2997-634: The Tuscans to Bentinck's proclamation, while in Genoa he would find a welcoming audience at last. Bentinck had been ordered to take and occupy Genoa in the name of the King of Sardinia . But when the city surrendered to him on 18 April 1814, he instead proclaimed - contrary to the intentions of the Coalition - the restoration of the Republic of Genoa and the repeal of all laws passed since 1797, much to

3078-477: The above regulations on 26 January 1980 saw Clause 12 deleted, and the remaining clauses renumbered accordingly. The name of the award translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave". The medal is a circular bronze disc 35 millimetres ( 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 inches) in diameter. On the obverse , or front, the National Emblem of India appears in the centre on a raised circle surrounded by four copies of

3159-488: The aid of his chief captain, William Henry Sleeman . Along with Thomas Babington Macaulay he introduced English as the language of instruction in India. Mysore was annexed under his presidency. Bentinck was born in Buckinghamshire, the second son of Prime Minister William Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland , and Lady Dorothy (née Cavendish), only daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire . On

3240-485: The air, largely came to an end. As did his Government's motive for toleration. His erratic behaviour over the recent months had led the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool to brand him simply "mad", and his scope of authority was sharply reduced; though he was not finally dismissed from his grand post as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean until April the following year. Lord William Bentinck

3321-607: The award of the Chakra to any person together with any pension appertaining thereto not already paid, and thereupon his or her name in the register shall be erased and he or she shall be required to surrender his or her insignia; but it shall be competent for the President to restore the decoration when such cancellation and annulment has subsequently been withdrawn, and with it such pension as may have been forfeited. Last: Notice of cancellation or restoration in every case shall be published in The Gazette of India . An amendment to

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3402-417: The award.    This along with the *, indicates that the Param Vir Chakra was awarded posthumously. The PVC also carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent), and in some cases a cash award. Upon the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the spouse until their death or remarriage. In the case of a posthumous recipient who

3483-428: The banning of sati might be "used by the disaffected and designing" as "an engine to produce insurrection." However these concerns did not deter him from upholding the Governor's decision "in the suppression of the horrible custom by which so many lives are cruelly sacrificed." Thus on Sunday morning of 4 December 1829 Lord Bentinck issued Regulation XVII declaring sati to be illegal and punishable in criminal courts. It

3564-525: The best times she was ". In thus attempting to bring about his long-nurtured dream of an independent Italian nation-state in the north and centre (he did not consider the Neapolitans and Sicilians 'Italians'), Bentinck was quite publicly repudiating the policy of his own Government - which was intending to largely restore the status quo ante bellum in Italy; with Austria in possession of Lombardy and

3645-487: The collapse of her brother's Empire . Having obtained from Murat - husband of her sister Caroline - the guarantee that he would obtain the consent of the Coalition he had just joined to her retention of the Principality of Lucca and Piombino in return for having rendered up Tuscany without a fight, she had, by the time of Bentinck's appearance at Livorno , retired to Lucca . Upon hearing of his landing, she sent

3726-483: The custom of certain of newly born girls to be killed and against human sacrifices. Although his reforms met little resistance among native Indians at the time, Indian enemies repeated a story to the effect that he had once planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and sell off the marble. According to Bentinck's biographer John Rosselli, the story arose from Bentinck's fund-raising sale of discarded marble from Agra Fort and of

3807-453: The day the award was established, 26 January 1950, as follows: First: The decoration shall be in form of a medal and styled and designated the Param Vir Chakra (hereinafter referred as the Chakra). Second: The medal shall be circular in shape, made of bronze, one and three-eighth inches [35 mm] in diameter, and shall have embossed on the obverse, four replicas of Indra's Vajra with

3888-442: The decoration carries with it the right to use Vr.C. as a postnominal abbreviation [note the care to distinguish this abbreviation from that for the Victoria Cross (V.C.) The medal is 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 inch circular silver medal. A five pointed star, with the chakra in the centre, and, on this, the domed gilded state emblem . The decoration is named on the rim and suspended from a swiveling straight-bar suspender. The decoration

3969-496: The decoration has been gained, be entitled to a special pension, and each additional bar shall carry with it additional pension for life at such rates as the President may prescribe. On the death of the recipient of the Chakra to whom the clause applies, the pension shall be continued to his widow until her death or remarriage under such rules as may be prescribed by the President. Twelfth: This Chakra shall rank first among all awards. Thirteenth: The President may cancel and annul

4050-513: The decoration is awarded, shall be half the size of the Chakra and a sealed pattern of the said miniature decoration shall be deposited and kept. Eleventh: Every recipient of the Chakra being or ranking junior in rank to that of Sub-Lieutenant in the case of the Navy, Second Lieutenant in the case of the Army, and Pilot Officer in the case of the Air Force, shall, from the date of the act by which

4131-481: The desire for autonomy that was at the base of the Sicilian revolutions of 1820 and 1848 . Sailing from Sicily on 30 January 1814, Bentinck first made for Naples . There he reluctantly signed an armistice with Joachim Murat ; whom he personally detested as being a man whose "whole life had been a crime," yet whom Britain found it expedient to detach from his brother-in-law, Napoleon , by guaranteeing his Kingdom of Naples in return for an alliance. Having instructed

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4212-672: The enthusiasm of the Genoese. At the same time, he dispatched an expeditionary force to Corsica to attempt to revive the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom of 1794–1796 and gain for Britain another useful base in the Mediterranean . In Genoa meanwhile, on the 24th, he received representations from the provisional government in Milan beseeching Britain's support for the maintenance of an independent Kingdom of Italy rather than

4293-406: The establishment of the awards on that date, but with retroactive effect from 15   August 1947. On 26   January 1950, now celebrated as Republic Day of India , the PVC was established by Rajendra Prasad , the first President of India , with effect from 15   August 1947 ( Independence Day of India ). Provision was made in the event a PVC recipient was to receive a further award of

4374-404: The establishment of the constitution the Sicilians had now gained an autonomy they had never experienced before. The constitution set up the separation of the legislative and executive powers and abolished the feudalistic practices that had been established and recognised for the past 700 years. Bentinck's success in establishing a Sicilian constitution lasted only a few years. On 8 December 1816,

4455-571: The faculty of respective institutions. These walls are to portray all 21 recipients of the PVC along with relevant information. Bronze Busts of all 21 recipients are installed in the Param Yodha Sthal, which is a part of the National War Memorial . The site is adjacent to the main memorial and has informative plaques displaying the citations of the heroes. On January 23, 2022 (birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose),

4536-460: The forces under his command in Sicily to make a landing at Livorno , Bentinck then travelled north, with a day's stop in Rome , to join them. The disembarkation at Livorno began on 9 March and took three days to complete, Murat's Neapolitans already having occupied the port beforehand. Napoleon's sister Elisa , though having now abandoned her Grand Duchy of Tuscany , had nevertheless not given up completely in attempting to salvage something out of

4617-417: The gold medal awarded to Kader was inscribed with the words "For Conduct and Courage on All Occasions". In 1834 the Order of Merit was established by the then Governor-General of India , Lord William Bentinck . The decoration was renamed the Indian Order of Merit (IOM) in 1902, and Indians considered it to be "the most coveted gallantry award" until the Victoria Cross (VC)—the highest award for gallantry in

4698-404: The head of Sicilian affairs, politicians in London opposed the Bourbon rule and appealed for Sicilian annexation. Bentinck was sympathetic to the cause and plight of the Sicilians and "was quickly convinced of the need for Britain to intervene in Sicilian affairs, not so much for Britain's sake as for the well-being of the Sicilians." He was also one of the first of the dreamers to see a vision of

4779-463: The implementation of the PVC to Major General Hira Lal Atal , the first Indian adjutant general of India. He in turn requested Savitri Khanolkar , the wife of an Indian Army officer, Vikram Khanolkar of the Sikh Regiment , to design the medal for the PVC. Coincidentally, the first PVC would be awarded to Major Somnath Sharma , the brother-in-law of Khanolkar's daughter. Despite gaining independence from British rule , India still remained

4860-402: The lasting enmity of many military men whose wages were cut. Although historians emphasise his more efficient financial management, his modernising projects also included a policy of westernisation, influenced by the Utilitarianism of Jeremy Bentham and James Mill , which was more controversial. He also reformed the court system. Bentinck made English the medium of instruction after passing

4941-402: The life of the decoration. From 1 February 1999, the central government set a monthly stipend of Rs. 850 for recipients of the award. In addition, many states have established individual pension rewards for the recipients of the decoration. A total of 1327 personnel received Vir Chakra. Some of the notable Vir Chakra awardees include: Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra ( PVC )

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5022-406: The life on Arun Khetarpal , who is the youngest recipient of the award. In the 2021 film Shershaah , Sidharth Malhotra played Vikram Batra in a biopic directed by Vishnuvardhan . Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck GCB GCH PC (14 September 1774 – 17 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck ,

5103-409: The marriage the family name became Cavendish-Bentinck . He was educated at Westminster School , a boys' public school in Westminster, London . In 1783, at the age of 9, he was given the sinecure of Clerk of the Pipe for life. Bentinck joined the Coldstream Guards on 28 January 1791 at the age of 16, purchasing an ensign's commission. He was promoted to captain-lieutenant (lieutenant) in

5184-428: The medal; if this were to arise, the recipient would receive a bar to their existing PVC, along with a gift of a replica of the vajra (club), the weapon of Indra , the god of heaven. As of January 2018 , no instances of an individual being conferred with a second PVC have arisen. The medal carries with it the right to use "PVC" as a post-nominal . The regulations of the PVC were set out in The Gazette of India

5265-469: The metal from the Great Agra Gun, the largest cannon ever cast, a historical artefact which dated to the reign of Akbar the Great. Bentinck removed flogging as a punishment in the Indian Army. The Saint Helena Act 1833 , also called the Charter Act of 1833, was passed during Bentinck's tenure and, accordingly, the monopoly of the East India Company in china was abolished,In India it was extended for further next 20 years. The Governor-General of Bengal became

5346-407: The next, if… he was to consent to the continuance of this practice (sati) one moment longer." Bentinck after consultation with the army and officials passed the Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829 . The challenge came from the Dharma Sabha which appealed in the Privy Council , however the ban on Sati was upheld. He reduced lawlessness by eliminating thuggee – which had existed for over 450 years – with

5427-462: The nickname that she gave him: La bestia feroce (the ferocious beast). Bentinck, however, was determined to see the establishment of a Sicilian Constitution and shortly thereafter exiled Maria Carolina from Palermo. On 18 June 1812 the Parliament assembled in Palermo and, about a month later, on 20 July 1812 the constitution was accepted and written on the basis of 15 articles, on the drafts prepared by Prince Belmonte and other Sicilian noblemen. With

5508-443: The option to award British honours, the leaders felt that it would not make sense to give the same honour to personnel from opposing forces. Accordingly, in June 1948 it was decided to institute new Indian awards for gallantry: the Param Vir Chakra   (PVC), Maha Vir Chakra   (MVC), and Vir Chakra   (VrC). After the PVC, the MVC and VrC are the second and third highest gallantry awards during wartime. Nehru entrusted

5589-411: The restoration of Austria's rule over Lombardy . With Napoleon's abdication of both the French and Italian thrones on 11 April, the government in Milan was in search of a new sovereign who would better bolster their chances of survival and, in seeking to bind Britain to their cause, the suggestion was put to Bentinck that Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge , the seventh son of George III , would be

5670-404: The ribbon is worn, a replica of Indra's Vajra in miniature shall be fixed in the centre of the ribbon. Fourth: The Chakra is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea, or in the air. Fifth: The Chakra may also be awarded posthumously. Sixth: The distinction shall be conferred by

5751-450: The rightful Ferdinand IV if Murat did not give way, Bentinck was quickly reprimanded in a firm note from Castlereagh reminding him that he was instructed to co-operate in every way with Murat and Austria . At which he reluctantly withdrew his bid for Tuscany - which he had likely been hoping to turn into the nucleus of a free Italian state under his own aegis - and left for Genoa . There had, in any case, been no discernable response from

5832-552: The rule of the East India Company , when the first formal award was instituted by Lord William Bentinck in 1834 as the Order of Merit, later renamed the Indian Order of Merit in 1902. During the First World War , the British awards system was adopted and continued through the Second World War . Post-independence, new awards were instituted on 26   January 1950 , with retroactive effect from 15   August 1947 . The PVC

5913-464: The state emblem embossed in the centre. On the reverse, it shall have embossed Param Vir Chakra, both in Hindi and English, with two lotus flowers between the inscriptions. A sealed pattern of the decoration shall be deposited and kept. Third: The medal shall be suspended from the left breast by a plain purple-coloured ribbon of one and a quarter inches [32 mm] in width; on those occasions when only

5994-459: The troubled island, all of which ultimately ended in failure. In 1814, Bentinck landed with British and Sicilian troops at Genoa , and commenced to make liberal proclamations of a new order in Italy which embarrassed the British government (which intended to give much of Italy to Austria ), and led, once again, to his recall in 1815. As conditions in Sicily began to deteriorate at the beginning of

6075-504: Was a British military commander and politician who served as the governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the first governor-general of India from 1834 to 1835. He has been credited for significant social and educational reforms in India, including abolishing sati , forbidding women to witness the cremations on the ghats of Varanasi , suppressing female infanticide and human sacrifice . Bentinck said, "the dreadful responsibility hanging over his head in this world and

6156-467: Was appointed commander of British troops in Sicily . He was brevetted to lieutenant-general on 3 March 1811. A Whig , Bentinck used this position to meddle in internal Sicilian affairs, effecting the withdrawal from government of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies in favour of his son, Francis I of the Two Sicilies , the reactionary Queen's disgrace, and an attempt to devise a constitutional government for

6237-685: Was inaugurated in September 2014 by the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh , in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command , Vice Admiral Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee . On 2 May 2017, at a ceremony conducted in the National Media Center , New Delhi , Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre inaugurated a campaign to build

6318-590: Was moderately successful, it was brought to an end by the Vellore Mutiny in 1806, prompted by Bentinck's order that the native troops be forbidden to wear their traditional attire. Only after serious violence was order restored and the offending policy rescinded, and Bentinck was recalled in 1807. After service in the Peninsular War , including as a brigade commander at the Battle of Corunna , Bentinck

6399-408: Was presented to William Carey for translation. His response is recorded as follows: "Springing to his feet and throwing off his black coat he cried, 'No church for me to-day... If I delay an hour to translate and publish this, many a widow's life may be sacrificed,' he said. By evening the task was finished." On 2 February 1830 this law was extended to Madras and Bombay . The ban was challenged by

6480-602: Was the first governor general of British-occupied India. Everyone else before him was the Governor of Bengal (Fort William). On his return to England, Bentinck served in the House of Commons for some years before being appointed Governor-General of Bengal in 1828. His principal concern was to turn around the loss-making East India Company , to ensure that its charter would be renewed by the British government. Bentinck engaged in an extensive range of cost-cutting measures, earning

6561-487: Was withdrawn in the wake of the end of the Napoleonic wars . The British no longer had an invested interest in the internal affairs of Sicily now that the threat of French invasion had been removed. The establishment of a Sicilian constitution that was facilitated by Bentinck was not to be soon forgotten. The ideas found therein and the small taste of freedom lingered in the memories of the Sicilians and had an influence on

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