The Sinking of INS Khukri: Survivor's Stories

Major General Ian Cardozo

Description

9 December 1971. 8.45 p.m. Torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine, the INS Khukri sank within minutes. Along with the ship, 178 sailors and 18 officers made the supreme sacrifice. Last seen calmly puffing on his cigarette, Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, captain of the Khukri, chose to go down with his ship. This defining moment of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan is the basis of Major General Ian Cardozo's attempt to understand what happened that day and why. Major General Cardozo brings fresh insight into the hellish ordeal by including the heartfelt accounts of the survivors and of the members of their families. These accounts transform the stereotypical understanding of the incident; they also supplement it. We glimpse fear, trauma and death at first hand. In the annals of war writing, General Cardozo humanizes this cataclysmic event as never before.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Armada de los Estados Unidos
• Pakistán
• War Stories
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• Military
• Survivors
• Submarine
• Survival
• INS
• Navy
• History
• Pakistan
• Combat
• India
• Indian

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789351940999
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE SINKING OF INS KHUKRI
Major General Ian Cardozo was born in Mumbai and studied at St Xavier's School and College. In July 1954, he joined the Joint Services Wing which later became the National Defence Academy. Here he was the first cadet to win the gold medal for being the best all-round cadet, and the silver medal for being first in order of merit. He was commissioned at the Indian Military Academy into the 1st Battalion the Fifth Gorkha Rifles (FF) in 1958 and was the first officer of the Army to be awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry on a patrol in NEFA in 1960. Wounded in the battle of Sylhet in Bangladesh in 1971, he overcame the handicap of losing a leg and became the first officer to be approved for command of an Infantry Battalion. He retired in 1993 from his appointment as Chief of Staff of a Corps in the East.

Author of The Sinking of INS-Khukri: Survivor's Stories and Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle, he has worked with the Spastics Society of Northern India. At present he is working for persons with disability as Chairman of the Rehabilitation Council of India and is the Vice President of the War Wounded Foundation.

ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2015
First published in hardback in 2006 by This revised edition published in 2015 The Lotus Collection An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market New Delhi 110 048 Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000 Email: [e-mail] Website: www.rolibooks.com
Copyright © Major General (Retd) Ian Cardozo AVSM, SM, 2006
Cover Design: Nitisha Mehta
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eISBN: 978-93-5194-099-9
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Dedicated to the officers and men of the Indian Navy who gave their lives in the defence of India during the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and to the loved ones they left behind
CONTENTS


Acknowledgements

Note from the Author

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1. The Indian Navy at War

2. What Happened in 1971

3. The Sinking of INS Khukri and Survivors’ Stories

4. Across the Waves The Pakistan Navy’s Survivors’ Stories

5. Strategy and the Principles of War Standard Operating Procedures and Naval Traditions

6. The Past and the Future

Afterword

Annexures

Glossary of Naval and Military Terms

Bibliography
Acknowledgements
In order to lend authenticity to the story of INS Khukri and what happened in 1971, quotes have been included in the narrative from books published in India and Pakistan. I felt it necessary to acknowledge both the authors and the publishers for these quotes. Details are given chapter-wise below:

Chapter 1
Pg 3: the quote is taken from Prepare or Perish by General KVK Rao. Lancer International, New Delhi, 1991, pg 119.
Pg 3,4: the quotes are taken from Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy 1965-1975 by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, Naval Headquarters in association with Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1999, pg 48.
Pg 5: the quote is taken from Blueprint to Bluewater The Indian Navy 1951-65 by Rear Admiral Satyendra Singh, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1992, pg 420.
Pg 9: the quote is taken from We Dared by Admiral SN Kohli, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1989, pg 2.
Pg 10: the quote is taken from Blueprint to Bluewater The Indian Navy 1951-65 by Rear Admiral Satyendra Singh, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1992, pg 434.
Pg 13: the quotes are taken from Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy 1965-1975 by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, Naval Headquarters in association with Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1999, pgs 30, 31.

Chapter 2
Pg 29: the quote is taken from The Man Who Bombed Karachi by Admiral SM Nanda, HarperCollins, New Delhi, 2004, pg 174.
Pg 34: the quote is taken from Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation by Lt Gen JFR Jacob, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1997.
Pg 35, 36: the quotes are taken from War in the Indian Ocean by Vice Admiral Mihir K Roy, Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1995.
Pg 36: the quote is taken from Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy 1965-1975 by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, Naval Headquarters in association with Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1999, pg 142.
Pg 38: the quotes are taken from Story of the Pakistan Navy 1947-1972, Pakistan Navy Historical Section, Naval Headquarters, Islamabad, 1991, pg 337
Pg 40: the quotes are taken from Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation by Lt Gen JFR Jacob, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1997, pg 104 and Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy 1965-1975 by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, Naval Headquarters in association with Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1999.
Pg 44: the quotes are taken from The Man Who Bombed Karachi by Admiral SM Nanda, HarperCollins, New Delhi, 2004, pgs 206, 207
Pg 50: the quote is taken from Story of the Pakistan Navy 1947-1972, Pakistan Navy Historical Section, Naval Headquarters, Islamabad, 1991, pgs 356, 357.
Pgs 50, 51: the quote is taken from The Man Who Bombed Karachi by Admiral SM Nanda, HarperCollins, New Delhi, 2004, pgs 218, 219.
Pg 52: the quote is taken from Liberation and Beyond by JN Dixit, Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1999, pgs 88, 89.
Pg 60: the quotes are taken from Story of the Pakistan Navy 1947-1972, Pakistan Navy Historical Section, Naval Headquarters, Islamabad, 1991, pg 345.

Chapter 3
Pgs 122, 123: the quote is taken from Story of the Pakistan Navy 1947-1972, Pakistan Navy Historical Section, Naval Headquarters, Islamabad, 1991, pgs 357, 358.
Pgs 126, 127: the quote is taken from We Dared by Admiral SN Kohli, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1989, pg 76.
Pg 127: the quote is taken from the Preface of Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy 1965-1975 by Vice Admiral GM Hiranandani, Naval Headquarters in association with Lancer Publishers, New Delhi, 1999.

Chapter 4
Pgs 132, 134: the quote is taken from Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001, pg 132.
Pg 133: the quote is taken from Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club. NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001, pg 319.
Pgs 134, 135: the quote is taken from Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001, pgs 134, 135.
Pgs 137, 138, 139: the quotes are taken from Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001, pgs 342, 343.
Pg 140: a spoof on the saying that in war the only bullet that will get you is the one which has your name on it. Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001, pg 140 by Hon Sub Lt M Anwar.
Pg 141: a quote from Lt Hassan Asifs (later Rear Admiral Hassan Asif) account of survival at sea after the sinking of PNS Muhafiz, Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001.
Pg 148: a quote from a humorous account of action at sea during the 1971 war by Lt Jamil Akhtar (later Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar) Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001.
Pg 149: a quote from another account by Vice Admiral Tasnim Ahmed, SJ and Bar. Bubbles of Water, PN Book Club, NES Directorate, NHQ, Islamabad, 2001.

Chapter 5
Pg 153: the quote is taken from We Dared by Admiral SN Kohli, Lancer International, New Delhi, 1989, pg 100.
Pg 153: the quote is taken from The Man Who Bombed Karachi by Admiral SM Nanda, HarperCollins, New Delhi, 2004, pgs 193,194.
Note from the Author
The author gratefully acknowledges assistance from a number of individuals and institutions in piecing together this narrative. Most important are the survivors and the families of those who survived and of those who did not. Without their help this book could not have been written. I wish to thank them for their kindness, patience, understanding and generosity in giving me so much of their time. I also wish to thank officers of the Indian Navy for their openness, transparency and cooperation in helping me to put war at sea in the domain of the man in the street, who needs to know more about our armed forces.
I would like to thank: Vice Admiral Mihir K Roy, PVSM, AVSM, VSM; Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM; Vice Admiral RB Suri, PVSM, AVSM,VSM; Rear Admiral Arun Auditto, AVSM, NM; Rear Admiral Raja Menon, AVSM, VSM; Lieutenant General JFR Jacob, PVSM; Commodore Manu Sharma, NM; Commodore AK Sawhney; Commodore Vijay Jerath, VrC; Colonel PC Bhalla; Commodore Bobby Bhandula; Commodore BB Yadav, MVC; Lieutenant Commander Paul Raj; Lieutenant Commander Anil Kakkar; Lieutenant Commander SK Basu, NM: Chief Petty Officer KL Malhotra; Mrs Rekha Khanna; Mrs Sudha Mulla; Mrs Ameeta Mulla Wattal; Commander Mohan Narayan; Wg Cdr Tarun Kumar Singha, VSM; Squadron Leader Rana TS Chhina; Group Captain Rajiv Mata; Colonel Rajendra Singh Rana; Mr Deepak Dasgupta; Lieutenant Colonel V Maitra; and Mr & Mrs P K Handa.
I acknowledge the assistance of the following institutions: IMS Vikrant; Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research; United Service Institution of India; Maritime History Society of India; 58 Gorkha Training Centre; and Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence.
Special thanks are due to Vice Admiral Mihir K Roy, PVSM, AVSM and Vice Admiral RB Suri, PVSM, AVSM, VSM for going through the script and facilitating my introduction to those who led the attacks on Karachi and to experts in the area of antisubmarine warfare; to Commodore Vijay