FROM DELHI TO VISAKHAPATNAM VIA KOLKATA AND MUMBAI

November 20, 2021

Tomorrow, Sunday 21 Nov, the Indian Navy will commission its latest Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer (DDG) INS Visakhapatnam in the Naval Dockyard at Mumbai with the Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh as the Chief Guest. Apart from the novelty of naming a ship after a leading port city of India,...

A NAVY THAT DARES, A NAVY THAT CARES

May 27, 2021

On this day seventy years ago, 27 May 1951, the Indian Navy (IN) was presented with the President’s Colour. There was a historical context to this. On 26 January 1950, when India became a Republic, the prefix ‘Royal’ was dropped from the Indian Navy and the King’s Colour awarded previously...

REMEMBERING TANGA AND THE LONG WAY WE HAVE TRAVELLED

November 11, 2020

Today, 11 Nov 20, is the anniversary of Armistice Day, the day World War 1 ended, more than a century ago, in 1918. Many countries around the world also commemorate this day as the Remembrance Day. India was involved in a significant way in the war but Indian participation has...

FROM TRINCOMALEE TO NILGIRI VIA TRAVANCORE: 200 YRS OF MAKING IN INDIA

October 12, 2020

A journey starting from the picturesque East Sri-Lankan coast and culminating in the blue mountains of South India traversing through the exotic Malabar Coast might be the perfect getaway for an intrepid traveller. But this piece is not a travelogue; it is, instead, the trajectory of Indian Navy towards the...

On Mahatma’s birthday, remembering Indian Navy’s pre-independence journey

October 2, 2020

On 02 Oct 2020, we mark the 151st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. By a wonderful coincidence, this date also marks the formation of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN), albeit many years later in 1934. The RIN was the immediate predecessor of the Indian Navy (IN) of today; in fact RIN...

Remembering the Admiral who shed his vice and built the Navy

August 15, 2020

“Son, I may have long left the sea… But the sea has never left me.” That’s exactly what crosses our mind as we go down the memory lane remembering Admiral Adhar Kumar Chatterji, the revered icon of Indian Navy. India’s greatest son, Admiral Chatterji may have departed from this world...

Far corner of an Indian village: The story of Havildar Surba Tode

July 28, 2020

Today, 28 July, we observe the anniversary of commencement, in 1914, of World War 1 that went on till the end of 1918. Also called ‘The Great War’, it had a profound impact in many parts of the world, including, also, in leading to the Second World War, barely two...

How Delhi and Mysore pioneered Indian Navy’s blue water odyssey

July 6, 2020

Seventy-two years ago, 5 July 1948, was a red letter day for India and Indian Navy. The newly independent nation commissioned the HMIS Delhi taking its first significant step towards a blue water future. While a ship by the same name, the sleek destroyer INS Delhi today prowls the seas...

Why India needs to ramp up its ‘amph’ quotient

June 22, 2020

Today, June 22, is the commissioning anniversary of Indian Naval Ship (INS) Jalashwa, India’s only Landing Platform Dock (LPD). Jalashwa has been in the news recently for her commendable work in evacuating stranded Indians in the Maldives and Sri Lanka as part of Operation Samudra Setu (Sea Bridge). Jalashwa’s sister...

REMEMBERING VICE ADMIRAL KRISHNAN: INDIAN NAVY’S GREAT COMBAT LEADER

June 8, 2020

Today, 8 June, is celebrated as the World Oceans Day. It is, appropriately for the occasion, also the 101st birthday of one of India’s greatest maritime heroes Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan. To ensure that the mists of time do not result in the receding of memory, it is important to...