New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Former Navy Chief Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, who passed away on Friday, was one of the architects of making the Indian Navy a preeminent regional force as he fiercely believed that greater maritime power was key for India to make a claim at the global high-table.
Known for his sharp tactical acumen and farsightedness, Admiral Ramdas played a very crucial role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war in his capacity as commander of the gunnery ship INS Beas.
The INS Beas had blocked the strategic sea lanes from the Pakistani Navy with aggressive maneuvering and foiled Islamabad's attempts to evacuate over 90,000 troops from then East Pakistan.
A communication specialist, Ramdas became the 13th chief of the Indian Navy on December 1, 1990 and retired from service on September 30, 1993.
Admiral (retd) Ramdas passed away on Friday at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife Lalita Ramdas and three daughters.
"Admiral L Ramdas was a strong proponent of the philosophy of 'much more with much less' as under his leadership, the Indian Navy achieved a lot with limited resources," former Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma told PTI.
"The Admiral was one of the planners and architects of the Indian Navy that we have today," he said.
Several other Navy veterans said Admiral Ramdas was one of the architects of the modern Indian Navy and he and a very few others laid the foundation to build a modern and futuristic Indian Navy that can play the role of a net security provider in the Indian Ocean region.
"Admiral Ramdas believed that maritime power is very crucial for India to play a bigger role in the region," said a veteran.
In his illustrious career of over 40 years, Ramdas donned various important positions that included command of the Eastern Fleet and aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Admiral Ramdas also served as Flag-Officer-Commanding in Chief of the Eastern Naval Command and Southern Naval Command, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) and Controller Warship Production and Acquisition.
The Indian Navy also paid its tributes to its former chief.
"With profound grief and a heavy heart, we regret to announce the sad demise of Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (Retd), former Chief of the Naval Staff, age 90 years, on #15Mar 24 at Secundarabad," it said.
The process to induct women in the armed forces had kick started during his tenure as the Chief of Naval Staff and he is learnt to have played a key role in it.
Admiral Ramdas was commissioned into the Navy in 1953 and received his initial training in the UK.
He was awarded the Vir Chakra for his role in the 1971 war. He is also a recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.
After his retirement from service, the Admiral was involved in various public service and social initiatives.
He also fearlessly took positions on various national issues and was a strong voice for marginalised people.