Somnath Sharma

In the 1980s, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), a Government of India enterprise under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping, named fifteen of their crude oil tankers in honour of the Param Vir Chakra recipients. The crude oil tanker named MT Major Somnath Sharma, PVC was delivered to SCI on 11 June 1984. The tanker was phased out after 25 years service.

On 21 June 1950, Somnath Sharma's award of the Param Vir Chakra, for his actions on 3 November 1947 in defending the Srinagar airport, was gazetted. This was the first time the honour had been awarded since its inception. Coincidentally, Savitri Khanolkar, the mother-in-law of Sharma's brother, was the designer of the Param Vir Chakra.

Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment, in 1942. He served in Burma during the Arakan Campaign of World War II, for which he was mentioned in despatches. Fighting in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948, Somnath Sharma was martyred in action on 3 November 1947 while repulsing Pakistani infiltrators near Srinagar Airport. For his gallantry and sacrifice during the Battle of Badgam, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.

On 27 October 1947, a contingent of troops of the Indian Army was air-lifted into Srinagar in response to the invasion by Pakistan on 22 October into the Kashmir Valley(sonkmark). On 31 October, D Company of 4th Battalion of Kumaon Regiment, under the command of Sharma, was flown in to Srinagar. During this time, his left hand was in a plaster cast as a result of injuries sustained previously on the hockey field, but he insisted on being with his company in combat and was subsequently given permission to go.

The first episode of the TV series on the lives of Param Vir Chakra recipients, Param Vir Chakra (1988) covered Sharma's actions of 3 November 1947. In that episode, his part was played by Farooque Sheikh. The episode was directed by Chetan Anand.

On 22 February 1942, upon his graduation from the Royal Military College, Sharma was commissioned into the 9th Battalion, 19th34Hyderabad Regiment, of the British Indian Army (later to become the Indian Army's 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment). During World War II, he saw action against the Japanese in Burma during the Arakan Campaign. At that time he served under the command of Colonel K. S. Thimmayya, who would later rise to the rank of general and become Chief of the Army Staff from 1957 to 1961. Sharma was mentioned in despatches for his actions during the fighting of the Arakan Campaign. The award was gazetted in January 1946.

Major Somnath Sharma, PVC (31 January 1923 – 3 November 1947), was an officer of the Indian Army, and the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest military decoration, which he was awarded posthumously.

Sharma was born into a Dogra Brahmin family on 31 January 1923 at Dadh, Kangra, Punjab (present day Himachal Pradesh). His father, Amar Nath Sharma, was a military officer. Several of his siblings served in the military. His younger brother, Vishwa Nath Sharma, would later become the 14th Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army. Somnath Sharma completed his schooling at Sherwood College, Nainital, before enrolling at the Prince of Wales Royal Military College in Dehradun. He later studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. During his childhood, Somnath was influenced by the teachings of Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, taught to him by his grandfather.