Maha Vir Chakra

The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) is the second highest military decoration in India and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It may be awarded posthumously. Literally Maha Veer means extraordinarily brave.

Appearance

The medal is made of standard silver and is circular in shape. Embossed on the obverse is a five pointed heraldic star with circular center-piece bearing the gilded state emblem of India in the center. The words "Mahavira Chakra" are embossed in Devanagari and English on the reverse with two lotus flowers in the middle. The decoration is worn on the left chest with a half-white and half-orange riband about 3.2 cm in width, the orange being near the left shoulder.

History

More than 155 acts of bravery and selfless courage have been recognized since the inception of the medal. The most MVCs awarded in a single conflict was in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, when eleven were given to the Indian Air Force.

Provision was made for the award of a bar for a second award of the Maha Vira Chakra, the first two being awarded in 1965. To date, there are six known awards of a first bar: Wing Commander Jag Mohan Nath (1962 and 1 September 1965), Major General Rajindar Singh (19 March 1948 and 6 September 1965), General Arun Shridhar Vaidya (16 September 1965 and 5 December 1971), Wing Commander Padmanabha Gautam (6...
Read More