Anurag Thakur pays tribute to Maj Somnath Sharma on death anniversary
Synopsis
BJP MP Anurag Thakur paid tribute to Major Somnath Sharma, India's first Param Vir Chakra recipient, on his death anniversary, 3 November 2026, honouring the Himachal soldier who held Srinagar airfield in 1947 at the cost of his life.
Key Takeaways
Major Somnath Sharma was India's first Param Vir Chakra recipient, awarded posthumously for actions on 3 November 1947 near Badgam, Kashmir.
Sharma's stand at Badgam bought time for Indian forces to secure Srinagar airfield during the 1947 Kashmir operations .
The Param Vir Chakra was instituted on 26 January 1950 with retrospective effect; Sharma is listed as recipient number one.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur , representing Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh , offered the tribute on 3 November 2026 via a post on X.
Sharma hailed from Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh , the same state Thakur represents in Parliament.
On the death anniversary of Major Somnath Sharma — India's first Param Vir Chakra recipient — BJP MP Anurag Thakur offered a solemn tribute on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, honouring the Himachal Pradesh soldier whose sacrifice in 1947 became the founding act of India's highest wartime gallantry tradition.
Thakur wrote in Hindi: 'देवभूमि हिमाचल के वीर सपूत, भारत के प्रथम परमवीर चक्र विजेता मेजर सोमनाथ शर्मा जी की पुण्यतिथि पर करबद्ध नमन।' — 'Reverential salute on the death anniversary of the brave son of Devbhoomi Himachal, India's first Param Vir Chakra winner, Major Somnath Sharma.' He added that Sharma's sacrifice 'will continue to inspire generations to give their all for the nation,' closing with 'Jai Hind, Jai Himachal.'The Battle of Badgam and a posthumous first
On 3 November 1947, Major Somnath Sharma led his company of the 4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment against a vastly superior raiding force near Badgam in the Kashmir Valley, buying critical time for Indian forces to secure Srinagar airfield. He was killed in action that day. The action he fought — and the time he won — is credited with decisively shaping the outcome of the 1947 Kashmir operations. When India instituted the Param Vir Chakra on 26 January 1950 as its supreme award for battlefield gallantry, Sharma was named its first recipient, with the award granted retrospective effect from 1947. The decoration is awarded posthumously to his family, and his name remains Param Vir Chakra number one in the official roll.Himachal's martial identity and Thakur's tribute
Sharma was born in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh — the same state from whose Hamirpur constituency Anurag Thakur has been elected to Parliament multiple times. The state, often called Devbhoomi (land of the gods), carries a documented tradition of outsized military contribution relative to its population, and tributes to state-origin war heroes on death anniversaries are a consistent feature of the region's public life. Thakur, a former Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, has regularly used public platforms to mark the anniversaries of military figures, particularly those connected to Himachal Pradesh. Every year on 3 November, the date of Sharma's martyrdom doubles as an informal moment of reckoning for what it cost to hold Kashmir in those first desperate weeks of independence. That sacrifice is still being counted.Point of View
Reinforce the BJP's consistent positioning around military heritage, and remind a national audience of the contested origins of the Kashmir question in 1947. For Anurag Thakur specifically, honouring a Himachali war hero on his death anniversary is both a genuine act of regional pride and a politically legible signal — Hamirpur and the broader Kangra belt have historically returned strong military-service numbers. As India's security discourse remains active, these annual commemorations quietly anchor present-day patriotic sentiment to very specific historical moments of sacrifice.
NationPress
3 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Major Somnath Sharma?
Major Somnath Sharma was an Indian Army officer from Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, who became India's first Param Vir Chakra recipient. He was killed in action on 3 November 1947 near Badgam in the Kashmir Valley while holding off a superior raiding force, thereby allowing Indian troops to secure Srinagar airfield.
What is the Param Vir Chakra and when was it instituted?
The Param Vir Chakra is India's highest wartime gallantry award. It was instituted on 26 January 1950 with retrospective effect from 1947, and Major Somnath Sharma was named its first recipient.
Why is 3 November significant for the Indian Army?
3 November 1947 is the date on which Major Somnath Sharma was killed in action at Badgam during the 1947 Kashmir operations. It is observed as his death anniversary and is marked by tributes from defence establishments, the Himachal Pradesh government, and elected representatives.
Why did Anurag Thakur pay tribute to Major Somnath Sharma?
Anurag Thakur is the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh — the same state Major Somnath Sharma hailed from. Thakur regularly marks the anniversaries of Himachali military heroes, and the tribute aligns with the region's strong military tradition.
What happened at the Battle of Badgam in 1947?
On 3 November 1947, Major Somnath Sharma's company engaged a far larger raiding force near Badgam in the Kashmir Valley. His unit's resistance delayed the enemy advance and allowed Indian forces to consolidate control of Srinagar airfield, a pivotal moment in the 1947 Kashmir operations. Sharma died during the battle.
