VICE ADMIRAL SARMA-A HERO OF THE 1971 WAR

(The Indian Express today carries this piece titled 'A Hero of the Sea'. Virtually the same but for minor changes to fit in their column.)

Vice Admiral S.H. Sarma, PVSM, passed away on 3 January in his hometown of Bhubaneshwar. He was 99.

We are all familiar with the big names associated with the 1971 Indo-Pak war such as the Prime Minister and the three Service Chiefs. However, barring a few, the brave deeds of heroes at the ground, or if you like, sea or air level, remain unknown outside their own Service. I would, therefore, like to highlight the important role that Admiral Sarma played in the war resulting in the huge victory for India .

The Eastern Fleet was formed just a month before the onset of war and Admiral Sarma was appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF). I was appointed as the Fleet Communications Officer (FCO) on the operational staff of FOCEF and we were embarked on the aircraft carrier, Vikrant, which operated as our flagship throughout the war.

Normally, a Fleet Commander gets time to work up his fleet of ships with peacetime exercises so that the Admiral, his staff and the Commanding Officers (CO) of ships can gel together to function as a team. In this case, the Fleet was thrust into the war from the word go. It is to the enormous credit of the Admiral that in the short time available to him, he was able to knit the Fleet into a cohesive unit and the Fleet was able to deliver all that was asked of it and more. Admiral Sarma was specially chosen for this job as Admiral S.M. Nanda, the then Chief of the Naval staff (CNS), had full faith that the former would be able to deliver. Months prior to the event, the CNS had told Admiral Sarma that as and when the Fleet was formed, he would be given its command. The latter did not let the CNS down and got the Fleet to accomplish all the tasks given to him which included destruction of enemy ships and bases, blockade and contraband control. Extensive damage was caused to the Pakistan Air Force and port facilities by air strikes and the Fleet effected a tight control over the Bay of Bengal so that no enemy ship could enter or leave the then East Pakistan ports and we could take 93000 prisoners of war.

The Admiral was more than willing to take necessary risks to accomplish his tasks. For example, considering Vikrant’s limited speed due to one of its boilers being non-operational, Naval Headquarters had advised that the carrier should operate more than 100 miles from the Coast to be out of range of Pak Sabre jets. The Admiral thought this was too far and in consultation with Captain Parkash, CO Vikrant, decided to operate from a 55-60 mile range. This resulted in highly effective air attacks and Vikrant’s aircraft were able to carry out more than 90 sorties compared to around 5 originally planned by NHQ.

Then there was the unique minesweeping effort to clear the entrance channel to Chittagong harbour. This was not envisaged earlier and was not really a job for the Fleet which had no minesweepers. Knowing Admiral Sarma would find a way, the CNS entrusted the task to him. A ‘jugaad’ way of sweeping was devised by renting local fishing boats trawling a length of wire. The channel was swept clear of mines and marked to ensure speedy and safe passage of ships.

A couple of lighter moments come to mind. The Fleet was anchored off the northernmost Andaman Island, Port Cornwallis, awaiting further instructions from NHQ. There was a requirement to make signals to Vishakhapatnam for some urgent supplies. Not wanting to break radio silence self-imposed by us in order not to compromise our location, I found out that there was a police wireless station on the island. I told the Admiral that I would go ashore and get the messages cleared from there. As there was not much activity going on at that time, the Admiral said he would accompany me for an outing. On landing, we met a local man who informed us that the police station was miles away at the other end of the island. Just then, a jeep happened to come by and I asked the driver to please take us to the police station. He flatly refused upon which the Admiral thundered, “By the emergency powers invested in me by the President of India, I commandeer this vehicle and order you to take us to the police station.” I do not know whether the driver understood what was said but that was enough for him to take us to the station, wait while the messages were transmitted and drop us back to the jetty!

A deeply-ingrained memory is of the classic reply the Admiral made to the message from CO of one of our ships, Beas, inquiring what action to take if we came across ships of the US 7th Fleet. Without batting an eyelid, the Admiral replied, “Exchange identities and wish them the time of day.”

In normal circumstances, the news of a 99-year old man passing away would have been routine- after all, how many people live to reach that age? What made it shocking was that I had just met Admiral Sarma in New Delhi about a fortnight ago after 43 years. He had come from Bhubaneshwar, his hometown, to attend functions celebrating the golden jubilee of India’s victory in the ‘71 war holding the distinction of being the seniormost surviving warrior of the war. We met at a lunch hosted by the present CNS, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, for naval veterans of the war. I sighted Admiral Sarma and went up to him to introduce myself but before I could speak, he said you are Sharma and you were my FCO on board Vikrant during the war. He then went to say a few more things about me which showed that he had continued to follow my career long after my FCO tenure. Remarkable for a man of that age who I was meeting after 1978.

I told the Admiral that it was an honour and a privilege to see him after such a long time and that it was admirable that he had taken the trouble to come all the way on this occasion. His reply, “Well, the CNS insisted, so here I am.” He went on to proudly proclaim, “You know, I have entered my 100th year on 1 December.” To me, witnessing his mental fitness and fortitude to have made the long journey, it seemed that the Admiral would have many more years to go than it actually transpired.

Admiral Sarma was a modest man, self-effacing with a modest smile. I consider myself fortunate to have served under him and will always have fond memories of the time spent with him. I was blessed with the chance to have met him on 16 December just a few days before he passed on. I shall cherish the two presents he gave me on that day, his autobiography, “My Years At Sea” and a set of picture postcards depicting the highlights of his naval career.