Vice Admiral Krishnan of the Indian Navy – Tricking India’s enemies Krishna style
Rarely do we honour war heroes in our armed fores who use much ingenuity to outwit India’s enemies. On the other hand we are prone to surrendering all our victories on a silver platter to those whom we defeated. This account is about a war-hero whose brilliant Krishna like strategy led to the winning of the 1971 war. The full details of his exploit may be found in an article published in India Today Magazine. Its reference is provided at the end.
Vice-Admiral Krishnan, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command used a highly creative Krishna type strategy in the 1971 war with Pakistan. In the month before the war, Krishnan was concerned about INS Vikrant that had been given the charge of blockading the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from the sea. However the vessel was deeply threatened by the formidable Ghazi submarine of the Pakistan Navy that was to be deployed in the Bay of Bengal.
Like Krishna, Krishnan prepared an elaborate deception plan to let the Pakistani Navy believe that INS Vikrant was stationed in the port of Vizag. He got an ageing destroyer INS Rajput to pretend to be Vikrant by sailing it out of Vizag and generating heavy wireless traffic. This would create the impression of a large ship in the area.
That was not all. He even tricked his own naval authorities in Chennai by falsely informing them that INS Vikrant would arrive in Vizag and began ordering huge quantities of rations which would indicate that the fleet was in the harbour. The Pakistanis fell for the trap and Ghazi was ordered to change directions and move to Vizag. Within a few days it was hit by an explosion and destroyed.
In the meantime, INS Vikrant and her escorts had been safely stationed in one of the Andaman islands. Three days after the sinking of the Ghazi, the Vikrant launched its first air strikes which dazed the Pakistani army in East Pakistan.
Thus the safety of the Indian aircraft carrier and eventually the victory of India in the
eastern sphere was due to the cunning strategy of a Vice admiral who lured the enemy to
a chosen area where it couldn’t damage the aircraft carrier and where the submarine was
presumably destroyed.
Reference
Unnithan Sandeep, "The Ghazi Mystery", India Today, January 26, 2004, P.58-61
Vice-Admiral Krishnan, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command used a highly creative Krishna type strategy in the 1971 war with Pakistan. In the month before the war, Krishnan was concerned about INS Vikrant that had been given the charge of blockading the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from the sea. However the vessel was deeply threatened by the formidable Ghazi submarine of the Pakistan Navy that was to be deployed in the Bay of Bengal.
Like Krishna, Krishnan prepared an elaborate deception plan to let the Pakistani Navy believe that INS Vikrant was stationed in the port of Vizag. He got an ageing destroyer INS Rajput to pretend to be Vikrant by sailing it out of Vizag and generating heavy wireless traffic. This would create the impression of a large ship in the area.
That was not all. He even tricked his own naval authorities in Chennai by falsely informing them that INS Vikrant would arrive in Vizag and began ordering huge quantities of rations which would indicate that the fleet was in the harbour. The Pakistanis fell for the trap and Ghazi was ordered to change directions and move to Vizag. Within a few days it was hit by an explosion and destroyed.
In the meantime, INS Vikrant and her escorts had been safely stationed in one of the Andaman islands. Three days after the sinking of the Ghazi, the Vikrant launched its first air strikes which dazed the Pakistani army in East Pakistan.
Thus the safety of the Indian aircraft carrier and eventually the victory of India in the
eastern sphere was due to the cunning strategy of a Vice admiral who lured the enemy to
a chosen area where it couldn’t damage the aircraft carrier and where the submarine was
presumably destroyed.
Reference
Unnithan Sandeep, "The Ghazi Mystery", India Today, January 26, 2004, P.58-61
posted by Harsh | 1:26 AM
17 Comments:
It was nice reading your account. Vice Admiral N Krishnan was my father's own uncle (mother's elder brother), and this story had been recounted to me by my father, many a time. My father also named me after his uncle, whom he looked up to as a hero and role model. Thanks again.
Nilakanta Krishnan
Krshna read your blog. Are you ravis son
Ramdas.ramdas
Yes, I am :) I revisited searching for more about how he sunk the submarine.
Strange I met family over the internet!
But, I dont know how we are related.
Best,
Krshna
Hi,Krishna. Vice ADmiral N Krishnans eldest brother NM Iyer and his eldest sister Lakshmi wre both my fathers grand parents. My parents r in Ooty and in touch with your uncle and aunt Usha athai and Neel mama. nice to see yur post ..do send me yur email id
Hello, I have started wiki entry of late Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan.
(please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilakanta_Krishnan).
I need some authentic reference that he belongs to the Iyer community, so that he can also be included in the List of Iyers in wikipedia.(please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iyers). My entry to this list was removed, on this issue.
Hello, I have started wiki entry of late Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan.
(please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilakanta_Krishnan).
I need some authentic reference that he belongs to the Iyer community, so that he can also be included in the List of Iyers in wikipedia.(please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iyers). My entry to this list was removed, on this issue.
Dear Anant . Thanks for your Wikipedia entry. you may use the refernce of the posthumous autobiography written by Vice Admiral Krishnan and published by nis son Mr Arjun Krishnan . I see that you have already mentioned this book in your references list. Let me know what other proof you require to authenticate that he belonged to the Iyer community. He belonged to Kapi gotra and his fathers name was Mahadeva Nilakanta Iyer and his eldest brother was N.M. Ayyar I.C.S and C.I.E. Reference for NM Ayyar (wwho is my G grandfather) in google books is http://books.google.com/books?id=oCUbAQAAIAAJ&q=Mahadeva+Nilakanta&dq=Mahadeva+Nilakanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0aSST9jBAaKt2QWex6X9BA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ
Reference for his father in google books is
http://books.google.com/books?id=NDjnAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA178&dq=Mahadeva+Nilakanta&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0aSST9jBAaKt2QWex6X9BA&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Mahadeva%20Nilakanta&f=false
Let me know what other information you require. If you want I can put you in touch with his son Arjun Krishnan.
Thanks. But this is something more specific. Is there a mention either in the posthumous biography or in his account of the 1971 war, that he is an Iyer? That is the ideal reference. ? In which case I need just the page number, or the relevant book. Since Mr. Arjun Krishnan has edited the book, it would be ideal that he puts the wiki entry? Just a suggestion! I tried and failed!
Considering the impressive family geneology, why dont we put his father Mahadeva Nilakanta Iyer and the elder brother N.M. Ayyar I.C.S, in the List of Iyers?
I will try to obtain the page number for you.
I have added the name of Nilakanta Mahadev Iyer, elder brother of Nilakanta Krishnan in the wikipedia. I have also included his name in the list of Indian ICS officers, and in the list of people awarded the CIE, and in the list of Iyers. Using a circuitous route, I have listed Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan as his younger brother. I would be happy to get some more help.
Incidentally I first heard of this naval war hero from Dr.Lakshmi Rehmetullah, formerly Arvind Eye Hospital, Madurai. Any family connections? I think her late father Major Venkatesan, was a commissioned officer in the British Indian Army?
THank you for adding NM Ayyar . He is my ggfather. What further information are you looking for. I have not heard of Major Venkatesan.I dont think i have any information to offer there. By the way I was able to add Vice admiral Krishnan in the list of Iyers manually by myuself. Do check it.
My entry in wikipedia on N.M.Iyer,ICS ,CIE which included the information, that he was the elder brother of Nilakanta Krishnan was deleted. The reason is as under
I am sorry but I reverted that edit of yours. Some of it was not in the cited source, another aspect was poorly source (see WP:Citing sources), some was undue weight, etc. I'll try to dig around myself for more information, although I think that I exhausted my capabilities with those sources that I have already provided for you. You can ask for help at the India Project talk page, where I suspect you may get more interest than the military history project because it looks likely that any other sources will be offline in Indian books etc. Nonetheless, there is no harm is asking at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Military history also. - Sitush (talk) 19:46, 22 April 2012 (UTC)
Now this wikipedia editor Sudesh has edited the entry on Nilakanta Krishnan also. I had put in an excerpt from Cannon, Peter (2011). "HMAS Yarra and Operation Marmalade". Australian Maritime Issues 2010: SPC-A Annual. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs, No. 35. Sea Power Centre, Australian Department of Defence. p. 96. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
This has been deleted with the following entry
(Reverted good faith edits by AnanthanarayanaSharma (talk): Just a general mess: poorly source, poorly phrased, not what the source says etc. (TW)) (undo)
I think more help is required? Can you bring in Mr.Arjun Krishnan, who wrote the biography of this naval hero?
Hi Harsh -- Interested in the 1972 war and your uncle's role in it. How can I contact you?
i joined Indian Navy as an Artificer Apprentice on 2nd Feb 1963 at INS Shivaji Lonavla and then Captain N.Krishnan was my first Commanding Officer.I also had the privilage on serving on board INS Vikrant during 1971 Indo Pak war when V/Adm N.Krishnan was FO CinC Eastern Command. To the best of my knowledge PNS Gazi was sunk much before the stated date.I remember some time during Sept.Oct INS Vikrant went into the heighest state of operational readiness at short notice and sailed out of Vizag harbour,leaving crew who had gone ashore on liberty...We sailed then to Andaman Islands and anchored at northen most secure island called Cooks Island in complete radio silence. We sailed from there on 2nd Dec morning to Port Blair and at 9;00Pm Captain S.Prakash our Commanding Officer addressed the crew as under..
" We will weigh anchor at 9:30Pm and will set course to east. At 10:00PM we will set course to 00 degrees North and when we set sail to North we are at war with Pakistan"....That was on as I stated earlier 2nd Dec 1971 and Captain S.Prakash's words still echo in my ears after 42 YEARS...
JAI HIND
Further to my y/days post, a small correction.i had posted that INS Vikrant was at Cook's Island prior to outbreak of 1971 Indo-Pak war,I think the name of the island was Coco Island and not Cook's Island.
Thank you all for your comments. Please do visit my face book page on my father, Vice Admiral N. Krishnan at
https://www.facebook.com/ASailorsStoryAdmiralKrishnan?ref=bookmarks
I have launched the book 'A Sailors Story' in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai ( details on facebook page), and hope to do more cities over the next few years.
Arjun Krishnan
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