Laxminarayan Ramdas
Chief of Naval Staff | |
---|---|
In office 1 December 1990 – 30 September 1993 | |
Preceded by | Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni |
Succeeded by | Vijai Singh Shekhawat |
Personal details | |
Born | Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 | 5 September 1933
Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC (5 September 1933 – 15 March 2024) was an Indian naval officer who was a flag officer of the Indian Navy. Ramdas first served in the Indian Navy in 1953, before being promoted as a flag lieutenant to Ram Dass Katari, the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral. In the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, he was involved in a naval blockade of East Pakistan, hindering attempts to evacuate 93,000 troops and leading to East Pakistan's surrender. During his service in the military confrontation, he was awarded the Vir Chakra. Ramdas later served as the 13th Chief of Naval Staff from 1990 to 1993.
Early life and education
Laxminarayan Ramdas was born on 5 September 1933[1][2][3] into a Tamil Brahmin family. He grew up in Matunga in Mumbai.[4] He attended the Cambridge School Srinivaspuri in Delhi.[5][6] After passing his Senior Cambridge, Ramdas joined the 1st course of the Joint Services Wing (JSW) in Dehradun in January 1949. He was part of 'B' squadron of 4 Division. The JSW later moved to Khadakwasla in Pune and was christened the National Defence Academy in 1954.[7]
Career
Ramdas was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 September 1953, with seniority as a sub-lieutenant from the same date.[8][9][10] He then attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich from December 1953 to May 1955, where he trained as a communication specialist.[11]
After his return to India, he was promoted to lieutenant on 16 August 1955.
Ramdas was promoted to lieutenant-commander on 16 August 1963.[14] Ramdas was promoted to Commander on 30 June 1969; he was appointed the first Officer-in-charge Naval Academy.[15] He went on to establish and head the Naval Academy in Kochi, Kerala, for which he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 1971.[16] The Naval Academy moved to Goa in 1986 and to Ezhimala in Kerala in 2009 as the Indian Naval Academy.[17][18]
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
During the
The citation for the Vir Chakra reads as follows:[20][21]
Gazette Notification: 86 Pres/72 15-7-72
Date of Award: 1971
CITATION
COMMANDER LAXMINARAYAN RAMDAS, VSM
00132-Z
During the operations against Pakistan in December 1971, Commander Laxminarayan Ramdas was the commanding officer of an Indian naval unit of Eastern Fleet. Throughout the period of operations, he was called upon to operate within enemy waters, where there was constant danger to his ship from enemy mines and submarines. Undeterred, he carried out continuous probes into the enemy defended harbours in Bangladesh and inflicted heavy damage on the enemy. During one of the sorties, an enemy submarine was sighted close to his ship. He attacked the submarine repeatedly, which was presumably destroyed.
Throughout, Commander Laxrminarayan Ramdas displayed gallantry, leadership and devotion to duty of a high order.
Post-war career
After the war, Ramdas commanded a Patrol Vessel Squadron in the Indian Navy. He later served as Naval Attaché in Germany for three years, and was promoted to captain on 1 July 1976.[22]
Flag rank
Ramdas was promoted to acting
Ramdas was promoted to
Ramdas was appointed the next
Personal life
Ramdas was married to Lalita Ramdas (née Katari), daughter of Admiral Ram Dass Katari, the first Indian Chief of Naval Staff. He was a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and served as the party's internal lokpal.[31] His younger daughter, Kavita Ramdas, is the senior advisor to the President of the Ford Foundation and had previously served for many years as country representative of the Ford Foundation in India. Kavita Ramdas is married to Zulfiqar Ahmad, a Pakistani national who is a peace activist.[32][33]
Retirement
After retirement, Ramdas took up residence at Alibag. He together with his wife, then devoted themselves to a variety of humanitarian causes.[34]
The couple also intervened in military matters. They were part of the group which filed a
The couple opposed the establishment of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. For his efforts to demilitarise and denuclearize South Asia, and his efforts to prevent the building of the Kudankulam reactor, Ramdas was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace in 2004.[36]
Ramdas died on 15 March 2024, at the age of 90.[2][37]
References
Citations
- ^ from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Hero of 1971 Indo- Pak war & former Navy chief Admiral Ramdas dies at 90". The Times of India. 16 March 2024. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Dutta, Amrita Nayak (16 March 2024). "Former Navy Chief Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas (1933–2024): A war hero who carried the courage of conviction". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas: A war hero and champion of human rights". The Indian Express. 17 March 2024. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ "National Defence Academy". nda.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "School Alumni | Cambridge School | New Friends Colony". Cambridge school. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "National Defence Academy". nda.nic.in. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 26 December 1953. p. 284. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 September 1953. p. 186.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 September 1955. p. 186.
- ^ "National Defence Academy". nda.nic.in. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 February 1957. p. 47.
- ^ Katari 1983.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 12 October 1963. p. 351. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Gazette of India" (PDF). egazette.gov.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Distinguished Service and Gallantry Award Winners on Republic Day 2019" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "INS Mandovi to be shifted to Ezhimala". Zee News. 27 May 2006. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Shukla, Ajai (29 September 2015). "Ezhimala academy churns out officer-engineers for an expanding navy". The Business Standard. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Kesnur, Srikant; Sharma, Utkarsh (1 November 2021). "A golden dawn for the sunrise fleet". The Daily Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Gallantry Awards | Ministry of Defence, Government of India". www.gallantryawards.gov.in. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Vir Chakra (VrC), Awardee: Adm Laxminarayan Ramdass, PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM, ADC @ TWDI". twdi.in. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 January 1977. p. 129.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 20 June 1981. p. 854.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 29 January 1983. p. 140.
- ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 21 September 1985. p. 1326.
- ^ "GALLANTRY AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARDS FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 23 January 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "ADMIRAL L RAMDAS TAKES OVER AS CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF" (PDF). archive.pib.gov.in. 30 November 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Three Chiefs-1st JSW – Air Chief Marshal NC Suri". airchiefmarshalncsuri.com. 11 July 2021. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "ADMIRAL L RAMDAS TAKES OVER AS CHAIRMAN CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE He was the great man" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Official website of Aam Aadmi Party". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ^ "On a global mission". Mount Holyoke College. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "A Woman's Work, India native Kavita Ramdas spins her privileged background into gold for underprivileged women at S.F.'s Global Fund for Women". SFGate. 10 November 2002. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "WANMEC-Women Peacemakers by Name". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "Retired navy chief Admiral L. Ramdas challenges 'next' army chief". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Citation for Laxminarayan Ramdas and Ibn Abdur Rehman". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. 31 August 2004. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ^ "Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Indian Navy chief, passes away at 91". Deccan Herald. 15 March 2024. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
Bibliography
- Katari, Ram Dass (1983), A Sailor Remembers, Vikas, ISBN 9780706920642