Admiral Sourendra Nath Kohli
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- Category: Chiefs of Naval Staff
- Published: Thursday, 30 October 2008 00:00
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On his appointment as the superintendent of the Naval Dockyard at Bombay he was promoted to the rank of Commodore. Admiral Kohli has served in a number of staff appointments in addition to seagoing commands and has the distinction of having been twice Director of Naval Plans. He has been the Naval Adviser in the UK and has served as Principal Staff Officer in Naval HQ, first as the Chief of Material and then as the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS). He rose to Flag rank in August 1965 and as Rear Admiral, he commanded the Indian Fleet from 1967 to 1969, spearheaded by the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. He was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for exceptional and distinguished service in January 1968.
Prior to taking over as the FOC-in-C of the Western Naval Command in Bombay, on 12 February 1971, Admiral Kohli was, for two years, the Commandant of the National Defence College, which is the highest seat of learning in the politico-military field of our country. During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Admiral Kohli was responsible not only for all naval operations in the North Arabian Sea but also entrusted with the defence of our coastline from the borders with Pakistan to Goa.
In addition, he was the controlling authority for the safe routing of the entire Indian mercantile fleet. The Western Fleet under his intrepid and imaginative leadership was instrumental in delivering crippling blows on the Pakistan Navy. The daring raids on Karachi have passed into the annals of naval warfare as a master stroke of offensive policy. After the war, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for "Demonstrating exceptional ability, sagacity and fortitude in putting into effect the several plans for the defence of our harbours and coastline."