Gurbachan Singh Salaria
Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, PVC (29 November 1935 – 5 December 1961) was an Indian Army officer and member of a United Nations peacekeeping force. Singh was an alumnus of King George's Royal Indian Military College and the National Defence Academy. He was the first NDA alumnus and is the only UN Peacekeeper to be awarded a Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest wartime military decoration.

In December 1961, Salaria was among the Indian troops deployed to the Republic of the Congo as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo. On 5 December, Salaria's battalion was tasked to clear a roadblock of two armoured cars manned by 150 gendarmes of the secessionist State of Katanga on the way to the Elizabethville Airport. The plan was that Salaria and his men were to block their retreat. His rocket launcher team attacked and destroyed the Katangese armoured cars. This unforeseen move confused the gendarmerie, and Salaria felt it would be best to attack before they reorganised. Though his troops were badly outnumbered, they charged towards the Katangese and killed 40 men in a kukri assault. During the attack, Salaria was shot twice in the neck and eventually succumbed to his injuries. The remaining gendarmes fled in utter confusion leaving their dead and wounded behind. This helped the main battalion to easily overrun the Katangese and clear the roadblock. For his duty and courage, and disregard for his own safety during the battle, Salaria was awarded the PVC.
Q19100
Captain
Concept
Q1650629
PVC
PER
Q355771
Army
ORG
Q219575
United Nations peacekeeping
Concept
Q3630909
National Defence Academy
ORG
Q219575
UN Peacekeeper
Concept
Q1650629
Param Vir Chakra
PER
Q618399
Republic of the Congo
LOC
Q699009
United Nations Operation in the Congo
MEDIA
Q1148907
State of Katanga
ORG
Q738866
Elizabethville Airport
LOC
Q3216918
rocket launcher
Concept
Q204310
gendarmerie
Concept
Q740429
kukri
Concept
Q5619881
Gurbachan Singh Salaria
PER
1935-11-29T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
29 November 1935
DATE
1961-12-05T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
5 December 1961
DATE
1961-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 1961
DATE
+5^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
5
NUMBER
+40^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
40
NUMBER
military rank
award received
military branch
date of birth
date of death
educated at
award received