Havildar Kabir Pun, IOM, was a Nepalese soldier in the British Indian Army who received the Indian Order of Merit (1st class) for his gallantry at Gyantse, during the Younghusband Expedition to Tibet (1903-4).
[1] Until 1911, the 1st class of the Indian Order of Merit (IOM), which had three classes, was the highest award available to native members of the British Indian Army.
[2] Pun served in the 8th Gurkha Rifles, in a company commanded by Lieutenant John Duncan Grant during the Younghusband Expedition.
[4] Despite being wounded from attacks by the Tibetans, Pun succeeded in opening an entrance into the Gyantse fortress alongside Lieutenant Grant, who was also wounded and received a VC for his actions in the same event.
[6][7][8][9] Their action features in a painting published in the book Fortress Monasteries of the Himalayas: Tibet, Ladakh, Nepal and Bhutan.