As the nation celebrates its 73rd Republic Day, INS Khukri will be handed over to the Diu administration in a ceremonial event at the Khukri Memorial.

INS Khukri, the lead ship of the Indian Navy’s Khukri class corvettes, is an indigenous surface-to-surface missile fitted vessel that has had the distinction of being part of both the Western and Eastern Fleets.

The ship has been in service for more than 32 years. It has participated in all forms of naval operations. It was decommissioned in a solemn ceremony on December 23, 2021 with the lowering of the national flag, naval ensign, and decommissioning pennant at sunset in the presence of Vice Admiral, Biswajit Dasgupta, AVSM, YSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

Built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders the ship was commissioned on 23 August 1989 in Mumbai by Krishna Chandra Pant, the then defence minister, and Sudha Mulla, wife of late captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, MVC.

The decommissioned vessel is the second ship of the Navy to carry the name INS Khukri. The first ship with the same name was lost during the 1971 Indo-Pak war off the coast of Diu. The crew of that ship led by late Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla (MVC) has been immortalized in the Khukri Memorial at Diu where a scaled-down model of their old ship is displayed in solemn splendor.

As part of developing and revitalizing the Khukri Memorial, Diu administration had approached the ministry of defence in 2019 asking the ship be gifted for public display. The vessel will be officially handed over to the Diu administration. The ship commenced her last journey under tow by Indian Navy ships from Visakhapatnam and arrived at Diu on January 14, 2022.

“The ship is planned to be developed as a full-scale museum. In this role too she will inspire people of the nation true to her motto and war cry, ‘Bal, Sahas, Josh aur Dum. Khukri Nahin Kissi Se Kam’,” the defence ministry said in a statement.