Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former Indian Navy chief, dies aged 91

Among the various honours he received for his service include the Vir Chakra, Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal among others.

In 2004, he was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace for his efforts towards demilitarising and denuclearising South Asia.

He is survived by his wife Lalita Ramdas and their daughters. Lalita is the daughter of Admiral Ram Dass Katari (Retd), the 3rd Chief of Naval Staff.

In a post on X, the Indian Navy spokesperson said, "With profound grief and a heavy heart, we regret to announce the sad demise of Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas PVSM, AVSM, VrC, VSM (Retd), former Chief of the Naval Staff, age 90 years, on #15Mar 24 at Secundarabad."

"During his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, the Admiral held several important appointments such as Commanding Officer INS Beas during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Controller Warship Production and Acquisition, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, FOC-in-C (South) and FOC-in-C (East), and rose to the helm as the 13th #CNS of the #IndianNavy on 01 Dec 1990," the post further read.

Admiral Ramdas was also associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as an internal Lokpal. However, in March 2015, he was removed from the post and a new Lokpal panel, with IPS officers N Dilip Kumar and Rakesh Sinha and educationist SP Verma, was formed.

On the 75th Anniversary of International Human Rights Day, in his message, Admiral Ramdas shared that he had joined the Indian Navy as a teenager. Not only did he serve the institution for over forty years but also headed it for three years before retiring in 1993 at the age of 60.

Over the last 30 years, Admiral Das said, they had lived in a rural area, "re-learning Citizenship after a Lifetime on Ships". Post-retirement, a new start was like a "learning laboratory" for people like him who had spent much of their time in "the privileged sanctuaries of the military and had little idea of the world outside".

And that's what made him understand that "we needed Peace in our neighbourhood if we were to bring millions out of poverty". Admiral Ramdas worked actively towards building people-to-people dialogues between India and Pakistan.

And that's what turned him, in his own words, "from a Man o’ war to a man o’ Peace".