Former navy chief and a war hero Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas passed away at Secunderabad on Friday due to age-related health issues, according to a statement from Indian Navy.
He was 90. His funeral will be held on Saturday.
Ramdas, who was the navy chief during 1990-93, is survived by his wife Lalita, their three daughters and their families. He was commissioned into the Indian Navy on September 1, 1953, and retired on September 30, 1993.
“With profound grief and a heavy heart, we regret to announce the sad demise of Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (Retd), former Chief of the Naval Staff, age 90 years, on #15Mar 24 at Secunderabad. During his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, the Admiral held several important appointments such as Commanding Officer INS Beas during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, FOC-in-C (South) and FOC-in-C (East), and rose to the helm as the 13th #CNS of the #IndianNavy on 01 Dec 1990,” the Indian Navy wrote in a post on X.
Ramdas was a leading proponent of gender equality in the military, and it was during his term as navy chief that the armed forces began inducting women as short-service commissioned officers with the navy becoming the first service to do so. He settled down at Alibag in Maharashtra after retirement and took on the role of a social activist, championing the case of marginalised communities and minorities.
{{/usCountry}}Ramdas was a leading proponent of gender equality in the military, and it was during his term as navy chief that the armed forces began inducting women as short-service commissioned officers with the navy becoming the first service to do so. He settled down at Alibag in Maharashtra after retirement and took on the role of a social activist, championing the case of marginalised communities and minorities.
{{/usCountry}}Ramdas, who was awarded a Vir Chakra for bravery in the 1971 war with Pakistan, was also an advocate of peace and nuclear disarmament. He had famously said that he joined the military as a hawk but exited as a dove. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2004 for promoting peace and understanding between Indian and Pakistan.
After the 1998 nuclear tests by India, he signed a public declaration by retired military men declaring that “nuclear weapons should be banished from the South Asian region, and indeed from the entire globe.”
He also served as the Aam Aadmi Party’s internal Lokpal.
The late Admiral was a stickler for professionalism and perfection, and maintained very high standards, said former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd). Prakash served as Ramdas’s naval assistant in 1993 in the rank of commodore.
“He would never tolerate any slackness. He was well endowed intellectually and was always thinking ahead not just for the navy but for the country. He was on a first- name basis with former President APJ Abdul Kalam and the two would often discuss issues of national significance,” said Prakash.
The idea of the Indian Navy holding the multi-nation Milan exercise was also floated by Ramdas. While it began with five Indian Ocean region navies in 1995, around 50 navies from across the Indo-Pacific took part in this year’s edition of the Milan drills.