26 Sep :The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony here today unveiled portraits of seven more Param Vir Chakra winners at the Defence Ministry South Block office. The portraits mounted today include Captain Vikram Batra, Lt. Manoj Kumar Pandey, Havildar Sanjay Kumar and Hav. Yogendra Yadav, all awarded the nation’s highest gallantry award during the 1999 Kargil conflict.
Also joining the high portals is Sub. Major and Honourary Captain Bana Singh, who cleared an enemy intrusion in the Siachen Glacier in June 1987. Major R. Parameswaran, who died fighting the LTTE in Sri Lanka in November 1987, and the legendary 1971 Indo-Pak war hero Lt. Arun Khetarpal are the other two PVCs whose portraits now adorn the elite corridor.
With this, portraits of all the 21 PVC gallantry award winners grace the annals of the Defence Ministry. The Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh, Defence Secretary Shri Vijay Singh and the three Services Chiefs were among the dignitaries present on the occasion. Shri Antony greeted the acclaimed artist Ms. Aarti Zaveri, who has painted all the seven new portraits. Her task was all the more difficult as the portraits were reproduced in a style and form similar to the earlier 14 portraits adorning the walls.
In a rare gesture Ms. Aarti has made the paintings on cost-to-cost basis, without making any bit of profit on her masterpieces. “It is my humble tribute to the nation’s real heroes and makes me feel I have done my bit for the country,” she said.