INS Dweeprakshak is a

naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that us ...

of the Southern Naval Command of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

located on

Kavaratti Kavaratti is the capital of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India. Kavaratti is a census town as well as the name of the atoll upon which the town stands. It is well known for its pristine white sand beaches and calm lagoons, which makes ...

island in the

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep () is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands divided into three island subgroups: the Laccadive Islands in the middle with the Amindivi Islands in the north separated roughly by the 11th parallel north and ...

archipelago. It was commissioned on 30 April 2012.

History

The Indian Navy has deployed detachments to the Lakshadweep Islands since

independence Independence is a condition of a person, 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 s ...

. The Lakshadweep islands were a part of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...

under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

and in accordance with the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 947 CHAPTER 30 10 and 11 Geo 6is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 ...

, enacted by the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

, the islands were transferred to the new Union of India. Though the Madras Presidency had an overwhelming Hindu majority, the islands had a Muslim majority. Hence, it seemed possible that the new

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

might seek to lay claim to the islands. On the orders of

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of ...

, the first

Home Minister The Minister of Home Affairs (or simply, the Home Minister, short-form HM) is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minis ...

and

Deputy Prime Minister of India The deputy prime minister of India ( IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantri'') is the second highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of the Union Council of Ministers. The of ...

, a ship of the

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

was sent to the islands to hoist the Indian national flag and ensure the islands' integration into the Union of India. Hours after the arrival of the Indian ship, vessels of the Royal Pakistan Navy were seen near the islands, but after observing Indian naval presence they returned to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

. The navy has maintained permanent facilities on Kavaratti island since the 1980s. The islands are en route on vital shipping lanes from the Indian mainland to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

. With increasing threats, such as attacks by

Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somali ...

, the island territory has grown in relevance to Indian security considerations. ''INS Dweeprakshak'' was hence commissioned to provide support facilities for naval vessels based on the islands, as well as to enhance surveillance capabilities over shipping lanes. ''INS Dweeprakshak'' was commissioned on 30 April 2012 by Vice Admiral Krishnan Nair Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Southern Naval Command. Captain S. M. Hanchinal was the first Commanding Officer of the base.

References

{{Indian Navy Dweeprakshak

History

See also

References