Former Indian Navy chief admiral L Ramdas passes away at 90

Former Indian Navy chief admiral and human rights activist Laxminarayan Ramdas passed away in a military hospital in Hyderabad on Friday, 15 March, defence sources said.

Ramdas (90) served as navy chief between December 1990 and September 1993.

He passed away due to age-related issues, they said.

Ramdas is survived by his wife Lalita Ramdas and three daughters.

Ramdas was an important figure in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

In an interview in 2021, Ramdas told The Indian Express, “Some of the highlights of our action were bombardment and amphibious landings at Cox’s Bazar, interception of gun boats, encounter and boarding of Pakistani vessels masquerading as foreign merchant vessels, and anti-submarine operations.”

Ramdas was a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and the Vishisht Seva Medal in recognition of his outstanding service.

Ramdas also backed Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and before it began, he wrote an open letter to the Congress leader.

According to the NewsClick report, Ramdas wrote a letter on 26 September 2022 saying, "The current initiative of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is very timely and much needed. Hopefully, we will join hands across party affiliations and reach out with the all-important message of saying NO to hate and YES to love and peace and Fraternity."

With PTI inputs