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INS Khukri in 1971 INS Khukri, was a Type IV ASW Frigate belonging to the 14 Squadron of the Western Fleet of the Indian Navy during the 1971 War with Pakistan. She was the only Indian sea vessel that was destroyed by the enemy, and sank off the coast of Diu, on the night of December 9, 1971, taking down with her about 178 sailors and 18 officers including Khukri's Captain - Mahendra Nath Mullah. The sinking of INS Khukri continues to haunt the minds of military strategists and planners even today. Because, this was the only instance where the otherwise highly effective planning and tactics of the Indian Navy like those used to sink the Ghazi and for the Karachi attacks, did not come into play.     I have tried to put together, a few critical factors that led to this incident which was a huge irreparable loss: 1. Pakistan Navy's strength lay in her new "Daphne Class" submarines, three in number, acquired recently from France (and funded by the United States). The s

Captain Mullah was commanding a sea vessel of the Indian Navy - a frigate "INS Khukri" during the war. His ship was part of a squadron that was tasked to seek and destroy Pakistani ships and submarines. On the night of December 9, 1971, INS Khukri was hit by torpedoes fired from a Pakistani submarine, and started sinking. Realizing this, Captain Mullah ordered to crew - some 300 officers and sailors - to abandon ship. He also realized that many men were trapped in the sinking vessel below the deck. Unmindful of this personal safety, and choosing to stay with the ship when he could have opted to save himself, he took it upon himself to personally supervise the rescue of the trapped men. As Genl Cardozo related the story - "being the man that he was, he knew that it was not right for him to save himself while his sailors went to a watery grave". In those final moments when the ship sank, Captain Mullah helped as many as he could, staying on the bridge of th

It was the 14th of December 1971, a little over 39 years ago. Many of my generation cannot forget that year however. A war was on. At 8 am on that fateful day, the outlying OPs (observation posts) just outside the Srinagar airfield flashed a warning about an incoming air raid by Pakistani F-85 Sabre jets. A young Sikh Officer Nirmaljit, and his fellow fighter pilot Ghumman -both Gnat pilots,  were scrambled to intercept the incoming strike. Ten precious seconds were lost in getting ATC clearance which never came. Both pilots took off - four minutes after the first OP warning, and just when the first of the incoming Sabres was commencing its dive over the airfield. Ghumman was the first to become airborne followed by Nirmaljit, who almost immediately was out of visual contact of the ATC, obscured by the dust and smoke thrown up by the exploding Pakistani bombs. By now, Nirmaljit was overcome totally with raw courage. There were six sabres and he decided to take them on, while still