Vice Admiral RKS (‘Russi ‘) Ghandhi

‘THREE WAR CAPTAIN’ -INDIA’S ’S NELSON ADMIRAL RKS GHANDHI  BREATHED HIS LAST  MUMBAI   

Ranjit B Rai in Admiration and an  IDF Salute to RKS !

“Admiral Ghandhi was one of the grand stalwarts of our Navy. A flamboyant and an extremely courteous gentleman belonging to the ‘old school’ he will be missed by all of us who had the privilege of serving under him”. Commodore Rajan Vir. President Indian Maritime Foundation.  

The words ‘old school’,   alludes to the old Anglo Indian, Parsi and UK trained Indian Navy officers and sailors modeled after the RN to follow the divisional system, ensure a non–religious attitude and to train your men  to serve to the  limits of their ships.  India  saw the  Brit and Indian officers and men in RIN achieve  glory in WW 2, then  brave its  disbandment  after the 1946 mutiny  which hastened Independence;  and finally the Bangla Desh  1971 war   saw   Indian  Navy’s Finest Hours.  Admiral RKS Ghandhi was awarded VrC in command of INS Mysore ( ex HMS Gambia)  as the Flag Captain in the Western Fleet in 1971 and all exploits of India’s wars are in Warring Nuclear Navies-India and Pakistan on Amazon.   

Ghandhi was Parsi by religion and was son of Khushro Shapoorjee Ghandhi and Dina Dhunjishah Amroliwalla, born at Jabalpur,(in Central India) on 1st July 1924. He graduated from St Joseph’s Nainital  1941 with an Intermediate Science degree and after a year of  advanced studies at Allahabad University fired by the desire to serve the nation,  joined the RIN,  and earned a permanent commission on 1 January 1943. After 2 years Subs courses in UK served under Lt N Krishnan  DSO later VADM on board HMIS Shamsher as a Sub Lt during the 1946 mutiny and told   Krishnan it was time  to bomb Royal Bombay Yacht Club, which refused membership to Indians. Krishnan cleverly kept Shamsher away from Bombay by conjuring a signal ordering  the  Shamsher to search a ditched aircraft 80 nm from Bombay and asked Ghandhi to supervise !

In 1947 Lt Ghandhi nicknamed    Russi  was Governor General  Mountbatten’s  Flag Lieutenant at  Independence  and there grew  a bond of professionalism and friendship  between them. Ghandhi prided his photograph in Parliament standing next to Pandit Nehru and Mountbatten when Nehru delivered the ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech on the midnight 14^th August of Independence and established a long lasting friendship with the Mountbatten family which was enduring.  On 15^th August 1949 Russi  led the Indian Independence day contingent in London in the parade while doing Long G at HMS Excellent.  

Cdr Ghandhi became  the first Captain of the Indian Navy  to take part in sea battle  to take Goa and cripple the  Portuguese destroyer “NRP Afonso de Albuquerque”, off  Mormugao Harbour in 1961 by superior gun action and by maneuvering Betwa in the restricted Goa harbor when Albuquerque tried to hide behind merchant ships.   Like   Lord Nelson at Trafalgar  who looked through his blind eye and said he saw no signal,  Russi denied he saw the  White Flag claimed to have been put up by  Captain Antonio da Cunha Aragao of the Albuquerque  who grounded the ship ashore under fire and abandoned her when he was wounded by Betwa’s accurate FPS 4.5 inch  gunfire.  Ghandhi went to meet da Cunha  in hospital   who    handed over his cabin key to Ghandhi in surrender.

When  Aragao told him he had surrendered  after the first shot,  Ghandhi replied , “ Sorry Ole Captain  I think your white flag got entangled in the yardarms  arm and we did not  see it”.  Ghandhi sent messages via his Royal Navy contacts  to inform the  family of  Aragao that he was in good care. Betwa  won the Fleet regatta twice and the ship was known as the Cock of the Fleet. The result hinged on the last officers race and this writer in Mysore’s officers whaler team saw a ruddy Ghandhi shout to his team, ‘ If you lose do not came back on board !”.They won by a whisker and learnt about Ghandhi’s ways.    

As  a Rear Admiral the Navy appointed  RKS Ghandhi as India’s Naval Adviser in London at India House in Aldwych from 1972 to 1974. The Ghandhis spent few weekends at Mountbatten’s country home Broadlands . This writer as a  Lt Cdr  undergoing the Royal Navy Staff Course at Greenwich vividly recalls meeting  Deputy High Commissioner Natwar Singh,  at a dinner hosted by the Ghandhis where Deputy Defence Minister Frank Judd from Scotland was the Chief guest.  Natwar Singh later India’s Foreign Minister, was holding fort in a history lesson,  which is his forte,   when the Admiral came up to me, “Young Rai, if you cannot change the subject, you will fail RNSC, now do it !”

With trepidation I butted in to speak of Scotch whiskies my forte,  while offering the Minister a drink,   and that is when Frank Judd took over extolling the waters of Scotland and the India-Scotland connection, and it became a splendid evening, and I got my request to study nuclear subjects at RNSC despite 1974 ban after Pokhran nuclear blast.  

Vice Admiral PC Bhasin India’s nuclear submarine INS Arihant’s builder,  a Lt Cdr  under him in London who had this to say. “The Indian Navy was transforming rapidly with technological induction of new Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, SATNAV and Command and Control systems. We were able to help the Naval Headquarters (NHQ) with decision making. Admiral Ghandhi, having served as ADC to Lord Louis Mountbatten, was an added plus to open doors in the UK Admiralty”.

On handing over the Eastern Fleet Rear Admiral Ghandhi signaled to Rear Admiral D S Paintal,“I hand you a fine worked up Eastern fleet ……try chief cook Barua’s  lobster thermedior …it is the best”. He went on to command  the Western Fleet and the Western Command.

Upon retirement Vice Admiral Ghandhi enjoyed a short stint as technical consultant for the movie, “Sea Wolves,” and played a cameo role as the Governor of Goa in it.  He was appointed Chairman of the Shipping Corporation of  India in   1981 and served in that capacity until 1986.

During April 1986 to February, 1990, when Rajiv Gandhi was PM, Vice Admiral Ghandhi was awarded the Param Visisht Seva Medal or meritorious service of the highest order, and served as Governor of Himachal Pradesh in  Raj Bhawan in Shimla  built in 1815, and formerly known as Barnes Court.  He was a Member of the National Commission for Minorities from 1993 to 1996.

That was what  Admiral Ghandhi was !

 That was quintessence  Russi the man the  Navy loved and admired who breathed his last  few days after  Xmas 2014 after a prolonged period of recovery after a stroke he suffered a few years ago. He  had lost his wife Bubbles earlier a generous hostess and an affectionate senior officer’s naval wife.  He is survived by his son Sandy a Law Professor in UK and daughters Delna  and Yasmin who  headed  Shell in New Delhi . The Western Fleet he commanded gave him a burial at sea off Mumbai.