Major Somnath Sharma was India's first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest gallantry award.
He was born on 31 January 1923 in Dadh, located in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
Major Somnath Sharma received his formal military education and training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
In 1942, Somnath Sharma was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the 19th Hyderabad Regiment.
Pakistan launched Operation Gulmarg in 1947 to capture strategic locations and annex the Kashmir Valley.
Jammu and Kashmir officially became a part of the Indian Union on 26 October 1947.
On 31 October 1947, Major Sharma led D Company of 4 Kumaon into Srinagar by air.
Major Somnath Sharma insisted on leading his troops into combat despite having his left hand in plaster.
Badgam village was a vital strategic location situated less than five kilometres from the Srinagar airfield.
On 3 November 1947, ninety Indian soldiers bravely faced an attack from nearly five hundred Pakistani infiltrators.
Major Sharma fearlessly laid out ground panels under enemy fire to guide Indian aircraft toward their targets.
Major Sharma famously declared that he would not withdraw an inch and fight to the last round.
He moved constantly across the battlefield, directing defensive fire and filling ammunition magazines for his machine gunners.
Major Somnath Sharma made the supreme sacrifice at age twenty-four when an enemy mortar shell struck his trench.
The heroic resistance at Badgam delayed enemy advances for six hours, allowing vital Indian reinforcements to arrive.
The fierce resistance of D Company resulted in over three hundred casualties among the enemy infiltrators.
The 4th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment was awarded the Battle Honour Srinagar for its valour.
Major Somnath Sharma was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his conspicuous gallantry in battle.
His sacrifice and legacy are permanently commemorated on the Honour Wall at the National War Memorial.
Captain Vikram Batra, famously remembered as the Shershah of Kargil, was the twenty-first recipient of the award.