Capt Mahendra Nath Mulla, Maha Vir Chakra

My Dear Indians,

Today is 9 Dec 2022.

Exactly 51 years back on this day during the India Pakistan War…..

At 8.45 pm on 9 December 1971 Indian Naval Ship INS Khukri was torpedoed by a Pakistani submarine in the Arabian sea.

(A Torpedo is a bomb, shaped like a long narrow tube that is fired from a submarine and explodes when it hits another ship)

INS Khukri sank within minutes. 178 sailors and 18 officers went down with the ship.

The captain of the ship is the last man to abandon the ship after everyone else has been rescued. For INS Khukri there was not enough time to save all Officers and Sailors.

Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, the Captain of INS Khukri stood by his ill-fated shipmates till the last moment and shared their destiny although he had the opportunity  to save himself.

He went down to the bottom of the sea with his ship & shipmates.  

Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla has set the highest traditions in The Indian Navy.

सबसे पहले देश

फिर मेरी पलटन (फ़ौज )

फिर मेरे साथी

और सबसे आखिर में…. मैं

His second-in-command Lieutenant Commander Joginder Singh Suri also made the supreme sacrifice.

6 officers and 61 sailors who had survived will ever remember Captain Mulla’s stoic demeanor and calm in the face of adversity.

Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla was posthumously honoured with the Maha Vir Chakra.

My Dear Indians,

This is not just about a Captain who was committed to his team and stayed with his team till the end......this is about setting the right traditions......this is about showing the right path by walking on the very same path.

Only men and women of character can set the right traditions for generations to follow.

कोई चलता पद चिन्हों पर, कोई पद चिन्ह बनाता है।

बस वही सूरमा वीर पुरुष, दुनिया में पूजा जाता है।

 

Jai Hind !

Gaurav Negi

 

Captain and his ship

 

With his wife

 

His wife- Smt Sudha Mulla- at the National War Memorial