1) Aruna Asaf Ali (16 July 1909 29 July 1996), born Aruna Ganguly, was an Indian independence activist.

. She is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan in Bombay during the Quit India Movement, 1942. She was 87 years old at the time of her death. On 8 August 1942 , the All India Congress Committee passed the Quit India resolution at the Bombay session. The government responded by arresting the major leaders and all members of the Congress Working Committee and thus tried to pre-empt the movement from success. A young Aruna Asaf Ali presided over the remainder of the session on 9 August and hoisted the Congress flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan. This marked the commencement of the movement. The police fired upon the assembly at the session. Aruna was dubbed the Heroine of the 1942 movement for her bravery in the face of danger and was called Grand Old Lady of the Independence movement in her later years. Despite absence of direct leadership, spontaneous protests and demonstrations were held all over the country, as an expression of desire of Indias youth to achieve independence. An arrest warrant was issued in her name but she went underground to evade the arrest and started underground movement in year 1942 . Her property was seized and sold. In the meanwhile, she also edited Inquilab, a monthly magazine of the Congress Party, along with Ram Manohar Lohia.

2) Ram Manohar (23 March 1910 12 October 1967) was an activist for the Indian independence movement and a Nationalist political leader. Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district then Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. His mother died when he was very young. Ram was introduced to the Indian Independence Movement at an early age by his father through the various protest assemblies Hira Lal took his son to. Ram made his first contribution to the freedom struggle by organising a small hartal on the death of Lokmanya Tilak. Gandhi and the Indian National Congress launched the Quit India movement in 1942. Prominent leaders, including Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad, were jailed. The "secondary cadre" stepped up to the challenge to continue the struggle and to keep the flame for swaraj burning within the people's hearts. Leaders who were still free carried out their operations from underground. Lohia printed and distributed many posters, pamphlets and bulletins on the theme of "Do or Die" on his secret printing-press. Lohia, along with freedom fighter Usha Mehta, broadcast messages in Bombay from a secret radio station called Congress Radio for three months before detection, as a measure to give the disarrayed Indian population a sense of hope and spirit in absence of their leaders.

He also edited Inquilab (Revolution), a Congress Party monthly along with Aruna Asaf Ali,Abdan Shaikh and Madiha took part in the Quit India Movement.

3) Achyut Patwardhan (5 February 1905 5 August 1992.) was an Indian independence activist
and political leader and founder of the Socialist Party of India. He was also a philosopher who believed fundamental change in society begins with man himself. Achyut's father, Hari Keshav Patwardhan, was a prosperous legal practitioner at Ahmednagar. He had six sons of whom Achyut was the second. When Achyut was a boy of four years, Sitaram Patwardhan, a retired Deputy Educational Inspector, adopted him. Sitaram died in 1917, leaving considerable property for Achyut. Patwardhans are amongst the talented Chitpavan Brahmins who migrated from the Konkan region to all parts of Maharashtra and formed mostly the English-educated gentry from the end of the last century till recent times. He took a prominent part in the Quit India movement which started in 1942. In 194546 he went underground, and evading arrest, he ably directed the movement of a parallel government mainly in the Satara district. He was called thereafter by many as (The Lion of Satara). The parallel government was established by terrorist methods. It was called Patri Sarkar. Patri was the name given to the terrible and torturous punishments administered to Government servants and people who dared to obstruct the parallel government. These punishments disabled people for life. The ring-leader of the gangs who looted Government offices, treasuries and trains was Nana Patil. The parallel government thus collected a loot of more than a lakh. Some of the associates in these atrocities were mere desperadoes who knew little of politics or socialism. The Government penetrated into the villages where the Government machinery broke down completely. Achyut personally served the workers in this movement by washing their clothes and cooking their food. He became a popular hero thereafter, not so much for his Socialism as for his bravery and skill in carrying out this underground movement and establishing peoples government in the Satara district for over two years.

The Armed Forces of India are eligible for a myriad of military decorations. Decorations are awarded for extraordinary bravery and courage, as well as distinguished service during times of war and peace. Service and campaign medals have been awarded throughout the history of India as an independent state. Modern India (British period) The history of present-day Indian medals is traceable to the days of Company rule in India. The Honorable East India Company not only brought in British customs on medals but also introduced some new concept. To illustrate the point, it made departure from the general British custom of restricting the grant of medals officers by making all ranks eligible to them. Some early institutions of company included the Deccan Medal for service during 1778-84, the Mysore Medal (1791-92), and the Seringapatanam Medal (1799). About the middle of the 19th century the custom of rewarding individual acts of extraordinary gallantry came into vogue in Britain. The Victoria Cross, the most coveted of all decorations, was institute in 1856 to honour the gallant acts of British soldiery in the Crimean War. Independent India British rule over India came to an end on 14 August 1947 and with it also ended the old institution of British honours and awards. The new Indian awards could come into being only with the dawn of the Republic on 26 January 1950. But on the basis of proposals already by early May 1948, the new awards, known as Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra, were finally selected in June 1948. Thus on becoming a Republic, decorations and medals were introduced to honour the deeds of gallantry and valor by members of Indian defence force. Gradually, with the passage of time the range of awards kept on expanding. A complete break with the past was, however, not possible because members of the Indian armed forces still held British honours and awards thus substituted the British decorations and medals, which could no longer be granted to Indians. A perusal of the British and Indian awards will show that the Param Vir Chakra to the Victoria Cross, the Maha Vir Chakra to the Indian Order of Merit and the Vir Chakra is equivalent to the Military Cross. The other group of awards i.e. the Ashoka Chakra series, meant for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy, was probably meant to replace the George Cross, Albert Medal and George Medal. The first batch of decorations introduced on 26 January 1950 was thus made effective with retrospective effect from 15 August 1947. The Vir Chakra and Ashoka Chakra series became important institutions of this batch. The second installment came in March 1953 in the form of the Meritorious Service Medal and Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Territorial Army Decoration and territorial Army Medal. Then followed the highest award of the land-the Bharat Ratna-and Padma series in 1954. On 26 January 1960, some more medals were instituted and these included the Vishisht Seva Medal (in the classes), Sainya Seva Medal, Videsh Seva Medal and Sena, Nao Sena and Vayu Sena Medals.

As a result of the Indo-Pak conflict of 1965, the Raksha Medal, Samar Seva Star and some others were introduced. Then came the 1971 war and it led to the institution of the Sangram Medal, Poorvi Star and Paschimi Star. For the purpose of classification, Indian honours and awards can be divided into two categories : (a) (b) Gallantry awards. Non-gallantry awards.

The gallantry awards are again divisible into tow categories: (a) (b) Those for gallantry in the face of the enemy. Those for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy.

The first category of the gallantry awards comprises : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Param Vir Chakra. Maha Vir Chakra. Vir Chakra. Sena, Nao Sena and Vayu Sena Medal. Mention in Dispatches. Chiefs of Staff Commendation Card.

The second category of the gallantry awards comprise the following : 1. 2. 3. Ashoka Chakra * Kirti Chakra * Shaurya Chakra *