Captain Vikram Batra, PVC was an Indian Army officer. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest Indian military decoration, for his actions during the Kargil War; on 7 July 1999, Batra was killed while fighting Pakistani troops around Area Ledge, Point 4875, in the Kargil district of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian Military Academy
Bust of Captain Vikram Batra at the National War Memorial, Pune
The town of Dras, the second coldest inhabited place in the world after Siberia, where temperatures fall as low as −60 degrees Celsius in winter.
Kargil War Memorial with Tololing Ranges in the background at Dras
The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy". As of January 2018, the medal has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were posthumous and 16 arose from actions in Indo-Pakistani conflicts. Of the 21 awardees, 20 have been from the Indian Army and one has been from the Indian Air Force. Major Somnath Sharma was the first recipient. A number of state governments of India as well as ministries of the central government provide allowances and rewards to recipients of the PVC.
PVC medal on 1976 stamp of India
The three living recipients of the Param Vir Chakra: Yogendra Singh Yadav, Bana Singh, and Sanjay Kumar
Image: Major Somnath Sharma statue at Param Yodha Sthal Delhi
Image: Naik Jadunath Singh statue at Param Yodha Sthal Delhi