Indian Navy ship to be developed as a museum in memory of 1971 war heroes

The decommissioned Indian Naval Ship (INS) Khukri will be handed over to the Diu Administration to develop it into a full-scale museum.

The ship will be handed over to the Diu administration on 26 January.

Lost in the 1971 war, the Indian Navy’s corvette INS Khukri was born in a new avatar in 1989. After serving for 32 years, the missile fitted vessel will now be developed as a museum in memory of the crew aboard the ship during the Indo-Pak war.

After more than 32 glorious years of service to the nation and participating in all kinds of naval operations, the ship was decommissioned in a solemn ceremony on 23rd December, 2021.

As the nation celebrates Republic Day, the ship will be handed over to the Diu administration on 26 January.

The Defense Ministry said, “The brave crew of that ship, led by the late Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla (MVC), has been immortalized at the Khukri Memorial in Diu, where a small model of their old ship was displayed with grandeur. Is.”

According to the Defense Ministry, as part of developing and revitalizing the Khukri Memorial, the Diu administration had approached the Defense Ministry in 2019 to gift it for public display. As it turned out, it was time to pay for the second kukri.

Khukri, the lead ship of the Khukri class of corvettes of the Indian Navy and an indigenous surface-to-surface missile fitted vessel, had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern fleets. Built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, the ship was commissioned on 23 August 1989 at Mumbai.

The ship commenced its final voyage by Indian Navy ships from Visakhapatnam and reached Diu on 14 January 2022.

The Defense Ministry said there are plans to develop the ship into a full-scale museum. In this role too, she will inspire the people of the country with her motto and war slogan: ‘Baal, sahas, josh aur dum, khukri nahi kisi se kaam’.

Read | INS Khukri decommissioned at Visakhapatnam after 32 years of service

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