Ram Dass Katari
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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 ...
Ram Dass Katari (8 October 1911 – 21 January 1983) 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 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 The Indian Maritime University (IMU), Navi Mumbai Campus, formerly known as Training Ship Chanakya (T.S. Chanakya), is an institution dedicated to maritime education and training. It serves as a prominent unit of the Mumbai campus of Indian Mar ...
, he earned the Viceroy's gold medal and joined the Hooghly River Survey of the
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
Port Commissioners. In 1939, he joined the Royal Indian Naval Reserve and served on board the ''HMIS Sandoway''. He then served at the gunnery school HMIS Dalhousie, the boys' training school ''HMIS Bahadur'' and was an instructor at HMIS Machlimar. At the end of the war, he commanded . After the
Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
, he commanded and the naval force during the
Indian integration of Junagadh In February 1948, the princely state of Junagadh, located in what is now the Indian state of Gujarat, was annexed to the Union of India after a dispute with the Dominion of Pakistan, regarding its accession, and a plebiscite. Junagadh had b ...
. In 1948, he served as the
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
of the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
. Promoted to acting
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in December 1948, he was appointed Chief of Personnel at NHQ. In 1951, he took command of the 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 Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet. After commanding the Indian fleet for two years, he was appointed Chief of the Naval Staff. He served a full term as Chief and his tenure saw the commissioning of India's first aircraft carrier and the
liberation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed the Portuguese State of India, the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces ...
. After his retirement, he served as the Chairman of
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Ne ...
(APSRTC). From 1964 to 1969, he was India's ambassador to
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
. He had many firsts to his credit: the first Indian naval officer to attend the
Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...
, 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
Chingleput Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput or Chengalpet, is a town and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district a ...
in
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
on 8 October 1911. His father was an Assistant Civil Engineer employed with the Government of Madras Presidency. He spent most of his childhood and youth in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
. He was educated at
Mahbub College High School Mahboob College High School is a college located in Secunderabad a twin city of Hyderabad, India. History The school was established in 1862 by Somasundaram Mudaliar and was called - Anglo Vernacular School. Sixth Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan mad ...
and at
Nizam College The Nizam College is a constituent college of Osmania University established in 1887 during the reign of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana. History The Nizampur University College was originally the "Mirsa ...
in Hyderabad.


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 Dufferin on its establishment in 1927. He topped the entrance examination. In the same batch was S. G. Karmarkar, who also joined the Indian Navy and rose to the rank of
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 ...
. Katari finished the course earning the Viceroy's gold medal. Later, he was the first graduate of ''TS Dufferin'' to serve on its Governing Board. He was selected by the Calcutta Port Commissioners to join the ''Hooghly River Survey''. The river survey kept track of the shifting river bed of the
Hooghly river The Hooghly River (, also spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the G ...
. Working on
survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...
s owned by the Port Commissioners, he rose to head surveys independently.


World War II

In mid-1939, with the outbreak of the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he applied for a commission in the Royal Indian Navy Reserve (RINR). On 23 September 1939, Katari received a temporary commission as a probationary Sub Lieutenant in the RINR. He was assigned to the auxiliary patrol vessel HMIS ''Sandoway'' as its most junior officer on 11 May 1940. Promoted to temporary lieutenant on 23 September 1940, he was subsequently assigned to '' HMIS Dalhousie'', the naval gunnery school in Bombay. On 9 April 1943, he was posted to Karachi and assigned to HMIS ''Bahadur'', the Boys' Training Establishment for the RIN. Katari served in surface fleets of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. He specialized in
anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...
. Later, he also served as an instructor at the Anti-Submarine Warfare School ''HMIS Machlimar'' in Mumbai. He was promoted to acting lieutenant-commander on 30 September 1944. At the end of the war, as a lieutenant-commander, he was appointed the
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...
of and led the mine clearance operations in the
Andaman & Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...
. In early 1946, the 56th Services Selection Board was set up at
Lonavla Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...
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. Later that year, Katari was appointed commander of the 37th minesweeping flotilla, which performed minesweeping operations in the
Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
and the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...
.


Post-Independence

Upon the
Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
, Katari held the rank of
Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
and was the Commanding officer of . He led the defence operations off the
Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...
coast during the integration of Junagadh. The Naval force consisted of three sloops – , and , two fleet minesweepers – and , the
Motor Launch Launch is a name given to several different types of boat. The wide range of usage of the name extends from utilitarian craft through to pleasure boats built to a very high standard. In naval use, the launch was introduced as a ship's boat ...
ML 420 and a tank landing craft. In 1948, the cruiser was purchased from the United Kingdom. She was commissioned on 5 July 1948, with Captain H.N.S. Brown as the Commanding Officer and became the flagship of the Indian Navy. From July 1948 to early 1949, Katari served as the Commander (
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
) of the cruiser, with Lt S M Nanda as his
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
. On 31 December 1948, Katari was promoted to acting
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. In February 1949, the Naval Headquarters (NHQ) was re-organised and he was appointed the Chief of Personnel, taking over the post on 9 March. On 31 December 1949, he was promoted to the substantive rank of captain. In November 1951, Katari was appointed Captain (D) 11th Destroyer Flotilla as well as the Commanding Officer of the lead destroyer of the squadron, . Apart from the ''Rajput'', the flotilla consisted of and . He succeeded Captain
Ajitendu Chakraverti Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the second Indian Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet, succeeding Rear Admiral Ram Dass Katari. He was the first Indian to be promoted to the high rank of Com ...
to the post. In September 1952, Katari was selected to attend the
Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...
and in early 1953, proceeded to
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 ...
. He was the first Indian Naval officer to be selected for the course. He attended the course with
Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...
(Later Air Marshal & CAS)
Subroto Mukerjee Subroto Mukerjee ( Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. He was awarded ...
, the senior-most Indian Air Force officer. After the year-long course, he returned to India in early 1954 and was appointed the Deputy Commander-in-Chief in the rank of
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...
, assuming the post and rank on 18 March 1954. During this stint, Katari officiated as the Commander-in-Chief in the acting rank of
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 ...
and sat in on the meetings of the Chiefs of Staff Committee.


Fleet Commander

In December 1955, the Government of India announced the appointment of Katari as the Flag Officer (Flotillas) Indian Fleet. He would be the first Indian Officer to command the fleet and take over in September 1956 from
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 ...
St John Tyrwhitt Admiral Sir St John Reginald Joseph Tyrwhitt, 2nd Baronet, (18 April 1905 – 10 October 1961) was a senior Royal Navy officer who served as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1959 to 1961. Naval career Born the son of Admiral ...
. He was promoted to the acting rank of
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 12 March 1956. 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 (later ) which was being purchased by the Indian Navy. He also visited shipyards and factories in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
,
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
,
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
,
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
and
Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...
. 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. The transfer of command ceremony took place on board the flagship INS Delhi, berthed in the Naval Dockyard,
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. His flag was hoisted on the INS Delhi at 8 A.M. It was on Katari's request that the transfer of command was fixed on 2 October, to coincide with
Gandhi Jayanti Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday in India, celebrated annually on 2 October to honour the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the key leaders of the Indian independence movement and a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. It ...
. 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.


Chief of Naval Staff

In February 1958, Katari was appointed the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). On 22 April 1958, he was promoted to the rank of
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 ...
and took command of the Indian Navy. His flag was hoisted on INS India. 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, , was commissioned during his tenure. As CNS, he led the naval operations during the
liberation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed the Portuguese State of India, the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces ...
from Portuguese rule in December 1961. He retired as CNS on 4 June 1962. He relinquished the post of CNS as a
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 ...
, then the highest rank in the Indian Navy.


Later life

Katari served as the Chairman of
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Ne ...
(APSRTC) between December 1962 and May 1964. In 1964 he was appointed India's
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
, where he served for over five years. He was the first setter of The Hindu Crossword and compiled the daily puzzles until his demise. 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 Admiral (India), Admiral Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman (30 March 1913 – 8 February 1995) was an Indian Navy Admiral. He was in command of the Indian Navy from 1962 to 1966 as the 4th Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). ...
, his successor as CNS, were promoted to the honorary rank of full
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 ...
on the retired list by President
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the president of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence movem ...
.


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.


Death and legacy

Katari died at Secunderabad on 21 January 1983, aged 71. ''The Katari Memorial Hall'' at A/21,
Sainikpuri Sainikpuri is a residential neighbourhood in the northeastern part of Hyderabad City. It falls under Kapra mandal of Medchal-Malkajgiri District, and is currently administered under GHMC East Zone. It started as a co-operative housing society v ...
, near
Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...
, was dedicated to the memory of Admiral Katari on the event of his birth centenary on 8 October 2011. The ''Admiral R D Katari Marg'' in
Sainikpuri Sainikpuri is a residential neighbourhood in the northeastern part of Hyderabad City. It falls under Kapra mandal of Medchal-Malkajgiri District, and is currently administered under GHMC East Zone. It started as a co-operative housing society v ...
,
Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...
where the
College of Defence Management The College of Defence Management (CDM) is an Indian defence service training institution imparting management training to defence servants. CDM is entrusted with the responsibility of instilling contemporary management thoughts, concepts a ...
is located, is named after him, as is ''Katari Bagh'' in
Willingdon Island Willingdon Island is the largest artificial island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the Vembanadu Lake, filling in dredged soil around a previous ...
in
Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
. The cadet's dining hall at the
Indian Naval Academy The Indian Naval Academy (INA or INA Ezhimala) is the Defense (military), defence service training establishment for officer cadre of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, located in Ezhimala, Kannur district, Kerala. Situated between Ez ...
is named after Katari. 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.


See also

*
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
K. M. Cariappa * Air Marshal
Subroto Mukerjee Subroto Mukerjee ( Bengali: সুব্রত মুখোপাধ্যায়) (5 March 1911 – 8 November 1960) was an Indian military officer who was the first Indian Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Indian Air Force. He was awarded ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Katari, Ram Dass Chiefs of the Naval Staff (India) Indian Navy admirals Chiefs of Personnel (India) Flag Officers Commanding Indian Fleet Deputy chiefs of Naval Staff (India) 1911 births 1983 deaths Royal Indian Navy officers Date of death missing
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies