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As INS Kalvari took the plunge into the Arabian Sea, it was a moment of pride for Commander KS Subramanian, the 93-year-old Commanding Officer of the first Indian submarine, INS Kalvari (S23), who was present to witness the commissioning of another INS Kalvari.
The official commanded INS Kalvari (S23) when she was commissioned at the erstwhile Soviet Union’s naval base Riga in Latvia on December 8, 1967.
Aided by three other naval officers from Chennai, the pioneering team was responsible for bringing home in 79 days, India’s first commissioned submarine, from St Petersburg to Vizag.
INS Arihant
Amidst the fanfare, officials at the gathering in Mumbai spoke about the launch ceremony of India’s second Arihant-class strategic nuclear submarine, that took place privately last month, on November 19. Titled INS Arihant, the submarine should enter service between 2020 and 2021.
Officials pointed out that as India maintains a ‘No First-Use’ nuclear policy, “these assets are designed for strategic invulnerability and retaliation. Hidden in the vastness of the oceans, the logic lies in the strategy of nuclear deterrence. The Arihant class represents a turning point in India’s nuclear strategy.”
The Scorpene submarine commissioned on Thursday, INS Kalvari (S50), shares its name with the first-ever Indian submarine commissioned and decommissioned after 30 years of service, on May 31, 1996.
As is the tradition, ships and submarines of the Navy are reincarnated after decommissioning.
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