S. H. Sarma

Sarma served in the mercantile marine till 1942, when he was commissioned into the Royal Indian Navy Reserve as a Sub-lieutenant.[5] On 1 June 1944, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant and assigned to the minesweeper HMIS Kumaon.[6] He served in various theatres during the World War II. He served on ships on escort duties and minesweeping operations.[7]

In 1948, Sarma was selected to undergo a navigation course at the Royal Navy School of Navigation, HMS Dryad (establishment), then based at the Southwick House, where he specialised in Navigation.[8] He was promoted to the acting rank of Lieutenant Commander on 31 December 1951.[9]

Sarma was promoted substantive lieutenant-commander on 1 June 1953.[10] In 1954, he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Navigation and Direction School, the youngest to do so.[11] Sarma then attended the Royal Naval College, Greenwich where he completed the Staff college course in 1957.[12] Promoted to the rank of Commander on 31 December 1957,[13] Sarma was appointed the commissioning commanding officer of the new frigate INS Khukri (F149). The Khukri was launched on 20 November 1956 and commissioned on 16 July 1958.[14] He sailed the ship down to India as her first commanding officer.

In 1960, Sarma was appointed the Deputy Naval Adviser to the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom at India House, London. The High Commissioner then was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.[15] It was during this time that India's first aircraft carrier INS Vikrant (R11) was commissioned in Belfast.[16] After a three year stint as Deputy naval adviser, Sarma was promoted Captain on 31 December 1964 and was appointed commanding officer of the frigate INS Brahmaputra (F31).[17] He also commanded the 16th frigate squadron comprising the ships INS Brahmaputra (F31), INS Beas (F37) and INS Betwa (F39) from 1964 to 1965.[18]

In mid 1965, Sarma was posted as the Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Area and in 1966, he took over as the commanding officer of the largest training establishment of the Indian Navy, INS Venduruthy.[19] He commanded INS Venduruthy for 2 years, until late 1967, when he was selected to attend the National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi.[20] He graduated from NDC in late 1968 and took command of the cruiser INS Mysore (C60) on 16 December 1968. Under his command, INS Mysore won the Western Fleet Sailing Regatta in 1969.[21] Apart from serving as CO of INS Mysore, Sarma also filled in as the Chief of Staff to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, an appointment he assumed full-time in August 1970.[22] Sarma was promoted to acting Rear Admiral and appointed as Directing Staff (DS) at the National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi on 6 January 1971.[23] He served as DS at the NDC only for a few months, till September.[24]

In September 1971, Sarma was summoned by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral S M Nanda who told him that he was to move to Visakhapatnam and take up command of the yet-to-be-formed Eastern Fleet.[25] The two-fleet concept of the Navy came into force with the constitution of the Eastern Fleet on 1 November 1971. Rear Admiral Sarma took over as the Founding Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF).[26]

In mid 1971, The Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, along with the frigates INS Brahmaputra and INS Beas were moved from the Western Fleet to the Eastern Naval Command.[27] Thus, INS Vikrant became the flagship of the Eastern Fleet.

According to Sarma, the tasks of the Eastern Fleet were:

• To seek and destroy enemy naval units at sea
• To destroy his bases so that enemy naval units could not get shore support
• To establish a blockade off the East Pakistani coast
• To establish contraband control [28]

The Eastern Fleet effectively blockaded the ports of East Pakistan. Alizé and Hawker Sea Hawk aircraft from the INS Vikrant and the ships of the fleet bombarded Chittagong and Cox's Bazar.[29] The air strikes of INS Vikrant resulted in the sinking or rendering useless 11 merchant ships totalling 56914 tons.[30] The Eastern Fleet also enforced contraband control until tasked with an amphibious landing to cut off the land escape routes into Burma.[31] After the Surrender of Pakistan, in early 1972, Sarma led the fleet's minesweeping operations to make the Port of Chittagong operational.

For his command of the Eastern Fleet in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Sarma was decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on 26 January 1972.[32] The citation for the PVSM reads as follows:[33]

CITATION

CAPTAIN (ACTING REAR ADMIRAL) SREE HARILAL SARMA

Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet

Acting Rear Admiral S H Sarma, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, the operational commander of all Indian naval forces in the Eastern Sector was responsible for safe-guarding the whole of Eastern seaboard from enemy attacks, to ensure complete blockade of the enemy held ports in Bangladesh. The officer conducted these operations with exemplary vigour, single mindedness of purpose and meticulous attention which resulted in the systematic disintegration and decimation of Pakistani Naval forces in the East and assured complete safety to the Indian Merchant shipping in the area. The Carrier borne forces under his command continuously attacked heavily defended enemy ports, inland waterways and hinterland causing serious damage to vital installations and seriously impairing the enemy's ability to continue to fight. He has displayed outstanding leadership and ability in the conduct of his duties as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.

After commanding the Eastern Fleet for about 2 years, Sarma was appointed Director General Naval Dockyard Expansion Scheme in 1973, and was promoted substantive rear admiral on 1 March of the same year.[34] He then served as the Flag Officer Commanding Southern Naval Area from 1973 to 1975. On 7 January 1975,[35] he was promoted Vice Admiral and took over as the Commandant of the National Defence College on 8 January 1975. After a two year stint as Commandant NDC, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command.[36]

After commanding the Eastern Naval Command for a year, Sarma retired on 2 February 1978.[37]