Major Somnath Sharma, PVC, (31 January 1923 – 3 November 1947), an Indian Army officer, was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India’s highest military decoration. He was awarded it posthumously for his bravery in the Kashmir operations of November 1947. He died while evicting Pakistani infiltrators and raiders from Srinagar Airport during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 in Kashmir. He served in the 4th Kumaon Regiment.
Sharma was born on 31 January 1923 at Dadh, Kangra, then in the Punjab Province of British India, the present day state of Himachal Pradesh. His father, Major General Amar Nath Sharma, was a military officer (retired as director general, Armed Medical Services),as were his brothers Lt. Gen. Surindar Nath Sharma (retired as engineer-in-chief) and General Vishwa Nath Sharma (retired as the chief of the Army Staff, 1988–1990),and his sister Major Kamla Tewari (Medical Doctor). He 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.[3] During his childhood, Somnath was influenced by the teachings of Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, taught to him by his grandfather Pandit Daulat Ram.
Upon graduation from the Royal Military College, Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion, 19th Hyderabad Regiment (later 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment)of the Indian Army (then the British Indian Army), on 22 February 1942.During his early career, he saw action against the Japanese in Burma during the Arakan Operations in World War II. During this time he served under the command of Colonel K S Thimmayya (later general, and chief of the Army Staff, 1957–1961). Sharma was also awarded a Mention-in-Despatches for his actions.
During his career, he was greatly influenced by his uncle Captain K. D. Vasudeva’s gallantry in action. He died defending a bridge on the River Slim during the Malayan Campaign. His sacrifice helped hundreds of soldiers under his command to save their lives from the Japanese offensive. Captain Vasudeva also belonged to the same regiment as Sharma, the 8/19 Hyderabad Infantry Regiment.
He was the elder brother of the son-in-law (Lt Gen Surindra Nath Sharma, PVSM, AVSM) of Savitri Khanolkar, who designed the Param Vir Chakra.
In the 1980s, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), a Government of India enterprise operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Shipping, named fifteen of her 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. Due to the MARPOL Convention on single hull tankers, SCI phased out all her fifteen PVC series crude tankers on completion of their economic age of 25 years.
(Ref : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnath_Sharma)