S G Karmarkar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 October 1912[1] |
| Died | 1988[2] |
| Allegiance |  British Raj India |
| Branch |  Royal Navy Royal Indian Navy Indian Navy |
| Service years | 1927–1964 |
| Rank | _OF-7.svg)  Rear Admiral |
| Commands | Bombay Command Cochin Command Naval Dockyard (Mumbai) INS Angre INS Delhi (C74) HMIS Talwar HMIS Kistna (U46) HMIS Madras (J237) HMIS Ratnagiri |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | _Ribbon.svg) Member of the Order of the British Empire |
Rear AdmiralSadashiv Ganesh Karmarkar,MBE (17 October 1912 – 1988) was a flag officer in theIndian Navy. He was the first Indian officer to command a ship of theRoyal Indian Navy. DuringWorld War II, he commanded the auxiliary patrol vessel HMISRatnagiri, for which he was awarded theMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He later became the first Indian to command British officers, when he commanded the sloopHMIS Kistna. He last served as theFlag Officer Bombay, from 1960 to 1964, before retiring.
The Indian Mercantile MarineTraining Ship Dufferin was established in 1927 to train young men for India's marine service. Karmarkar was successful in the entrance examination and joined the first batch of Indian-entry officers. His course-mate, who topped the batch, wasRam Dass Katari, who became the first IndianChief of the Naval Staff. The batch trained on theDufferin until 1930. Karmarkar graduated ranked 6th in overall merit.[3]
With the outbreak ofWorld War II in September 1939, Karmarkar was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant in theRoyal Naval Reserve (RNR). He was posted to the Royal Naval base inAden -HMS Sheba.[4] On 15 June 1940, he was transferred from the RNR to the Royal Indian Naval Reserve (RINR) and his RNR commission was terminated.[5] The next day, on 16 June 1940, he was transferred toHMIS Dalhousie in Bombay in the rank of lieutenant.[6]
On 21 December 1940, he was appointedcommanding officer (CO) of the auxiliary patrol vessel HMISRatnagiri, the first Indian officer to command a ship.[7] TheCommander-in-Chief, East Indies requested three anti-submarine patrol vessels for operations in theRed Sea. TheRatnagiri, apart fromNetravati andParvati was despatched. After arriving in the Rea Sea, she was sent toPort Sudan. From February 1941, she was tasked with troop and supplies transport. Starting from 11 February to about May,Ratnagiri made multiple trips ferrying troops and supplies from Port Sudan to Mersa Taclai. In spite of risky conditions like underwater reefs and mines, Karmarkar ledRatnagiri to land 750Free French troops. He later led the ship to ferry Indian, British and African troops. In September that year, Karmarkar led theRatnagiri to evacuate Yemeni nationals fromFrench Somaliland.[8] For his exemplary command of the ship, Karmarkar was awarded theMember of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1942.[9]
On 1 December 1942, Karmarkar was promoted to the acting rank oflieutenant commander and given command of theBathurst-classminesweeperHMIS Madras.[10][11] TheMadras was part of theEast Indies Fleet and he led the ship on multiple escort missions.[12] In April 1944, Karmarkar was posted to the boys' training establishment HMISBahadur in Karachi.[13] Shortly afterward, on 30 June, he was promoted to the acting rank ofcommander.[14] On 30 November 1944, Karmarkar was appointedcommanding officer of theBlack Swan-classsloopHMIS Kistna and became the first Indian officer to command British officers.[15] He led theKistna as escort to convoys as part of the East Indies Fleet.[16]
After the war, in early 1946, the 56th Services Selection Board was set up atLonavla to screen the RINR and Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) officers for a permanent commission in the RIN. Karmarkar was appointed a member of the board.[17][3] He then received orders to take command ofHMIS Talwar, just before theRoyal Indian Navy mutiny broke out. Karmarkar, along with Katari andS. N. Kohli met with the futurePrime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru in Mumbai and discussed about the mutiny.[18]
In 1947, Karmarkar took command of HMISHamla, the training establishment in Bombay.[19] After a short stint, he moved to Naval headquarters as Director of Personnel Services (DPS). On 8 October 1949, he was promoted to the acting rank ofCaptain and appointed Chief of Administration (COA) at NHQ, replacing CaptainB. S. Soman.[20] As the COA, he double-hatted as theChief of Materiel.[21]
In 1948, the cruiserINS Delhi 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 theflagship of the Indian Navy.[22] In October 1950, Karmarkar became the second Indian to command theDelhi, when he took over from CaptainA. K. Chatterji.[23][24] Under him,Delhi served as the flagship of theRear Admiral Commanding Indian Naval Squadron (RACINS) Rear AdmiralGeoffrey Barnard and had CommanderB. A. Samson as theexecutive officer.[25] As the Commanding Officer of theDelhi, Karmarkar received a plaque from theGovernment of New Zealand, in recognition of her services to New Zealand and as a goodwill gesture to India. In her earlier avatar, theDelhi wasHMNZS Achilles and served in theRoyal New Zealand Navy. The plaque, with the crests of bothAchilles andDelhi was presented by the New Zealand Trade Commissioner in India.[26]
On 31 May 1951, theDelhi escorted by theR-class destroyersINS Rajput,INS Ranjit andINS Rana and the frigatesINS Jamuna,INS Kaveri andINS Sutlej sailed from Bombay, on a six-week goodwill cruise toEast Africa andMadagascar. The RACINS Rear Admiral Barnard flew his flag on the Karmarkar'sDelhi. On the ship were also embarked, theCommander-in-Chief, Indian NavyVice AdmiralSir Edward Parry and theAir Officer CommandingOperational CommandAir CommodoreArjan Singh. The C-in-C and the AOC disembarked at Cochin and the Indian Naval squadron continued on its cruise.[27]
The squadron with Karmarkar as the flag captain called onMombasa,Dar es Salaam,Diego Suarez. While at Mombasa,Jomo Kenyatta, the future firstprime minister andpresident of Kenya visited theDelhi. He stayed on board the ship for a few days, being accommodated in Karmarkar's cabin.[28] While returning to India, it called onAddu Atoll in theMaldives.[27] Karmarkar later added about his ship, "TheDelhi stood out majestically with great dignity and slick appearance."[29] After a two-year stint as CO ofDelhi, in September 1952, Karmarkar was appointed Captain Indian Naval Barracks (CAPBRAX) and Commanding Officer ofINS Angre in Bombay. He relinquished command, handing over to Captain R. S. David in January 1953.[24] In March 1954, he succeeded CaptainAjitendu Chakraverti as Captain Superintendent Indian Naval Dockyard in Bombay.[30] He served as the Captain Superintendent for about two-and-a-half years, till November 1956.
In November 1956, Karmarkar was promoted tocommodore appointed the nextCommodore-in-Charge Cochin (COMCHIN). He took over from Commodore B. S. Soman in early 1957. In August 1958, the Indian fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral Ajitendu Chakraverti, conducted exercises with the Royal Navy offCochin. Karmarkar, as the COMCHIN, was responsible for the logistical support and providing shore facilities for smooth functioning of the exercises.[31] Under Karmarkar, the first armament depot was opened atAluva in 1958.[32] In March 1960, the Indian fleet again participated in the Commonwealth Joint exercises and training (JET) which was the largest till then, with the Royal Navy,Royal Australian Navy, Royal Ceylon Navy, Pakistan Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy andRoyal Malaysian Navy participating. This was also supported by the Cochin Command, with Karmarkar as COMCHIN.[33][34]
After about three-and-a-half years building the Cochin command, Karmarkar was promoted to the acting rank ofRear admiral and appointedFlag Officer Bombay (FOB) in April 1960.[35] The Bombay Command was the precursor of the currentWestern Naval Command. He was promoted to the substantive rank of Rear admiral on 16 June 1960.[36]
In November 1961, India's firstaircraft carrierINS Vikrant, commanded by CaptainP. S. Mahindroo, reached home waters. She was welcomed by the flagshipINS Mysore and aircraft of theIndian Air Force.[37] The same day, thePrime Minister of India,Jawaharlal Nehru and the Chief of the Naval StaffVice Admiral Katari visited her at Bombay. As the FOB, Karmarkar was among the senior officers welcoming the ship and the Prime Minister.[38]
Karmarkar had a long tenure of over four years as Flag Officer Bombay. In 1964, he relinquished command, handing over to Rear Admiral R. S. David. He was then placed on the retired list on 16 June 1964.[39] He died in 1988 following an operation, and was cremated in Pune with full military honours.[2][40]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flag Officer Bombay 1960–1964 | Succeeded by R. S. David |
| Commodore-in-Charge Cochin 1956–1960 | ||
| Preceded by | Commanding OfficerINS Delhi 1950–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Materiel 1949–1950 | Succeeded by |