Indian Navy: composition, form, history of creation, commanders in chief

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

The Indian Navy is the naval arm of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of the country is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. Chief of the Naval Staff, four-star admiral, in command of the fleet.

Origins

The Indian navy traces its origins to the marines of the East India Company, which was founded in 1612 to protect British merchant ships in the region. In 1793, she established her rule over the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, that is, Bengal, but it was not until 1830 that the colonial fleet was named His Majesty's Indian Navy. When India became a republic in 1950, the Royal Indian Navy, so named since 1934, was renamed the Indian Navy.

Goals and objectives

The main purpose of the navy is to protect the country's maritime borders and, together with other armed forces of the uniontake action to prevent any threat or aggression against the territory, people or maritime interests of India, both in war and in peace. Through joint exercises, goodwill visits and humanitarian missions, including disaster relief, the Indian Navy is helping to develop bilateral relations between peoples.

Current State

What can be said about the composition of the Indian Navy? As of July 1, 2017, 67,228 are in service with the Navy. The operational fleet consists of one aircraft carrier, one amphibious transport dock, eight landing craft tanks, 11 destroyers, 13 frigates, one nuclear submarine, one ballistic missile submarine, 14 conventional attack submarines, 22 corvettes, one mine countermeasures vessel, four tankers and other support vessels.

Through the depths of the seas and centuries

The maritime history of India is connected with the birth of the art of navigation during the Indus Valley Civilization. In the 19th century sailor's register of Kutch, it was recorded that India's first tide dock was built at Lothal around 2300 BC. e. during the Indus Valley Civilization, near present-day Mangrol Harbor on the coast of Gujarat. The Rig Veda attributes to Varuna, the Hindu god of water and the celestial ocean, knowledge of ocean routes and describes the use of ships with hundreds of oars in Indian naval expeditions. There are also references to a ship's side wing called "float", which stabilizes the ship duringstorms. Plav is considered the forerunner of modern stabilizers. The first use of a sailor's compass, called the Matsya Yantra, was recorded in the fourth century AD.

National question

Since the establishment of the Indian Navy, some high-ranking Indian politicians have expressed concern about the degree of individualization of the navy and its subordination to the Royal Navy in all important aspects. On the eve of World War II, there was not a single Indian senior officer in the RIN.

Middle of last century

Even towards the end of the war, the navy remained predominantly serving in Britain. In 1945, none of the Indian officers held a rank higher than Commander of Engineers, and no Indian officer in the executive branch held the significant rank of chief officer. This situation, combined with inadequate levels of training and discipline, poor communication between officers, incidents of racial discrimination and ongoing trials of former Indian National Army personnel led to the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in 1946.

The Great Strike

A total of 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 seafarers were involved in the strike, which engulfed most of India. After the strike began, the sailors received support from the Communist Party in India. The unrest spread from the naval ships and led to student and worker hartals in Bombay. Strike inultimately failed as the sailors received no significant support from either the Indian Army or the political leaders in the Congress or the Muslim League.

Declaration of Independence

After independence and the partition of India on August 15, 1947, the depleted fleet of ships and the remaining personnel were divided between the new independent union of India and the dominion of Pakistan. The same day (August 15) can also be perceived as the day of the Indian Navy. 21 percent of the Navy's officers and 47 percent of its sailors chose to join what became the Royal Pakistan Navy. Effective the same date, all British officers were compulsorily discharged from the navy and its reserve components, with Indian officers appointed to replace British senior officers.

British heritage

However, a number of British senior officers have been invited to continue serving in the RIN. After independence, the proportion of the Indian Navy consisted of 32 ships and 11,000 men. Rear Admiral John Talbot Savignac Hall took charge of the navy as the first commander in chief. When India became a republic on 26 January 1950, the prefix "Royal" was dropped and the name "Indian Navy" was officially adopted. The prefix for naval vessels has been changed from His Majesty's Indian Ship (HMIS) to Indian Naval Ship (INS).

Command

While the President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, the organizational structure of the Navyheads the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy, who holds the rank of admiral.

Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (VCNS), Vice Admiral assists in leadership; CNS also leads the Joint Headquarters (IHQ) of the Ministry of Defense (Navy) based in New Delhi. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DCNS), Vice Admiral, is the Chief Personnel Officer, along with the Chief of Personnel (COP) and Chief of Materiel (COM), both of whom are also Vice Admirals. The Director General of the Medical Services (Navy) is the Vice Admiral of the Surgeon, head of the Medical Services in the Indian Navy.

The Indian Navy has three operational commands. Each of them is headed by a commander-in-chief with the rank of vice admiral. Each Eastern and Western Command has a fleet commanded by a rear admiral and each also has submarine commanders. The Southern Naval Command is home to naval flag officers.

In addition, Andaman and Nicobar Command is a joint command of the Indian Navy, Indian Armed Forces, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard Theater based in the capital, Port Blair.

Commanders-in-Chief receive personnel support and report directly to the Chairman of the Staff Committee (COSC) in New Delhi. The command was established in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2001. The Indian Navy has a dedicated training team which is responsible for organizing, conducting and supervising all basic, professional and speci altraining throughout the fleet. The Chief of Human Resources at Indian Navy Headquarters is responsible for the training structure through the Directorate of Naval Training (DNT).

Training and education of personnel

The academic year for the Indian Navy is set from July 1 to June 30 next year. Officer training is conducted at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimal, on the coast of Kerala. Founded in 2009, it is the largest naval academy in Asia. The Navy also has specialized training facilities for aviation, leadership, logistics, music, medicine, physical training, training, engineering, hydrography, submarines, etc. at several naval bases along the coast of India. Officers also attend the National Defense College and the Defense Service College to attend various personnel courses for promotion to higher positions. The Indian Navy also trains officers and men from the navies of friendly foreign countries. Indian Navy uniforms vary slightly between officers.

Ranks

India uses the rank of midshipman in its navy, and all future officers receive it after entering the Indian Naval Academy. They are assigned as second lieutenants at the end of their training.

While there is a provision for the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, it is primarily intended for military use. Not a single officer, except for the highest chiefIndian Navy, has not yet been awarded this title. Both the army and the air force had officers who were given the equivalent rank - Field Marshals Sam Manekshaw and Kariappa of the Army and Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF) Arjan Singh.

The highest-ranking naval officer in the organizational structure is the chief of the naval staff with the rank of admiral.