New Delhi, Jan 26: Indian Navy will hand over decommissioned ship INS Khukri to the Diu administration on Wednesday where it is planned to be developed as a full-scale museum. INS Khukri, lead ship of the Indian Navy’s Khukri class corvettes and an indigenous surface-to-surface missile fitted vessel, was commissioned into the Navy on 23 August 1989 in Mumbai by the then defence minister Krishna Chandra Pant and Mrs. Sudha Mulla, wife of late Capt Mahendra Nath Mulla, MVC.
It was decommissioned in December last year after 32 years of glorious service in presence of Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Indian Navy said. As per the tradition, the national flag, naval ensign and decommissioning pennant were lowered at sunset during the decommissioning ceremony. The ship was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and it had the distinction of being part of both, the Western and Eastern Fleets, Indian Navy said.
“The decommissioned vessel is the second ship of the Navy to carry the name INS Khukri, the first having been lost during the 1971 Indo-Pak war off the coast of Diu. The valiant crew of that ship, led by late Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla (MVC), has been immortalized in the Khukri Memorial at Diu where a scaled-down model of their old ship is displayed in solemn splendour,” the Indian Navy said.
As part of developing and revitalising the Khukri Memorial, the Diu Administration had approached the Ministry of Defence in 2019 for gifting a decommissioned naval vessel for public display, Indian Navy said.
The ship commenced her last journey under tow by Indian Navy ships from Visakhapatnam and arrived at Diu on 14 January 2022. As the nation celebrates its 73rd Republic Day, she will be handed over to Diu administration in a ceremonial event at the Khukri Memorial. Even as a full-scale museum, the ship will inspire the people of the nation, true to her motto and war cry : ‘Bal Shahas, Josh sur Dum, Khukri Nahi Kisi Se Kam’, said Indian Navy.
