Bhandari Ram VC (24 July 191919 May 2002) was an Indian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Bhandari Ram was born in Brahmin family 1919 at the village of Auhar, which was part of

Bilaspur State Bilaspur State or Kahlur State, sometimes Kahloor Riyasat, was a kingdom (697-1849) and later princely state (1849-1948) in the Punjab Province ruled by a separate branch of Chandravanshi Chandel dynasty.Raja Bir Chand 697-730 was the fou ...

(now

Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh Bilaspur is a district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Its capital is in the town of Bilaspur. The district has an area of 1,167 km2, and a population of 381,956. As of 2011 it is the third least populous district of Himachal Pradesh (out of ...

). He was Sepoy in the 16th Battalion

10th Baluch Regiment The 10th Baluch or Baluch Regiment was a regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. After independence, it was transferred to the Pakistan Army. In 1956, it was amalgamated with the 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments. During more ...

, British Indian Army (now the

Baloch Regiment The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. The modern regiment was formed in May 1956 by the merger of 8th Punjab and Bahawalpur Regiments with the Baluch Regiment. Since then, further raisings have brought the strength of ...

, Pakistan Army), fighting against the Japanese Army in the Burmese Campaign during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when he performed deeds during the Third Arakan Offensive for which he was awarded the VC. The citation reads: He continued to serve in the post-independence

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

, receiving promotion to '' subedar'' on 13 May 1958, and to ''

subedar major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian and Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj, Subedar-Major was the hi ...

'' on 30 March 1967. Bhandari Ram retired from the army in August 1969 with the honorary rank of captain. He died in 2002.

Awards

References

External links

Bhandari Ram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Bhandari 1919 births 2002 deaths Indian World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army soldiers People from Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh Indian Army officers Military personnel from Himachal Pradesh Indian recipients of the Victoria Cross