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43rd Navy Day honours sacrifice and growth

By on December 22, 2014

The 43rd Navy Day was recently celebrated at the Navy House at Headquarters Goa Naval Area. Governor of Goa Mridula Sinha was the chief guest for the event, while Deputy CM Francis D’Souza, Speaker of Legislative Assembly Rajendra Arlekar, and Leader of Opposition Pratap Singh Raoji Rane were also present.

The event was also attended by the former chiefs of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta (retd) and Admiral Arun Prakash (retd). Navy Day is celebrated to commemorate the success of a daring and audacious attack by naval warships on Karachi, during the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict.

“Without undermining the efforts and sacrifices of other elements, it was indeed this attack followed by the naval blockade in the seas adjacent to East and West Pakistan, which finally coerced Pakistan to surrender to the Indian Armed Forces. While that was one milestone event on the road to dominance, which marked the coming of age of the Indian Navy, the 43 years between then and now have seen tremendous growth in capabilities, assets and potency. This exponential growth is of course, in step with the exponential increase in responsibility envisioned for the Indian Navy, which in turn, emerges from the need to maintain desired military presence in the waters that surround our subcontinent,” said Flag Officer Commanding Goa Naval Area (FOGA) Rear Admiral Balvinder Parhar

A fly-past by naval aircraft, search and rescue demonstration, and beating the retreat ceremony were the highlights of the event. The governor also released the Navy Week brochure.

The event culminated with a sunset ceremony with an impressive illumination by naval ships at anchorage and a fireworks display.