The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
A war hero who carried the courage of conviction
FORMER NAVY Chief Admiral Lax min a ray an ra md as, a war hero remembered for a host of accomplishments, including his role in the 1971 India-pakistan war, died intel an ga na on friday. he was 90.
Ramdas, who was suffering from age-related health issues, breathed his last at the Military Hospital in Secunderabad. He is survived by his wife, Lalita Ramdas, three daughters, their spouses, and three grandchildren.
Born on September 5, 1933 in Matunga, Mumbai, Ramdas, who was trained in communications, was commissioned into the Navy in September 1953.
He played a crucial role in establishing the Naval Academy in Cochin. And it was during his tenure as the 13th Chief of Naval Staff between 1990 and 1993 that women were inducted into the Navy for the first time.
Ramdas won the Vir Chakra, the country’s third-highest gallantry award, for his bravery during the 1971 war as commander of INS Beas, which played a crucial role in the blockade of East Pakistan. “Some of the highlights of our action were bombardment and amphibious landings at Cox’s Bazar, interception of gun boats, encounter and boarding of Pakistani vessels masquerading as foreign merchant vessels, and anti-submarine operations,” he once told The Indian Express in an interview.
During his career, ra md as also served as fleet commander of the Eastern Naval Command, and commanded both the Southern and eastern naval commands. he was also the Indian Naval Attache in bonn, west germany (1973-76.
Former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) said the passing away of Ramdas will be deeply mourned by the Navy and the nation. “An ardent patriot, he carried the courage of his convictions, in and out of uniform, and stood resolutely, by his beliefs and principles till the end,” he said.
A decorated veteran, Ramdas remained vocal in expressing dissent on various social and political issues after his retirement.
“He always spoke his mind, did not tilt to political windmills and campaigned for the right causes, even after retirement. He and Lalita ‘Lolly’ Ramdas were always a power couple, rooted to the ground,” said former naval aviator Commander K P Sanjeev Kumar (retd), adding that while at the helm, Ramdas took the Navy towards “much more with much less”, making the best use of frugal resources.
Despite his war achievements, Ramdas was a strong advocate of nuclear restraint and disarmament, as well as peace talks with Pakistan. He won the Ramon Magsaysay award for 2004 for advocating peace between the two nuclear armed neighbours when he was the chairperson of the India chapter of the NGO Pakistan-india Peoples Forum.