India’s Second Highest Gallantry Award: Mahavir Chakra

The Armed Forces are an integral part of any country as they put in all the efforts to protect the country and its people. The soldiers are the important part of these armed forces who sacrifice their lives for the sake of the country and the good of its people, there is no such award that can be kept equivalent to their sacrifices. The government owns courageous defense personnel with medals and allowance money for their families. Follow up on the article to know more about the Mahavir Chakra.

The Mahavir Chakra

These awards are given to the defense personnel for acts of conspicuous gallantry, there are other gallantry awards such as the Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra. These awards are given twice a year on Independence Day and Republic Day. 

The Mahavir Chakra is the second highest gallantry award after the Param Vir Chakra, the medal is made up of silver, it has a five-pointed heraldic star in the center of the medal that touches the rim of the medal. There is the name of the medal on the medal written in both the languages Hindi and English that are separated by the two lotus flowers.

The Mahavir Chakra was instituted by the government of India on the 26th of January in the year 1950 so the acts of bravery which were in the presence of the enemies can be honored. Many of the Mahavir Chakra were awarded in the year 1971 during the Indo-Pakistan wars where eleven of the Mahavir Chakra were given to the soldiers. Until 2017, about 218 medals have been awarded to the honorable soldiers.

Some eligibility criteria are followed to categorize the defense personnel if they are eligible for the “Mahavir Chakra” or not.

1. All the Defense Personnel of all ranks in the Army, Air Force, and territorial Army are considered to be of the Indian armed forces no matter the gender.
2. The monthly monetary allowance apart from the pensions received by them irrespective of their income and the rank they are at is Rs. 10,000, this came into effect after the year 2017.
3. The medal can be awarded to any defense personnel who has been on the battlefield in the presence of the enemies, it can be on the land, in the air, or the sea. 
4. The award winners are also awarded a one-time cash prize by the government of the country or by the state governments.
5.  The rewards can be from Rs. 2 crores for the winners of Param Vir Chakra and Rs. 1 crore for the Ashok Chakra in the states of Punjab, and Haryana. These can vary in the states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh and can vary between Rs.8 lakhs to 50 lakhs.

Conclusion

As has been mentioned above, giving Gallantry awards is a way to show the act of honor for the people who have sacrificed themselves in the times of war for the good of the citizens of the country. These awards are divided into more categories such as the Param Vir Chakra, The Ashok Chakra, the Vir Chakra, etc. the above article talks about “The Mahavir Chakra”. The awards are given to the people who have sacrificed their lives and shown their acts of bravery for the nation. The soldiers are the gems of any country as they leave no stone unturned when it comes to protecting the nation from outside enemies.