Admiral Sardarilal Nanda

Singh

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Admiral Sardarilal Nanda, who has died aged 93, commanded the Indian Navy during the 1971 India-Pakistan War and steered it to a resounding victory. It was the achievement of a career during which he was reckoned a visionary leader for his significant contribution to the growth of his country's maritime force.



Admiral Sardarilal Nanda, who has died aged 93, commanded the Indian Navy during the 1971 India-Pakistan War and steered it to a resounding victory. It was the crowning achievement of a career during which he was reckoned a visionary leader for his significant contribution to the growth of his country's maritime force.

n March 1970, on becoming the sixth chief of the Indian Navy since independence, Nanda was determined to change the mindset of his service from defence to attack.

His strategy during the conflict of the following year was to feign a deployment south-east towards the Andaman Islands, impose a sea blockade against East Pakistan, and to strike hard against West Pakistan. A critical decision concerned the Indian aircraft carrier Vikrant.

When told her boilers were cracked and she lacked sufficient steam for her catapults, Nanda exclaimed: "What's the bloody point of an aircraft carrier if it cannot be used in war?" He took personal responsibility for the risks of boiler explosion and catapult failure. He ordered Vikrant into the shallow waters of the Gulf of Bengal, where submarines could not operate. The blockade was successful, and the escape of the Pakistan army was prevented.

Karachi, which Nanda had known well as a boy, became the primary target for his offensive strike and he towed a flotilla of Soviet-supplied missile-armed patrol boats, designed for coastal defence, within range.

His plan was to lie 250 miles off Karachi during the day, outside the range of Pakistani aircraft, and to attack at night, when the patrol boats, escorted by frigates, closed the coast and launched their missiles against radar contacts in Karachi harbour and the large oil tank farm at Keamari.

Four separate attacks were intended but only two were carried out, on the nights of December 4/5 and 8/9; the tank farm was set ablaze and considerable damage was caused to the port installations.

More importantly, the Indians had bottled up the Pakistani navy in Karachi and established control over the Arabian Sea and the oil route from the Persian Gulf to Pakistan.

When the US Seventh Fleet – led by a carrier battle group, including the Enterprise – entered the Indian Ocean and threatened to intervene, Nanda was asked by the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, what he intended to do.

"Madam," he told her, "I have given instructions to my captains to treat them as friends, and to invite them over for a drink – as the US Navy do not have a bar on board. You should not worry on any account."

Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda was born on October 10 1915 in the Punjab. The oldest of seven children, he grew up on Manora Island at the entrance to Karachi harbour, where as a boy he worked for the harbour authority. Nanda joined the Royal Indian Navy Volunteer Reserve on October 11 1941, and stayed in the navy after the war, despite the rapid and large-scale demobilisation of its personnel, which led to a mutiny in 1946 and played a part in convincing the British to quit India. After independence in 1947, Nanda held key appointments in the fledgling Indian Navy and took part in many events which shaped the force over the years that followed.

In 1948 he helped to recommission the cruiser Achilles as Delhi in the command of Captain HNS Brown, RN: Delhi had 17 British officers and petty officers and an Indian second-in-command. Nanda was first lieutenant.

On his return to India, Nanda served as the Director of Personnel Services from 1949 to 1951, and commanded the destroyer Ranjit before going back to headquarters to become Chief of Personnel. He was promoted Commodore.

In 1957 Nanda commissioned the cruiser Mysore (formerly Nigeria) in England. Subsequently, he was appointed Director General, Naval Dockyards, with a special responsibility for expanding the naval dockyard at Bombay. He attended the Imperial Defence College in London and returned to Indian naval headquarters as Chief of Material.

Nanda became the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff in May 1962 in the rank of rear-admiral and then managing director of Mazagon Dock, Bombay, in December 1964, overseeing the construction under licence of British-designed Leander-class frigates for the Indian Navy.

Increasingly Nanda was concerned at the difficulty in equipping the Indian Navy with British equipment, and protracted negotiations to acquire the aircraft carrier Vikrant (formerly Hercules) convinced him that the Indian Navy should turn to the Soviet Union.

The Indian Navy played little part in the India-Pakistan War of 1962, and in the war of 1965 it was ordered not to take any action outside Indian waters; consequently the Pakistani Navy was able to bombard the Indian port of Dwarka with impunity. Nanda recognised the need to raise his service's profile, and in 1969 organised a navy week, which brought his little-known force closer to the people of Bombay, and, in due time, to the rest of the country.

Nanda was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 1961, and his country's second highest award, the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, for distinguished service in 1966. He retired in 1973.

Nanda was revered within the Indian Navy for his bold decision-making and for frequently defeating bureaucracy in his quest to improve the living conditions of his men and their families. For his heroism at sea, meanwhile, some called him India's Nelson.

Like Nelson, however, his character had weaknesses, and Nanda's reputation was tarnished by his dabbling as an arms dealer and the unsavoury reputation of his company, Crown Corporation. Crown has been under continuous investigation for three decades, suspected of corruption in the supply of arms and logistical support to the Indian armed forces and to UN peacekeeping forces in Africa.

At first many thought it was an aberration, and Nanda blamed his business rivals. But it became apparent that several members of his family were involved, including a son who had been his flag lieutenant, and a grandson. Consequently Nanda's funeral pyre was not as well attended as his naval career merited.

Nanda, who died on May 11, is survived by his wife Sumitra and their two sons.

Published June 16 2009
Admiral Sardarilal Nanda - Telegraph
 

Yusuf

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Truly an outstanding career but a life that ended in tarnish.
 

Pintu

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Great Article Singhji , about our hero of 1971 war, he will be always immortal in our heart.

I salute to Admiral Nanda.

Regards
 

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