November 05, 2018:
On Sunday, Vice Admiral Manohar Pralhad Awati (retd), a veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war & a Vir Chakra awardee, passed away at an age of 91 in his hometown of Vinchurni, Phaltan, near Satara.
He is survived by his wife Sandhya, sons Kailas & Kedarnath, and 3 grandchildren. His last rites were performed on Sunday in Vinchurni, in the presence of his family, retired armed forces personnel & Senior revenue Officers from Satara district.
He was a wildlife conservationist, a history enthusiast & more significantly, the founder of the Maritime History Society. He was instrumental in introducing the ‘Sagar Parikrama’ project in 2007, which entailed solo circumnavigation around the globe on Indian-made sailboats.
Former Indian Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash called him a ‘source of inspiration’ for Indian armed forces.
Admiral Prakash, who served under Awati as a young cadet said,“Admiral Awati had instilled high military values in us. His demise is a huge loss to the navy. He is irreplaceable. He had given lot to the service even after his retirement.”
Awati was born on September 7, 1927, in Mumbai, and commissioned into the Royal Indian Navy in November 1945. He began his career in the Indian Navy after returning to India from England in 1950.
Awati has commanded several Indian naval ships, such as Ranjit, Vendurthy, Betwa, Tir and Mysore. He was awarded the Vir Chakra in 1972 for showing valour as the commanding officer of INS Kamorta during in the 1971 war.
His citation reads,“Undeterred, he carried out continuous probes into the enemy-defended harbours in Bangladesh & inflicted heavy damage on the enemy.”
He was a specialist in signal communication and also a top administrator, serving as the Commander-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, & also NDA Commandant (1976-77).
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed her condolences on Twitter.
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