Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sourendra Nath Kohli,

PVSM Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

(21 June 1916 – 21 January 1997) was an

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

who served as the 7th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1973 until 29 February 1976. Kohli served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) of the

Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command is one of the three command–level formations of the Indian Navy. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. As the senior–most of the three formations, the command is responsible for the all naval forces in the A ...

during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 and successfully led Indian Navy's Western Fleet in Operation Trident and

Operation Python Operation Python, a follow-up to Operation Trident, was the code name of a naval attack launched on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi by the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. After the first attack during Operation Tr ...

against the

Pakistan Navy The Pakistan Navy (PN) (; ''romanized'': Pākistān Bahrí'a; ) is the naval warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The Chief of the Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Com ...

fleet in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. His prior commands include those as the commanding officer of and .

Early life

Kohli was the son of B. L. Kohli, and studied BA (Hons.) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.

Naval career

Early career

Kohli joined the

Royal Indian Navy The Royal Indian Navy (RIN) was the naval force of British Raj, British India and the Dominion of India. Along with the Presidency armies, later the British Indian Army, Indian Army, and from 1932 the Royal Indian Air Force, it was one of the ...

Volunteer Reserve as a cadet in May 1936, immediately after his graduation. He was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the RIN on 25 June 1938, with promotion to lieutenant on 1 May 1941. During World War II, Kohli served in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and in the Far Eastern theatre. He qualified as a Communication Specialist in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1943. He served on board in 1944–45. He was promoted to acting Lieutenant Commander in 1946 and served at the then RIN Naval Headquarters, '' HMIS Dalhousie''.

Post-Independence

After

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, Kohli opted to join the

and was one of the key officers selected to oversee the expansion of the naval fleet. He was deputed to the United Kingdom in December 1948 in connection with acquisition of destroyers and was appointed Commanding Officer of on her purchase from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1949, receiving promotion to acting commander (substantive lieutenant-commander) on 30 June of that year. Other appointments that Kohli held included those as the Senior Officer of the flagship of the Indian Navy, . Later, he also served as the Commanding Officer of the flagship, . He was promoted to substantive commander on 30 June 1951, and was promoted to substantive captain on 30 June 1955. Kohli served as the superintendent of the Naval Dockyard in Bombay. He also twice served as the Director of Naval Plans. His staff appointments included those as Chief of Material and then as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff.

Flag rank

Kohli rose to flag rank in 1965 with promotion to substantive

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

on 18 August. He was the Flag Officer Commanding of the Fleet from 1967 to 1969. Kohli was awarded the

Param Vishisht Seva Medal Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of India. It is the highest peacetime medal of the Indian Armed Forces, and is awarded for "dist ...

in January 1968. He was promoted to

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

on 14 February 1969. Next, Kohli served as the Commandant of the National Defence College for two years until 1971. On 12 February 1971, Kohli was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) of the

. During the war with Pakistan in December 1971, Kohli provided operational leadership for the devastating attacks on

harbour. He also led the defence of Indian Naval facilities on the west coast. He was also responsible for overseeing the safety of the Indian mercantile fleet during the war. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

for his exceptional leadership during the 1971 war.

Chief of Naval Staff

On 1 March 1973, Kohli took over as the Chief of the Naval Staff. He retired from the Navy on 29 February 1976.

Later life

Kohli authored ''We dared'', a memoir of the Indian Navy operations during the war of 1971. He is also the author of ''Sea Power and the Indian Ocean'', an analysis of the geo-political and maritime concerns in the Indian Ocean region.

Personal life

Kohli was married to the late Sumitra Kohli, and had three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohli, Sourendra Nath 1916 births Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Vice chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Deputy chiefs of Naval Staff (India) Indian Navy admirals Flag Officers Commanding Indian Fleet Flag Officers Commanding Western Fleet Commandants of National Defence College, India Chiefs of Materiel (India) 1997 deaths People from Amritsar Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service Royal Indian Navy officers National Defence College, India alumni