The Ashoka Chakra Decoration was established in 1952 and is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor or self-sacrifice. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) decoration.
The Ashoka Chakra is awarded for the “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valor or self-sacrifice” not in the face of the enemy and may be given to either military or civilian personnel.
The decoration was originally established on 4 January 1952 as the “Ashoka Chakra, Class I” and was the first step of a three-class sequence of non-combatant bravery decorations. These were removed in 1967 and renamed as the Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra decorations.
The Ashoka Chakra Design
The medal is circular in shape, struck in gold gilt and measures 1-3/8 inches in diameter.
The obverse has the chakra (wheel) of Ashoka surrounded by a lotus wreath and an ornate edge. The reverse has the inscription “Ashoka Chakra” embossed in Hindi and English along the upper and lower edges of the medal. The center is blank.
The ribbon is green with a thin orange line in the center.
