Unraveling the secret of epic war of 1971,which had established the identity of INDIA as a major power in South Asia

what was ‘TheGhaziAttack’? What was so unique about the mission that it had to be kept under secrecy for years? For unraveling the secret,we might have to revert to the epic war of 1971,which had established the identity of INDIA as a major power in South Asia

By the end of 1971, the conflict between India and Pakistan intensified. East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan were on far ends from each other, sandwiched between India. West Pakistan could not access East Pakistan via India through land or air. The only option was to provide supplies to its military on the east via waters – crossing the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal.

Earlier that year, Indian Navy’s INS Vikrant had effectivelycreated a Navalblockade which completelyisolated East-Pakistan in the Bay of Bengalwhich completely isolated East-Pakistan in the Bay of Bengal

INS Vikrant in 1971

The Pakistani Navy was thus under pressure from the government to deploy the ageing PNS Ghazi from Karachi port. PNS Ghazi was the only long range submarine to be able to carry out operations so far in the Bay of Bengal area.

PNS Ghazi was a WWII submarine of the US Navy (called USS Diablo ) which was loaned to Pakistan. In 1964, USS Diablo was formally inducted into Pakistan Navy and was rechristened as PNS Ghazi to become Pakistan’s first-ever submarine. It participated in the 1965 Indo-Pak war and further enhanced its inventory and immunity since then.

The Ghazi was the only submarine Pakistan had that could travel up to 11,000 nautical miles & could sustain underground for over a month. So Pakistan, below the radar, deployed Ghazi in mid-November from Karachi. From there, it made its way to the Bay of Bengal.

Pns ghazi

It is said that a message was sent to Chittagong naval authorities enquiring about a special grade of lubrication oil which was exclusively employed by submarines & minesweepers. That message was intercepted by the Indian Navy. They knew that there was only one Pakistani ship capable of making that voyage: The Ghazi.

Vice Admiral N Krishnan, the Commanding Flag Officer of the Eastern Naval Command, Indian Navy

Krishnan was concerned about one of India’s greatest and most formidable carriers, INS Vikrant, being threatened by the presence of Pakistan’s destructive Ghazi submarine in the Bay of Bengal. So he decided to deceive the Pakistani Navy into believing that INS Vikrant was in the port of Vizag by getting an ageing destroyer INS Rajput to pretend to be Vikrant by sailing it out of Vizag and generating heavy wireless traffic.

He even tricked his own navy in Chennai by falsely informing them that INS Vikrant would arrive in Vizag and ordering huge rations to indicate that the fleet was in the harbour. He put out radio messaged that made the Ghazi believe that INS Vikrant was near Vizag (Vishakhapatnam). There were extra rations also ordered from the contractors at the Vizag Port. This furthered Ghazi’s belief that INS Vikrant was definitely near Vizag. In fact, the Ghazi even received a transmission that read ‘Occupy Victor Zone (Vizag’s code name) with all dispatch.

However, the INS Vikrant had already been sent to Port X-ray –a secret location near Andaman. The first stage of deception had worked. Meanwhile, the Ghazi still planning on catching the INS Vikrant off guard, had deployed several underwater mines near Vizag. Once the Vikrant was away, the Indian Navy had to keep with their plan in making the Pakistani Navy believe that they were closing in. So the Indian Naval command then deployed an old World War 2 destroyer called INS Rajput. Vice Admiral N Krishnan decided to deflect the INS Rajput towards Vizag and gave it the objective of pretending to be INS Vikrant

Ins Rajput was taking the place of a ship that a fearsome submarine wanted to destroy. They were meant to send out heavy wireless signals. It would solidify the impression that the INS Vikrant was nearby. The Rajput was also told to turn off all the navigational aids after leaving port, post refueling. And so it did. It bravely waded into the water under the assumption that the huge submarine was in the vicinity

INS Karanj ( code named S21 and the movie ‘The Ghazi Attack ‘ is based on this submarine ) was sent for search operation in the Bay of Bengal.While patrolling it encountered with Pns ghazi .PNS Ghazi was torpedoed by Kalvari class submarine INS Karanj, apparently codenamed S 21, which under a classified mission, ripped apart the PNS Ghazi. This gave India a huge momentum in the 1971 war from the naval perspective; and it is on this Indian version, that the movie, ‘The Ghazi Attack’, is based.

Past midnight, on 4thDecember, a submarine depth change was caught on sonar. They could not confirm which vessel it was, but they knew it had to be the Ghazi. The then Captain of the INS Rajput, Inder Singh, ordered the firing of two depth charges. Less than a minute later a huge explosion shook the Rajput. But it was not the Indian Ship that had suffered the brunt of the blast.

In the morning, there was oil slick & debris floating on the water surface that the fishermen reported to the Indian Navy. Some of the debris was marked USS Diablo. The ghazi had sunk along with its crew members. India’s deceptive measures had come to fruition. The fire from the charges had hit the Ghazi’s storage space that contained mines & torpedoes, blowing the hull to pieces. An old World War 2 destroyer had braved to enter a minefield without navigation systems turned on and had taken down a mighty submarine.

While India claims that this is what happened, Pakistan denies it. But, Pakistan has always been in denial mode. There are 2 different versions and like always Pakistan begs to differ. As a result of the Ghazi attack, the Indian Navy inflicted huge damages on Pakistani naval operations & went on to win the 1971 war

Ins Karanj, Sent for patrolling

Ins Karanj , decommissioned and kept as a memorial at vizag beach

INS Rajput