Lt. Cdr B.N. Kavina, VrC: Hero of Karachi Harbour’s Fiery Night in 1971

• Courage That Defined the 1971 War

New Delhi. 03 December 2024. Lt. Cdr BN Kavina, VrC, the iconic War Hero and gallant fearless Commanding Officer of the Indian Navy, was one of the chief architects who created history during the 1971 Indo-Pak war!

Lt Cdr BN Kavina, VrC, was the Commanding Officer of INS Nipat during the brilliant missile attack against Karachi harbour and Pakistani naval forces in 1971, code named Operation Trident, executed by the glorious 25th Missile Squadron comprising INS Nipat (Lieutenant Commander BN Kavina, VrC), INS Nirghat (Lieutenant Commander IJ Sharma, AVSM, VrC ) and INS Veer (Lieutenant Commander OP Mehta, VrC NM). These Osa-1 class missile boats were each armed with four SS-N-2B Styx anti-ship missiles.

The task force approaching Karachi made contact with the destroyer PNS Khaiber at about 2245 hours Pakistan Time on December 4, 1971, INS Nirghat launching two missiles and sinking her. Thereafter, INS Nipat fired two missiles sinking the merchant vessel Venus Challenger carrying ammunition and crippling her escort the destroyer PNS Shah Jehan. The strike group had sailed to within 50 km of Karachi. INS Veer was ordered to engage a contact on her starboard (right) bow. The Styx missile fired by her struck the minesweeper PNS Muhafiz on the port (left) side disintegrating her. The crew didn’t even get time to send off a distress signal!

Apprehending a reaction by the enemy air force, the task force was ordered a withdrawal by the other two boats to the pre-determined rendezvous with the tanker INS Poshak. Cool as a cucumber throughout, Lieutenant Commander BN Kavina, VrC, (with the 25th Missile Squadron Commander embarked) now took Nipat to within 25 km of the shore, firing a Styx at the Keamari oil terminal setting off a spectacular blaze.

This set the stage for the second missile attack on Karachi after which what was left of the Pakistani fleet never again ventured out to sea. Thereafter, the Indian Navy was in total control of the seas!!!

 Lt. Cdr Bahadur Nariman Kavina VrC (1 March 1937 – 30 June 2017) was a prominent Indian naval officer, who was commanding officer of the INS Nipat. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Kavina was the chief architect of attack on the Port of Karachi and led the successful attack on Pakistani Navy headquarters.

He was born to a Parsi family in Bhusawal, Maharashtra in British India. His father was Nariman and mother Tehmina. He was educated in Bhusawal and Boys’ Town, Nashik, where he repeatedly ran away despite being dutifully returned to school each time. He then attended Jai Hind College in Bombay, where he studied science.

Kavina first joined the National Cadet Corps as a naval cadet. After graduating from Jai Hind, he attended the National Defence Academy in Pune, and officially joined the Indian Navy in 1965. That same year, during the Indian–Pakistani conflict, he participated in patrols along the Gujarat border. In 1969, Kavina was sent to the Soviet Union for specialised training on missile boats.

In the 1971 war, the Indian Navy introduced a new missile boat to carry out their activities. Its overall relationship with the overall considerations and wartime costs continued. Such operations were successfully conducted in the presence of the INS Vikrant in the Andaman Islands. The Soviet-made Indian Navy’s missile warriors interacted with each other and proceeded to attack the missile and confuse the Pakistani Navy.

The 25th Missile Squadron was formed in a joint operation of the three Vidyut-class missile boats: INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer — in the operational code name Operation Trident in the Pakistan-India war of 1971.After the destruction of the ships PNS Khaibar, MV Venus Challenger, PNS Shah Jahan and PNS Muhafiz, the Indian carrier took a distance of 26 km (16 mi) away from the port of Karachi, where located Pakistan Navy’s headquarters. When the oil tanker and refinery in the rudder mode of the inspection, the Nipat took two stages proceedings. After striking oil tanker and refinery, the Trident operation went on to Bombay completely with full confidence. Since then, 4 December is celebrated as a Navy day in India.

After successfully completing the operations they were fully recognized. Then Fleet Operations Officer Captain and later Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani were awarded the Nao Sena Medal for the detailed operational planning; the Maha Vir Chakra was awarded to the strike group commander, Yadav, for planning and leading the task force; and Vir Chakras were awarded to Lieutenant Commanders Bahadur Nariman Kavina, Inderjit Sharma, and Om Prakash Mehta, the commanding officers of INS Nipat, INS Nirghat, and INS Veer respectively. Master Chief M. N. Sangal of INS Nirghat was also awarded the Vir Chakra. He died on 30 June 2017, in Adelaide, Australia, where he had been staying with his son, Carl.

Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, last year inaugurated 126 dwelling units at INHSAsvini named ‘KAVINA’ in memory of Late Lt Cdr Bahadur Nariman Kavina, Vir Chakra on 14 Dec.