Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore, PVC, 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.
Born: 18 August 1923, Mumbai
Died: 16 September 1965, Chawinda, Pakistan
Service number: IC-5565
Unit: Hyderabad Lancers; Poona Horse
Years of service: 1940–1951 (Hyderabad Army); 1951–1965 (Indian Army.
After Hyderabad State was annexed by India in 1948, Tarapore 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. Tarapore 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.