Shivangi Singh
It was a 26-year old submarine that triggered a national controversy and unearthed gaping holes in the defence management and maintenance in this country. The mishap, though large in magnitude, is not one-of-its-kind. It is, in fact, the eleventh such incident to happen in the past six months. From the INS Sindhurakshak that sank in August 2013 to the recent INS Sindhuratna, little seems to have been done about the dismal state of the submarines of the Indian Naval Services. As a highly principled Admiral D.K. Joshi handed over his resignation and the defence minister accepted it without any qualms, almost instantly, serious doubts are cast over the functioning of the Indian defence ministry.
On 28 February 2013, the annual budget for defence services was hiked by 5.3% making it a total of USD 37.4 Billion. The Finance Minister was quoted as saying, constraints will not come in the way of providing any additional requirement for the security of the nation. The union budget of 2013 which came under scanner and attracted a lot of flak over high defence spending was defended by the Defence Minister as being indispensable for the proper functioning of the national security forces. The obvious question is that how does the ministry of defence account for such severe losses even after getting such a high annual budget consistently? Where was all the money spent? Who is responsible for the loss and when will the guilty be brought behind bars? The Indian Defence Minister has some very serious questions to answer which he seems to be evading for a while as he takes refuge in an honest officers resignation.
According to naval sources, it is imperative that a submarine be used for not more than two decades. INS Sindhuratna was refitted and made to work in spite of fair warnings against this course of action. Last Wednesday, while the submarine was near Mumbai, at sea for its routine inspection, heavy smoke was reported in the sailors compartment in the wee hours of the morning. On Thursday the ill-fated vessel was docked at the naval dockyard in Mumbai but only after claiming the lives of two young officers: Lt. Commander Kapish Munwal and Lt. Manoranjan Kumar, whose families claimed that their boys were called for duty even when it was known that the submarine is not ready to go into the sea and could suffer a mechanical failure anytime. The mishap also inflicted injuries on seven sailors who were airlifted to naval hospital INS Ashwini and were later brought into stable condition. Needless to say, the aggrieved families will have a lot of questions to ask Mr. A.K. Antony and senior naval officers.
Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned, taking moral responsibility for the mishaps but the real question is, shouldnt the defence minister quit too? Wasnt it his responsibility to see to it that after the heart-wrenching tragedy of INS Sindhurakshak in August last year, which claimed the lives of 18 crew members, none of the submarines have to suffer the same fate? Does it not fall under the defence ministrys purview to check for facts about what went wrong and how after a massive loss? If the Naval Chief is accountable for the pathetic state of naval equipments in the country, the biggest culprit must be the defence minister. Earlier it was stated that the two werent seeing eye to eye in crucial matters. Right after INS Sindhurakshak mishap, A.K. Antony had asked the Admiral to optimally operate the countrys assets and ensure that these are not frittered away which angered the naval chief as it implied that Navy was solely responsible for the mishaps and the defence ministry had clearly and quite conveniently washed its hands off the matter. The incidents that followed added to the turmoil and the differences between the two men deepened with time.
INS Sindhuratna was one of the thirteen Russian Kilo-class submarines which were purchased during 1986-1988. As of now, all these submarines have exceeded their shelf life. Indian Naval Services have been complaining about their machinery being in a bad state for quite a long time but no concrete steps have been taken by the government. Given the current state of international affairs and powerful but unfriendly neighbors like China expanding their naval fleet on a grand scale, the modernization of the Indian Navy is critical as in the days to come the world might take this weakness as an invitation for attacking our water borders. Having a strong naval force would then play a decisive role in securing a safe future for our country.
As a proud Army daughter and a B.Tech graduate, who let go of corporate jobs in order to dedicate myself fully to the service of the society, by joining an NGO and blogging about social issues, its my most cherished dream to see India progress, prosper and become a developed country ASAP. I have worked extensively with online media platforms and start-ups. Read my thoughts at:http://shivangi-