December 4th is celebrated as Navy Day every year in commemoration of the winning glory of Navy during Indo-Pak war. The 1971 war with Pakistan was the biggest wartime operation of the Indian Navy in which every ship, aircraft and submarine took part in war which were available at thet time. During the Indo-Pak battle, the Indian Navy had lost only one ship. In 1971 INS Khukri was struck by three torpedoes on the night of December 9 and was destroyed.
Indian Navy has a saga of glory. The firstIndian to be commissioned in the Royal Indian Marine on 6th January 1928 was Engineer sub Lt.D.N.Mukerji. The first naval airbase was commissioned in cochin on May 11th, 1953, named as 'INS Garuda'. In 1971 only , an era of missle service was enteredf with he arrival of first missle boats.
Vice Admiral R.D.Katari was India's first chief of Naval staff but Admiral L.Ramdas was the most decorated naval officer. In INS chakra the Navy's nuclear submarine, an emergency appendectomy was performed at the depth of 120m in the pacific ocean. In 1990, a team of 24 divers from Indian Navy dived to a depth of 154m under the supervision of 'National Institute of Deep-Sea Diving of France and Delhi's Naval Headquarter. Indian Navy today is participating in the anti-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir. Navy's Marine commandoes are deployed in the valley along with army.
The Indian Navy celebrates 4th December as the Navy day as an accolade to the heroic nautical operations taken by the Indian Navy during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Moonless nights were elected for the projectile boat molest on Karachi harbor on 04 Dec 1971.
The attack was one of the significant moments of the Indian Navy's victory and remains engraved in naval reminiscence. On 4th December each year from the time when then, the Indian Navy celebrates the centenary of its daredevil harass on Pakistan's only naval base at Karachi as Navy Day. The only Indian ship lost for the period of the 1971 operations was the Frigate INS Khukri.
India had rich maritime relief in the olden days. The history of modern Indian Navy can be traced back to 1612 when Captain Best stumbled upon and overwhelmed the Portuguese. The First Squadron of fighting ships appeared on 5 September 1612, forming what was then called the Honorable East India Company's Marine. The first Indian to be approved a commission was Sub Lieutenant D.N Mukherji as an engineer officer in 1928. On India accomplishing Independence, the Royal Indian Navy consisted of 32 ageing vessels suitable only for coastal patrol, along with 11,000 officers and men. The superior officers were pinched from the Royal Navy. The prefix 'Royal' was plunged on 26 January 1950 with India being constituted as a Republic. The first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy was Adm Sir Edward Parry. On 22 April 1958, V Adm RD Katari assumed office as the first Indian Chief of the Naval Staff.The Indian Navy has been patrolling the piracy contaminated ocean waters in keeping with the government strategy to defend our sea borne trade. Indian Naval ships have guided about 700 merchant ships, counting about 600 foreign-flagged vessels from over 45 countries, through the Gulf of Aden since October 2008. The Indian Navy, along with the other major navies of the world, has been presented a special UN certificate for its anti-piracy activity in the dangerous Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
The Naval Component of the Andaman and Nicobar Command also celebrates this great day with different events spread over a week also know as "Navy Week". The boost in the scrutiny and other operational task by the Navy in the Andaman Sea region has been the chief thrust of the Joint Command.
On this day, the Indian Navy's Western Naval Command - Headquartered at Mumbai also brings out her ships and sailors for the grandiose event.
Navy Day in Visakhapatnam is a festival that commemorates the glory of the Indian naval force. Since the head office of the Eastern Naval is located in Visakhapatnam, this festival is held on a vast scale in this city. The celebrations of Navy Day are a predictable part of the Annual Celebrations of the city. For the duration of this festival the naval officers display the diverse weapons and ships earlier used in a variety of warfares. There are also flaunts of the latest additions to the naval armory, together with ships and weapons that are to be used in potential wars.
Naval processions are held and the complete city of Vizag is complicated in the merriments of the Navy Day. Inestimable people come together on the Beach road in order to see the naval troops march away to glory. It is a festival when deference and awe is especially paid to the whole troop of the naval army. The charming festival of the Navy Day is renowned with great vigor and liveliness by all the citizens of the city.
The Beach Road of the city becomes a core of activities on the Navy Day. Thousands throng the beach-side street in order to observe the display of the Navy ships. An added attraction of the Navy Day celebrations is the occasion given to the people to penetrate some of the ships, a privilege unlimited only on this picky day. A number of educational events add color to the celebrations.
The week-long Navy Day celebrations at the Southern Naval Command based in Kochi, Kerala, starts with a diversity of military exercises and entertainment programmes, together with air shows and naval expos..