An illustrious history

The history of the Indian Navy can be traced back to 1612 when Captain Best encountered and defeated the Portuguese. The First Squadron of fighting ships arrived on 5 September 1612, forming what was then called the Honourable East India Company's Marine. While the Navy's strength continued to grow, it underwent numerous changes of nomenclature over the next few decades. It was renamed the Bombay Marine from 1863 to 1877, after which it became Her Majesty's Indian Marine.

The first Indian to be granted a commission was Sub Lieutenant D.N Mukherji who joined the Royal Indian Marine as an engineer officer in 1928. In 1934, the Royal Indian Marine was re-organised into the Royal Indian Navy, and was presented the King's Colour in 1935 in recognition of its services.

On India attaining Independence, the Royal Indian Navy consisted of 32 vessels suitable only for coastal patrol, along with 11,000 officers and men. The senior officers were drawn from the Royal Navy, with R Adm ITS Hall, CIE, being the first Post-independence Commander-in-Chief. The prefix 'Royal' was dropped on 26 January 1950.

The first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy was Adm Sir Edward Parry, KCB, who handed over to Adm Sir Mark Pizey, KBE, CB, DSO in 1951. Adm Pizey also became the first Chief of the Naval Staff in 1955, and was succeeded by V Adm SH Carlill, CB, DSO. On 22 April 1958 V Adm RD Katari assumed office as the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff.

The first involvement of the Navy in any conflict came during the Liberation of Goa in 1961 with the success of Operation Vijay against the Portuguese Navy. Four Portuguese frigates - the NRP Afonso de Albuquerque, the NRP Bartolomeu Dias, the NRP João de Lisboa and the NRP Gonçalves Zarco - were deployed to patrol the waters off Goa, Daman and Diu, along with several patrol boats.

The first efforts at naval rearmament emerged in the 1964-69 Defence Plan, which called for the replacement of India's fleet and the development of a submarine service.

There were no significant naval encounters during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 but in the 1971 War, INS Vikrant played a crucial role by a successful blockade of East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh).

The Indian Navy played a significant role in the bombing of Karachi harbour in the 1971 war. On December 4, it launched Operation Trident during which missile boats INS Nirghat and INS Nipat sunk the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz and destroyer PNS Khyber. The destroyer PNS Shahjahan was irreparably damaged. December 4 has been celebrated as Navy Day ever since.

During Operation Python on December 8, the frigate PNS Dacca was severely damaged by INS Veer and the oil storage depot of Karachi was set ablaze. On the western front in the Arabian Sea, operations ceased after the Karachi port became unusable due to the sinking of Panamian vessel Gulf Star. An Indian frigate, INS Khukri was sunk by submarine PNS Hangor.

On the eastern front, the submarine PNS Ghazi was sunk outside Vishakhapatnam harbor. Indian naval aircraft, Sea Hawks and Alizés, from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant were instrumental in sinking many gunboats and merchant navy vessels in the Bay of Bengal. The successful blockade of East Pakistan by the Indian Navy proved to be a vital factor in the Pakistani surrender.