Ram Dass Katari

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
In office
7 May 1961 – 4 June 1962
PresidentRajendra Prasad
S. Radhakrishnan
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Gulzarilal Nanda (acting)
Preceded byK. S. Thimayya
Succeeded byA. M. Engineer
3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (India)
In office
22 April 1958 – 4 June 1962
PresidentRajendra Prasad
S. Radhakrishnan
Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru
Gulzarilal Nanda (acting)
Preceded byS. H. Carlill
Succeeded byB. S. Soman
Personal details
Born(1911-10-08)8 October 1911
Chingleput, Madras Presidency, British Raj
(now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Died21 January 1983(1983-01-21) (aged 71)
Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
RelationsAdmiral Laxminarayan Ramdas
(Son-in-law)
Military service
Allegiance British India
 India
Branch/service Royal Indian Navy
 Indian Navy
Years of service1927–1962
Rank
Liberation of Goa
Later work(s)
  • Chairman,
    APSRTC
  • Author, A Sailor Remembers

Admiral Ram Dass Katari (8 October 1911 – 21 January 1983) was an Indian Navy Admiral who served as the 3rd Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 22 April 1958 to 4 June 1962. He was the first Indian to hold the office and succeeded the last British officer to the post, Vice Admiral Sir Stephen Hope Carlill.

A member of the first batch of cadets to attend the Indian Mercantile Marine

Training Ship Dufferin
, he earned the Viceroy's gold medal and joined the Hooghly River Survey of the
HMIS Dalhousie, the boys' training school HMIS Bahadur and was an instructor at HMIS Machlimar. At the end of the war, he commanded HMIS Cauvery (U10)
.

After the

Chief of Personnel at NHQ. In 1951, he took command of the INS Rajput (D141) and the 11th Destroyer Flotilla. After attending the Imperial Defence College in 1953, he returned to India and was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief
.

In 1956, he was promoted to flag rank and appointed

Burma
.

He had many firsts to his credit: the first Indian naval officer to attend the

Imperial Defence College
, in 1953; the first Indian to be promoted to flag rank in the navy, in 1956; the first Indian to command the Indian fleet, in 1956; and finally, the first to Indian to command the Navy itself, in 1958.

Early life

Katari was born in

Hyderabad. He was educated at Mahbub College High School and at Nizam College in Hyderabad.[1]

Naval career

Dufferin and the mercantile marine

After graduation, Katari was in the first batch of Indian cadet-entry officers to join the Indian Mercantile Marine

survey shipss owned by the Port Commissioners, he rose to head surveys independently.[1]

World War II

In mid-1939, with the outbreak of the

HMIS Dalhousie, the naval gunnery school in Bombay.[4] On 9 April 1943, he was posted to Karachi and assigned to HMIS Bahadur, the Boys' Training Establishment for the RIN.[5]

Katari served in surface fleets of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. He specialized in

Lonavla to screen the RINR and Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) officers for a permanent commission in the RIN. Katari was appointed Senior Group Staff Officer and later Deputy President of the board.[9] Later that year, Katari was appointed commander of the 37th minesweeping flotilla, which performed minesweeping operations in the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[10]

Post-Independence

Upon the

integration of Junagadh. The Naval force consisted of three sloops - HMIS Kistna (U46), HMIS Cauvery (U10) and HMIS Jumna (U21), two fleet minesweepers - HMIS Konkan (J228) and HMIS Madras (J237), the Motor Launch ML 420 and a tank landing craft.[11]

In 1948, the cruiser

Chief of Personnel, taking over the post on 9 March.[14][15] On 31 December 1949, he was promoted to the substantive rank of captain.[16]

In November 1951, Katari was appointed Captain (D) 11th Destroyer Flotilla as well as the Commanding Officer of the lead destroyer of the squadron,

Rear Admiral and sat in on the meetings of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.[1]
[21]

Fleet Commander

Adm R D Katari (right) taking command of the Navy from Adm S H Carlill on 22 April 1958 at NHQ.

In December 1955, the Government of India announced the appointment of Katari as the

Rear Admiral on 12 March 1956.[22] Before taking up the appointment, Katari embarked to the United Kingdom and Europe on a study tour. He visited Naval establishments, schools, shipyards and defence equipment production units. He visited HMS Nigeria (60) (later INS Mysore (C60)) which was being purchased by the Indian Navy. He also visited shipyards and factories in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Munich and Lübeck.[23][1]

On 2 October 1956, he was confirmed as a substantive rear admiral and became the first Indian officer to be appointed the

Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet.[24] The transfer of command ceremony took place on board the flagship INS Delhi, berthed in the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai. His flag was hoisted on the INS Delhi at 8 A.M.[25] It was on Katari's request that the transfer of command was fixed on 2 October, to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti.[1] In August 1957, INS Mysore was commissioned and Katari's flag was transferred from INS Delhi to INS Mysore, the new flagship of the Indian Fleet.[26]

Chief of Naval Staff

Katari as Chief of Naval Staff.

In February 1958, Katari was appointed the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS).

Vice Admiral and took command of the Indian Navy.[28] His flag was hoisted on INS India.[29]

As CNS, he designed the framework for India's strategy for managing maritime security issues. During his tenure, the Indian Navy underwent a consolidation of its acquisitions, and established plans for its future growth. It also instituted improvements to training and operational effectiveness programs. India's first aircraft-carrier,

liberation of Goa
from Portuguese rule in December 1961.

He retired as CNS on 4 June 1962.

Vice Admiral, then the highest rank in the Indian Navy.[32]

Later life

Katari served as the Chairman of

Burma, where he served for over five years.[34] He was the first setter of The Hindu Crossword and compiled the daily puzzles until his demise.[35][1]
He also authored a memoir of the formative years of the Indian Navy during his service, A Sailor Remembers.

In 1968, the post of CNS was upgraded to the rank of full admiral, and on 21 October 1980, Katari and Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman, his successor as CNS, were promoted to the honorary rank of full Admiral on the retired list by President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy.[36][37]

Personal life

Katari married Dhanam Katari (née Chalam). They had two children - a daughter Lalita, and a son, Ravi. Lalita married his

flag lieutenant Laxminarayan Ramdas. Ramdas later went on to become the 13th Chief of Naval Staff.[1]

Death and legacy

Katari died at Secunderabad on 21 January 1983, aged 71.[38] The Katari Memorial Hall at A/21, Sainikpuri, near Secunderabad, was dedicated to the memory of Admiral Katari on the event of his birth centenary on 8 October 2011.[39] The Admiral R D Katari Marg in Sainikpuri, Secunderabad where the College of Defence Management is located, is named after him, as is Katari Bagh in Willingdon Island in Kochi.[40] The cadet's dining hall at the Indian Naval Academy is named after Katari.[41] The Admiral RD Katari Trophy is awarded to the Sub Lieutenant placing first in overall merit during the ab-initio training. The Navy Foundation organises the ADM RD KATARI MEMORIAL LECTURE every year.[42][43][44]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Katari 1983.
  2. ^ "Captain Ram Dass Katari, IN" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 5 December 1953.
  3. ^ The Navy List: December 1941. HM Stationery Office. 1941. p. 1061.
  4. ^ The Navy List: December 1942. HM Stationery Office. 1942. p. 1184.
  5. ^ The Navy List: April 1944. HM Stationery Office. 1944. p. 3030.
  6. ^ Abidi & Sharma 2007, p. 105.
  7. ^ "(1129) - Navy lists > Quarterly > 1945 > July > Volume 3 - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk.
  8. ^ The Navy List: July 1945. HM Stationery Office. 1945. p. 2106.
  9. ^ Thomas 2019, p. 59.
  10. ^ Sarma 2001, p. 41.
  11. ^ "Ministry of Defence" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 5 October 1947.
  12. ISBN 978-8170621485
    .
  13. ^ "Promotion of Officers in the RIN" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 31 December 1948. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  14. ^ "NHQ Reorganised" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 3 February 1949.
  15. ^ "CAPTAIN KATARI BECOMES CHIEF OF PERSONNEL RIN" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 9 March 1949.
  16. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 January 1950. p. 93.
  17. ^ "CAPTAIN KATARI TO TAKE COMMAND OF DESTROYER FLOTILLA" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 26 November 1951.
  18. ^ "Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing)" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 13 September 1952.
  19. ^ "Two Senior Naval Officers promoted Commodores" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 5 December 1953.
  20. ^ "Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing)" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 22 March 1954. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Admiral Pizey returns from United Kingdom" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 5 September 1954.
  22. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 24 November 1956. p. 236.
  23. ^ "FIRST INDIAN TO COMMAND NAVAL FLEET COMMODORE KATARI'S NEW APPOINTMENT" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 24 December 1955.
  24. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 2 March 1957. p. 55.
  25. ^ "ADMIRAL KATARI TAKES COMMAND OF INDIAN FLEET" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 2 October 1956.
  26. ISBN 9788170621485
    .
  27. ^ "FIRST INDIAN OFFICER TO COMMAND THE NAVY" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 3 February 1958.
  28. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 14 June 1958. p. 136.
  29. ^ "CHANGE OF NAVAL COMMAND" (PDF). pibarchive.nic.in. 18 April 1958.
  30. ISBN 978-8170621485
    .
  31. ^ "Vice Admiral Ram Dass Katari". Information Resource Facilitation Centre, Indian Navy. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  32. ^ "Admiral AK Chatterji Fellowship Book Release | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  33. ^ "Photo Gallery of A.P.S.R.T.C. - PEOPLE". apsrtc.ap.gov.in.
  34. ^ "People". Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  35. ^ "Remembering Admiral Katari, the first crossword setter of The Hindu". Crossword Unclued, 8 October 2012.
  36. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 29 November 1980. p. 1360.
  37. ^ "Former Naval Chiefs Honoured" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 3 November 1980. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  38. ^ "Deaths". The Times. 26 January 1983.
  39. ^ "Inauguration of Katari Memorial heritage Hall at Sainikpuri Secunderabad". The Hyderabad Deccan. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  40. ^ S, Priyadershini (10 October 2010). "Memories of Cochin - Man behind Katari Bagh". The Hindu.
  41. ^ "Mess". ina.gov.in.
  42. ^ "24th Admiral RD Katari Memorial Lecture | Indian Navy". www.indiannavy.nic.in.
  43. ^ "25 Th ADM RD katari Memorial Lecture at New Delhi". pib.gov.in.
  44. ^ "26TH ADM RD KATARI MEMORIAL LECTURE AT NEW DELHI ON 10 MAR 17" (PDF). indiannavy.nic.in.

Bibliography

Military offices
Preceded by
Chief of Personnel

1949-1951 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
G A French
 Deputy Commander-in-Chief
1954–1955 		Office abolished
New title
Office created
 Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff
1955–1956 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet

1956-1958
Preceded by Chief of the Naval Staff
1958–1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee

1961–1962 		Succeeded by
Air Marshal Aspy Engineer
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
R S Mani
 Ambassador of India to
Burma

1964–1969 		Succeeded by
Baleshwar Prasad
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