Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Wednesday used ‘Bharat’ to denote the country eight times and ‘Bhartiya’ twice in his address at Swavlamban Seminar 2023 on Wednesday.

While the Navy chief used “India” too in his speech he made in English, it was widely splattered with Hindi words and phrases such as ‘sarkar’ and ‘nausena’ to refer the Navy. This is part of the growing trend to mix Hindi in English speeches delivered by top brass of the tri-services -- Army, Air Force and Navy -- for the past some years, especially after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) pushed to end several colonial traditions and insignias in the forces.

For the first time, Admiral Kumar used it in his Wednesday’s address was when he stated that “Bharat Sarkar has a clear vision” to make India self reliant in the defence sector.

“Bharatiya Nausena has made an unequivocal commitment to be a fully ‘Aatmanirbhar’ force by 2047. Navy@100 must be a force that represents, in letter and in spirit, a strong and developed Bharat @100. A force that uses unique concepts and capabilities that are Made in Bharat, Made by Bharat, Made for Bharat!,” the Navy Chief said.

At times, the Navy Chief liberally resorted to purist Hindi in his address that had to be contextualised for comprehension even for listeners from the Hindi heartland “Our Nation, with its sights on becoming a fully developed country in the next 25 years, is marching confidently into ‘Kartavya Kaal’ to gain our rightful place in the global order,” he said. Here “Kartavya Kaal” -- which may have been derived from similar rhyming Hindi phrase ‘Amrit Kaal’ -- embodies the era wherein everyone is duty bound to ensure India gets recognition globally.

Besides that, twice he referred Indian Navy as ‘Bharatiya Nausena’ that got a new flag last year, reflecting India’s rich maritime heritage and leaving out signs of slavery.