Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore

Born: 18 August 1923

Died: 16 September 1965

He was an officer in the Indian Army and a recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest award for bravery.
After completing his schooling in Pune, Tarapore joined the Hyderabad Army and was commissioned in January 1942.
Initially, he joined the infantry but was later transferred to an armoured regiment, the 1st Hyderabad Imperial Service Lancers.
During World War II Tarapore saw action in the Middle East.
After Hyderabad State was annexed by India in 1948, he was selected to join the Indian Army.
He was commissioned again in April 1951 and was posted to the Poona Horse regiment, 17th Battalion.
Later he attended a training course in the United Kingdom on the Centurion tank.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, 17 Horse saw action in the Sialkot sector.
He led the regiment in several tank battles between 11 and 16 September and was killed in one such battle at Butur-Dograndi on 16 September.
Under his leadership, the regiment destroyed sixty Pakistani tanks, while the Indians suffered the loss of nine.