CHENNAI: 50 years ago, the Indian Navy displayed its supremacy on the South Asia Seas (SAS) region with razing of Karachi Port and henceforth December 4 is celebrated as Navy Day to commemorate Operation Trident, which was launched by the Indian Navy during the 1971 war.
Masterminded by Madurai-born Commodore Kasargod Patnashetti Gopal Rao, who is also an alumnus of Presidency College Chennai, India turned the tide and left the Indian Air Force who flew over Karachi Port exclaiming, ‘It is on fire already.’
Recalling the night, Commander Gurbhachan Singh said he was then serving as petty officer in the engine room of INS Kiltan, one of the two Arnala Class anti-submarine corvettes which was marking targets. The targets were bombed by three missile boats – INS Veer, INS Nipat and INS Nirghat, Vidyut-class missile boat. The entire operation was masterminded by Commodore Gopal Rao, whose vessel which was on the East coast was moved by Admiral SM Nanda to the West to launch the attack.
Gurbachan recalled the speech of Commodore Rao, which said, “This is not the time to worry about the future but to concentrate on the task at hand. Because even if one person does not perform his duty properly, every one of us will go down with the ship. Therefore, overcome your fear of dying and let us destroy the enemy.”
“We assembled at Diu Harbor in the day and sailed at night along the Saurashtra and Kutch coasts. When we opened up towards Karachi, the first ship which detected us was PNS Khyber, a destroyer,” recalled Gurbachan.
“Two other vessels – PNS Jehangir, another destroyer, and PNS Muhafiz, a minesweeper – were also trailing us. We reversed and Commander Gopal Rao ordered us to fire at Khyber. The missile struck the rear and within 30 minutes it sank, at 22.40 hours. Same was the fate of PNS Jahangir. Sinking MV Venus Challenger, which was carrying arms and ammunition for Pakistan from the United States was monumental. It impacted Pakistan badly as they were fell short of arms. Then we sank PNS Muhafiz at 11.20 pm,” he recalled.
Gurbachan later became squadron engineer of Petya III-class vessels. A 1971 Naval War hero and Maha Veer Chakra (MVC) recipient, India’s second highest military decoration, Commodore Rao who passed away on August this year, was honoured by the then Tamil Nadu Governor during the Commemoration of Golden Jubilee of 1971 War Victory on the Arrival of ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashal’
His daughter Tara Rao recalls that Commodore Rao, one of the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, became a native of TN in the late 19th century. Rao joined the Indian Navy in 1950 and had rubbed shoulders with cricketer Salim Durrani during a match played with the royal team of Jamnagar in Gujarat, recalls Tara.