The Hon’ble President of India and the
Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, Shri Ram Nath Kovind awarded the
President’s Colour to the Submarine Arm of the Indian Navy today, 08 December
2017. The date of 8th December 2017 will remain etched in
the history of the Submarine arm in golden letters as the award of Presidents
Colour is the highest honour which can be bestowed upon any military unit. The
President’s Colour was received by Rear Adm Veenam Srinivas Flag Officer
Submarines on behalf of the Submarine Arm at a splendid ceremony at Eastern
Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.
Shri ESL Narasimhan, Hon’ble Governor of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana, Shri N Chadrababu Naidu, Hon’ble Chief Minister of
Andhra Pradesh, Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister of Aviation, Adm
Sunil Lanba PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff and Vice Adm Karambir
Singh Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command along with other
senior defence and Civilian dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Speaking
on the occasion, Shri Ram Nath Kovind Hon’ble President of India congratulated
the Submarine Arm of the Indian Navy and said that the valiant submarines of
the Indian Navy carry out their professional responsibility with great skill
and grave risk and that the nation is proud of the achievement and appreciates
the contribution to national Security (full transcript of the address by the
Hon’ble President during the Colour Presentation is attached).
The commissioning of the first Submarine, INS Kalvari on 08 Dec 1967 laid the
foundation of the Submarine Arm. 2017, the Golden Jubilee year is being
celebrated as the “Year of the Submarine” by the Indian Navy. The submarine arm
has been at the forefront of all offensive operations of the Indian Navy and
played a particularly stellar role in the 1971 Indo Pak war. During the 1971
war four submarines were actively deployed on both the Eastern and Western
Maritime theatres of operations in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Their
presence achieved the desired deterrent effect and restricted the enemy
operation at sea to a considerable extent.
Personnel of Submarine Arm were awarded one Maha
Vir Chakra, two Vir Chakras, one Shaurya Chakra and a number of
Mention–in–Dispatches for acts of bravery during the war. The Indian Navy has
rich experience of operating six classes of submarines which includes
conventional and nuclear submarines. Indian Navy by way of its Maritime
strategy has adopted a strategy of Deterrence to maintain Peace. Submarines
singularly form the most important pillar of this strategy.
The Indian Navy was first of the three Services
to be presented the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951. And today this honour
was bestowed on the Submarine Arm in recognition of the yeoman service rendered
both in peace and at war.
Click here for the President’s Speech
CGR/VZ/157-17
