I was in my first year of college in 1993 and was part of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Our college Army wing had the strength of two companies (A & B) of the 7TN Battalion of NCC, which belonged to the Madurai Group. Being the inquisitive pest I was, I saw a portrait of a gentleman officer in a nondescript corner of the Associated NCC Officer’s (ANO) office. Below the portrait was his name, 2/Lt. G. V. Prasanna Rao, MVC.
Maha Vir Chakra is the second-highest military decoration in India. It has been awarded 219 times so far. MVC has a provision for a Bar, which is the same person getting decorated again with an MVC. So, every time you get decorated with this award, it is counted as a Bar. So far, only six personnel have been awarded one Bar or have been decorated with the MVC the second time. The most prominent person to have been decorated with a Bar on MVC is General Arun Shridar Vaidya – In 1965 (Operation Riddle) and 1971 (the third India-Pakistan war).
The suffix MVC was an instant WOW. My jaws dropped. But who is he? And why is his portrait inside the ANO office in Madura College (Aut), Madurai? I asked the question to my ANO, Lt. K. M. Rajasekaran (later, Major.).
He said two things: 2/Lt. Rao was an alumnus of Madura College (Aut) [confirmation reg course and year awaited] and was awarded (Maha Vir Chakra) MVC during the 1962 Indo-China War. Unfortunately, after this encounter, I didn’t have the resources to dig deeper (the internet came much later).
Triggered By A Social Media Post
The spark got rekindled a few days back when a netizen posted this.
Nobody wants to talk about Ramaswamy parameswaran. The only tamil to have been conferred a param vir chakra.
If you know, you know.#amaran
— Vijaykumar Shanmugam kaadaiyon (@vijayshan) November 20, 2024
PVC, Operation Pawan, & Tamil Nadu
Major Ramaswamy Parameshwaran is indeed the only Tamil to have been decorated with India’s highest military decoration, the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka. It is history that only 21 of the bravest of brave have been awarded the PVC, 14 of which were posthumous awards. Incidentally, the first and the twenty-first are posthumous awards during operations in J&K – Major. Somnath Sharma was the first to be decorated with a PVC (posthumous, 1947). The twenty-first was Captain. Vikram Batra during Operation Vijay (Kargil war) in 1999. Trivia: 13 out of 21 awards were for different operations in J&K.
Between 1987-’90, under the mandate of the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord, India sent in a peacekeeping force called the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) to diffuse tensions between the Sri Lankan Army and the various Tamil groups operating there. Another main agenda was to disarm the Tamil groups. It is history that things didn’t go as planned. Tamil groups, especially the LTTE, took it upon themselves to fight the IPKF, ending in heavy casualties on both sides. While we don’t know about the LTTE, the official figures from the Indian army say that we had 1,165 personnel killed in action (KIA) and another 3,009 wounded. It was during this operation that Major. Parameshwaran of 8 Mahar Regiment was decorated posthumously with India’s highest military honour, the Param Vir Chakra. It is a sad story that we, in India, don’t celebrate our tri-services enough. And it hurts me a lot when many Bahubalis in Tamil Nadu love looking at even the Indian tri-forces through the lens of caste.
It is a shameful truth that in Tamil Nadu, certain anti-India Dravidian forces have a Midas-like touch to turn everything under the sun into a caste issue. One of the most famous questions by these forces is how many Brahmins have served the Indian tri-services and the community’s contribution. While this isn’t a question I wouldn’t even acknowledge, let alone answer, it is a coincidence that the two people who got the two highest military decorations belong to the Brahmin community.
2/Lt. Prasanna Rao’s Madura College (Aut) Connection
2/Lt. G. V. Prasanna Rao was a Coimbatore boy born on 15 October 1940. He grew up in Coimbatore with a passion for joining the Indian Army. After schooling and pre-university (PSG CAS) in Coimbatore, he came to Madurai to join Madura College (Aut), a 135-year-old institution5. He got commissioned in 1962, presumably short service commission (citation required). He joined 4 Grenadiers, an infantry regiment with a rich gallantry history. There are a host of heroes from 4 Grenadiers. CQMH. Abdul Hameed, PVC (Battle of Asal Uttar, 1965) is their most prominent.
Within four months of being commissioned as a 2/Lt, the Indo-China war broke out and 2/Lt. Rao’s unit was deployed in the Khinzemane Sector of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh and parts of Assam. His was a forward post near the mouth of the Namka Chu River. This unit was asked to withdraw due to the reported Chinese incursions at the Dhola post. Little did the company lead by 2/Lt. Rao knew that the enemy Company had cut off their withdrawal route.
2/Lt. Prasanna Rao’s company was outnumbered and overpowered by the superior Chinese artillery. The Chinese mortar shelling destroyed the channel of the evacuation of Indian troops, a bridge over the Nyamjungchu River. Undaunted, after being cut off from all sides, 2/Lt. Rao and his men fought valiantly. He even took charge of the Light Machine Gun himself and held the post before he was fatally injured and killed in action. He was 22 years old and just four months after being commissioned into the Indian Army. 2/Lt. Prasanna Rao withheld the highest traditions of the Indian army, its motto, “Seva Paramo Dharma”, service before self. Later, he became the sixty-third recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), the second-highest military honour in India.
The Citation Of The Honour Reads…
2/Lt. G. V. P. Rao was in command of a company which was ordered to reinforce the Khinzemane sector in N.E.F.A. by occupying a defended locality at Dhoklong Samba on 12 October 1962.
On 20 October 1962 this defended locality was shelled, and heavily assaulted by an enemy infantry battalion supported by mortars. Although greatly outnumbered this company withstood repeated enemy attacks. No withdrawal was possible because the enemy mortars had destroyed the bridge over the unfordable Nyamjungchu. In spite of being cut off, 2/Lt. G. V. P. Rao continued to fight gallantly. He personally manned a light machine gun and inspired men under his command to hold the position even at the cost of their lives in keeping with the highest traditions of the service thus setting a high example of leadership and courage.
Bringing Back Memories Of 2/Lt. G. V. Prasanna Rao
India, as a country, doesn’t have a great track record of remembering greats. We have been trained to remember only a few greats ‘approved’ by a clique. Though it has changed in the last 12-13 years, we must do more. Expecting the governments to remember and honour greats isn’t an elegant solution. We all need to do our little to make sure the greats who have lost everything, including their lives, to save the honour of Bharat are recognised and respected.
Let us start with knowing the veterans, the greats from our region who have given us everything serving the tri-services and honouring their contributions wherever possible. Two days back, I talked with Dr. J. Suresh, the current Principal of Madura College (Aut), Madurai, about 2/Lt. G. V. Prasanna Rao, MVC. He has promised that the college will take all steps to take the message about this great alumnus, 2/Lt. Rao to the current and next generations. If someone from PSG CAS, Coimbatore, is reading this, please pass this message on to management and ask them to do the needful.
Thiruvalluvar says this when he talks about the self-abandon of the warrior
சுழலும் இசைவேண்டி வேண்டா உயிரார்
கழல்யாப்புக் காரிகை நீர்த்து.
Suzhalum Isaivendi Venda Uyiraar
Kazhalyaappuk Kaarigai Neerthu
(Kural 777)
Behold the men that care not for their lives but yearn for the fame that encompasseth the earth about: the anklet that they wear around their foot is a very feast to the eye. – The Kural or Maxims of Thiruvalluvar by VVS Aiyer.
Kazhal is the anklet that the brave warriors of those days wore. In the context of our tri-forces in contemporary history, should we replace the anklet with the epaulettes of these days?
As the saying goes, “A country that doesn’t respect its soldiers is doomed to fail.” Let us wake up and do our bit for our greats.
P.S: If you want to learn more about Operation Pawan, there are many resources. The first and the best I would recommend is Major General Harkirat Singh’s “Intervention in Sri Lanka: The IPKF Experience Retold.” My personal hero from Operation Pawan was Col. Anil Kaul, a tankman who lost an eye and arm during operations. He was a very knowledgeable man and one of the prominent and sane voices on news television (some might remember him as the retired officer with an eye patch). He also served as a security advisor for the International Cricket Council and was responsible for the Pakistan team’s security during the ICC Champions Trophy 2006. His revelation that fast-bowler Shoaib Akthar slapped Bob Woolmer, the then coach of the Pakistani team, created a storm in the cricket world.
Raja Baradwaj is a marketing communications professional who works with a leading technology multinational company. He is an avid reader, history buff, cricket player, writer, and Sanskrit and Dharma Sastra student.
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