Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas 'Charles' Nanda, PVSM, AVSM (10 October 1915 – 11 May 2009) was an Indian Navy admiral who served as the 7th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 March 1970 until 28 February 1973. He led the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and successfully executed a naval blockade of both West and East Pakistan, helping India achieve an overwhelming victory during the war. For his important role played in the war, Government of India awarded him with Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award. He is one of the most notable commanders in the history of the Indian Navy.
Born in Manora, Karachi, Nanda joined the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1941. During World War II, he served onboard HMIS Travancore and as an instructor at the signals school in HMIS Talwar. After the war, he served on board HMIS Narbada (U40) which was based out of Japan as part of the British occupation forces. He subsequently served as the communication officer of HMIS Cauvery (U10).
Following the Independence of India, he was appointed executive officer of Cauvery, and in 1948, was appointed first lieutenant of the flagship HMIS Delhi (C74). In 1949, he was appointed director of personnel services at NHQ and in 1950 took command of the R class destroyer, INS Ranjit (1949), which represented India at the coronation review of the fleet. Nanda subsequently commanded the Black Swan-class sloop INS Jamuna (U21) and the 16th frigate squadron. In 1954, he was appointed Chief of Personnel and constituted commodore 2nd class in September 1956. Appointed the commissioning commanding officer of the new flagship of the Navy, the Crown Colony-class cruiser INS Mysore (C60), he commissioned the ship in August 1957 at Birkenhead. In 1958, he took over as the Director General Naval Dockyard Expansion Scheme. After attending the Imperial Defence College in 1962, he returned to India and was appointed Chief of Materiel at NHQ.
Promoted to flag rank in May 1962, Nanda was appointed the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff. As DCNS, he played an important role in the development of Goa as a naval base. In 1964, he took over as the managing director of Mazagon Dock Limited.
In 1966, he was appointed Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet and then Flag Officer Bombay in 1968. The Bombay command was upgraded and Nanda took over as the first Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command in the rank of vice admiral. On 1 March 1970, he took command as the seventh Chief of the Naval Staff. Under his command, the Navy attacked Karachi with missile boats and bombarded ports in East Pakistan with aircraft of INS Vikrant (R11), apart from successfully enforcing naval blockades on two fronts. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, and awards for distinguished service – the Param Vishisht Seva Medal and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.