Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

(born 3 March 1976) is a retired Indian

Junior Commissioned Officer Junior commissioned officer (JCO) is a group of military ranks which is higher than havildar (non-commissioned officer) and lower than lieutenant (commissioned officer). The term is only used by Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Senior havi ...

, and recipient of the

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest Awards and Decorations of the Indian Armed Forces, military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates roughly as the "Wheel of Supre ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

's highest

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

award for his exemplary bravery during

Kargil War The Kargil War, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Ladakh, then part of the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir and along the Line of Control (LoC). In In ...

Early life

Sanjay Kumar was born in village Kalol Bakain in Bilaspur District of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

in a Dogra

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

family of Durga Ram and Bhag Devi. He completed his secondary education from Government Senior Secondary School, Kalol. Prior to joining the army, he worked as a taxi driver in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. His uncle was in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

while his second brother is also serving with the Indo Tibetan Border Police. His application was rejected three times before he was finally selected to join the army. He was enlisted in 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles of

on 26 June 1996.

Military career

Param Vir Chakra Action

On 4 July 1999, as a member of the 13th Battalion,

Jammu & Kashmir Rifles The Jammu and Kashmir Rifles is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. Its origins lay in the Jammu and Kashmir State Forces of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. After the accession of the state to the Indian Union in October 1947, t ...

, he was the leading scout of a team tasked to capturing Area Flat Top, during the

. The area was held by

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i troops. Having scaled the cliff, the team was pinned down by machine gun fire from an enemy

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, about 150 meters away. Kumar, realizing the magnitude of the problem and the detrimental effect this bunker would have in the capture of Area Flat Top, crawled alone up the ledge, along a flank, and charged towards the enemy bunker through a there was a bullet rain. Almost instantly he took two bullets in his chest and forearm that left him bleeding profusely. Though bleeding from the bullet wounds, he continued the charge towards the bunker. In hand-to-hand fighting, he killed three enemy soldiers. He then picked up an enemy machine gun and crept towards the second enemy bunker. The enemy soldiers, taken completely by surprise, were killed by him as they fled their post. Inspired by his act the rest of the

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

charged, assaulted the feature and captured Area Flat Top.

Later career

Subedar_Sanjay_Kumar_is_promoted_to_the_rank_of_Subedar_Major

In February 2022, he received the rank of Subedar Major and is posted to the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla near Pune.

Param Vir Chakra citation

Havildar_Sanjay_Kumar_receiving_PVC_from_the_then_Honorable_President_of_India_KR_Narayanan

The

citation on the official

website reads as follows:

Awards and decorations

During his career, he has been awarded with the

(

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

1999) for his part in the Operation Vijay.

Dates of rank

Controversy

In 2010 Kumar was demoted from the rank of

Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian and Pakistani armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry and armoured units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergea ...

to Lance Naik. The army refused to cite any reasons for his demotion. Moreover, the army concealed the facts and by continuing to refer to him as Havildar in press releases. Recipients of the Param-Vir Chakra are saluted irrespective of rank, which is alleged to be the bone of contention between Kumar and senior officers. Kumar was offered a job by the Himachal Pradesh Government and may accept this offer after completing his 15 years of service (for receiving post-retirement benefits) in the army. On 2 July 2014, Kumar became a

(JCO) of the Indian Army, with his promotion to

Naib Subedar Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the Ge ...

. While the promotion of Kumar had once become an issue in the Army after he was allegedly demoted to the rank of Lance Naik from the rank of

in 2008, the issue was later buried with the intervention of higher authorities. It was also stated that there are no out-of-turn promotions for recipients of gallantry awards in the Army and they are promoted as per their seniority with their fellow soldiers in the unit. He was promoted to the rank of Subedar Major in February 2022.

In popular culture

Kumar's story along with others who were part of the same conflict was portrayed in the film ''

LOC Kargil ''LOC Kargil'' is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language historical war film based on the Kargil War fought between India and Pakistan, produced and directed by J. P. Dutta under his banner "J. P. Films". The film features an ensemble cast of Bollywoo ...

'', in which his character was played by famous Bollywood actor

Sunil Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty ha ...

Legacy

Rifleman_Sanjay_Kumar_statue_at_Param_Yodha_Sthal_Delhi

A statue of Sub Maj Sanjay Kumar was unveiled at Param Yodha Sthal, Delhi with 20 other PVC Awardees. One of the Islands of

Andaman and Nicobar The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by ...

has been renamed as Sanjay Dweep with other 20 PVC winners on Parakram Diwas 23 January 2021.

References

Notes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Sanjay 1976 births Indian Army personnel Recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Living people People from Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh Military personnel from Himachal Pradesh Indian taxi drivers