Circular cupro-nickel medal with claw and bar suspension; the face with the haloed upright Bhavani Talwar (sword) of Shivaji the Great; the reverse with a central lotus flower in bud circumscribed ‘GENERAL SERVICE INDIA’; attributed on the edge ‘13815445 SEP MADAN LAL ASC (MT)’ (SEP = Sepoy = Soldier; ASC (MT) = Army Service Corps, Motor Transport); age toned and age oxidisation spots; on replaced correct ribbon with original ‘NAGA HILLS’ clasp. The medal was instituted by the President of India on 5 June 1950 for active service. The Naga Hills clasp was awarded for 180 days’ service in 1955-1956 in the Naga Hills in the far northeast of India on the border with Myanmar (Burma). Nationalist agitation and insurgency by the Naga people lasted from the 1950s until 1997. Bhavani is a warlike aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati who is reputed to have given a sword to the great Maratha ruler Shivaji (1627-1680). The sword is now in the Armoury at Windsor Castle, though the Royal Collections appear to dispute this, perhaps to avoid the prospect of returning it. The medal was superseded by the Samanya Seva medal; the Naga Hills bar is relatively rare.
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