Param Vir Chakra: Ultimate Honor

by Reena Ittyerah Puri

The Param Vir Chakra is the highest decoration of valour in wartime, awarded to members of the Indian Armed Forces.The men who have been awarded this ultimate honour displayed indomitable courage and selfless devotion to duty, while defending the borders of our nation. It is only the most fearless who can summon the will to stand their ground and fight the enemy in the face of death. Only the bravest can challenge the ultimate sacrifice, so that no one else has to.Amar Chitra Katha tells the stories of 21 fearless heroes, for whom their own lives were less important than the sovereignty of India, and the safety of their fellow citizens. 21 stirring tales of bravery, courage and sacrifice, that need to be told and remembered, as an inspiration for generations to come.

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 1971

Reviews

[Karthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

My six-word memoir: stirring history of bravery, heroism. Unputdownable.
This is a very good comic book introduction to war, soldiers and related history to kids and adults alike. Very beautiful illustrations. I cried several times when I read this book. Highly recommend.

[Mohammed Rayyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is amazing. It has 21 tales of bravery. Stories of bravery from 1947 to 1999.

[Mrunmai Kulkarni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salute to all the heroes

[Namita Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have read and heard a lot about the valiant and heroic stories but this comic adds the visuals and illustrations, that are so heart touching. This book is a must-read for all Indians. The stories are narrated well-paced and set deep in your heart. It filled me with pride as well as gratitude after every story of the daredevil Param Vir Chakra awardee.

My heart goes out for their families and I salute them for all the support they gave to their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers; so that we civilians can peacefully sleep in our comfortable homes.

Thank you, ACK and Reena Puri for this book. Recommending it to everyone.

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[Tisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to have these very moving stories of India's own Paramvir Chakra awardees. This, being like an anthology of 21 of them, moves quickly with the essential story of an awardee. Like a bullet pointed jeevni.

I wish a real graphic novel version comes out as a series, as this works at the Amar Chitra Katha level, for distracted/clueless about Indian Army history teens I suppose. For instance, when there is a superb real life story of a man who helps his group advance by clearing landmines, it mentions pine trees in the distance. Now, in this version, pine trees don't really look like they are actually. This, for an Army, which has the best feature maps of the Indian countryside, seems to be unfair to the recording of the actual truth.

A good intro to the men, but greater detail of the personality, fears, moves,mistakes as developing characters, leading up to the one battle time act, which won them the PVC, would greatly take this further. More detail of landscape, sketches of life within the Army, what battle time entails - all these would help the civilian understand Army life much better.

Like most Commando comics, these of course give strongly one sided realities. Giving the other side, often helps in actually grasping the full extent of the bravery of the PVC awardee. Hope this is the beginning, of many deep dives into Army related storytelling to come.