Sir C.R. Reddy, founding Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, coined the sobriquet ‘City of Destiny’ for Visakhapatnam. One that has played a major role in shaping its destiny is the Indian Navy. And true to its sobriquet, the city has seen three naval engagements, and has remained unscathed.
The first recorded naval engagement was between a French naval squadron led by Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois and the British Royal Navy HMS Centurion. It took place on September 15, 1804, at the mouth of the harbour, when the Napoleonic war was at its peak.
The second was during the World War II, when Japanese submarine RO 110 was sunk by HMAS Launceston and HMIS Jumna, couple of nautical miles from the mouth of the harbour, on February 11 or 12, 1944.
And the third was the sinking of PNS Ghazi, a tench-class diesel-electric Pakistani submarine on December 4, 1971, reportedly by Indian Navy’s destroyer INS Rajput.
And to commemorate the sinking of PNS Ghazi and India’ victory over Pakistan in the 1971 engagement, December 4 is celebrated as the Navy Day.
The wrecks of both the submarines still lie on the seabed of Bay of Bengal, barely a couple of nautical miles from the coast.
The city over the years has grown with the navy. According to Edward Paul of INTACH, who has done considerable research on the history of Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy, then Royal Navy, first started an office or a small base during World War II on December 12, 1939. The office of the Senior Naval Officer, Vishakhapatnam was then located in a small tiled building next to the old Harbour Dispensary, which exists even today.
The necessity to have naval control on merchant shipping and to have an operational and repair naval base on the East Coast of India was the primary consideration in commissioning the naval base. And as a result, HMIS Circars came into being as a refitting and operational establishment in April 1942, he added.
Incidentally, a couple of days after Circars was commissioned Vishakhapatnam harbour were bombed by Japanese aircraft on April 6, 1942, but the damage suffered was negligible.
Reminiscing the old days, Mr. Paul said a pigeon mail service was also established at Circars, after the birds proved useful in other bases in Bombay, Madras, Karachi and Cochin.
From a small base comprising about 800 sailors and 50 officers, the naval base in Visakhapatnam has grown to become the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command that comprises bases across the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
The city has grown with the navy and apart from Circars it has other assets such as INS Dega (airfield), INS Virbahu (submarine base), INS Kalinga (missile base), INS Kalyani (hospital), INS Karna (Marine Commando Base) and INS Varsha (the alternate base for its nuclear submarine fleet).
According to Ramesh Rao, an old-timer and a former naval employee, the contribution of navy is immense from all fronts, be it employment generation, education, relief operation or for that matter the cultural fabric.
