|
 Born
in 1944 in Lahore, Admiral PC Bhasin’s family
suffered the travails of the India-Pakistan partition
and migrated to Amritsar in 1948 where his father
practiced as an Advocate. Educated at Royal Indian
Military College, Dehra Dun, PC, as he is known
to friends, joined the Navy through the National
Defence Academy in 1964 and completed a record
45 years service, before hanging up his boots
which included training in Netherlands and Russia.
He has held some very critical and forward looking
appointments.
As a young officer, he pioneered missile preparation
in the Indian Navy for the 1971 war and billets
at sea. Adm Bhasin served as Project Director
and Director General of the ATV programme, a misnomer
for India’s nuclear submarine, for 8 long years
to cut the steel for the submarine at Vishakapatnam,
steer the rolling in of the aggregate, joining
of the submarine blocks and outfitting and pre-installation
of internal equipment which is the normal construction
cycle of nuclear submarines.
Earlier Directors General of the ATV project,
Vice Admirals MK Roy, B Bhushan and RN Ganesh,
deserve credit for the planning and Admiral Bhasin
for the execution of the project. In the Navy’s
close circles, he is nicknamed India’s Rickover,
after the famous Admiral who steered the US Navy’s
large Nuclear Submarine programme.
Vice Admiral Promod C
Bhasin (Retd) PVSM AVSM
India Strategic.
Admiral Bhasin, you have had a remarkable career
of 40 years in the fine Indian Navy in Uniform
and then 5 long years as a Secretary to the Government
of India in a special project. This is a tremendous
record. Please comment.
Adm Bhasin.
I was commissioned on 1st January 1964 and I want
to say I wore the naval uniform in service of
my country with pride and satisfaction, both in
peace and war. And I hope I made some contribution
to the rise of the Indian Navy which I think will
be a very important factor to the future of India.
I hung up my white double braided Vice Admiral
cap as Chief of Material (COM) after 40 years
and that is highest rank a technical branch officer
can aspire for. I transferred to the classified
Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) project under
the DRDO, in a civilian capacity as Director General,
and having worked there as Project Director ATV
earlier, it was a smooth transition. I was familiar
with all the multi-disciplined Indian and Russian
agencies involved in the challenging task India
had taken on.
India Strategic
Could you recall your early appointments after
you were commissioned in to the Indian Navy as
part of the 22th NDA Course as an Electrical Officer
and your experience of being deputed to the Soviet
Union for the Killer Osa Missile Boats, which
did India proud on 4 December 1971 by their daring
attack on Karachi.
Adm Bhasin.
My appointments began on board INS Vikrant as
an Assistant Electrical Officer and that makes
you think big, which is boon the Indian Navy is
endowed with. Then at a young age, I was appointed
Electrical Officer of INS Cauvery 1967-69. That
was an independent charge that gives one a lot
of self confidence. Then I was deputed to Vladivostok
in the Soviet Union for Missile Boat Training
and missile mainatnence and readiness under Late
Vice Admiral B Madholkar. It was a very gruelling
period living on an in the island in cold climes,
and eating different foods but professionally
gratifying as on return I was appointed to INS
Tunir off Mumbai and we were able to arm the missile
boats from TP for the 1971 war successfully.
India Strategic.
You also were also appointed to London in the
1970s as an Assistant Naval Attaché for 3 years
in the Indian high Commission there. India had
received warships from UK and the Leander project
was the pride of India. What are your recollections
and do you see that leading up to the Indian Navy
coming up to Western Naval standards?
Adm Bhasin.
I served in the Indian High Commission at Aldywch,
London for three years under then Rear Admiral
RKS Ghandhi and Cmde CL Sachdeva and you have
put it rightly. The Indian Navy was transforming
rapidly with technological induction of new Electronic
Warfare (EW) systems, SATNAV and Command and Control
systems. We were able to help the Naval headquarters
(NHQ) with decision making. Admiral Ghandhi, having
served as ADC to Lord Louis Mountbatten, was an
added plus to open doors in the UK Admiralty.
I gained a lot.
India Strategic.
How many appointments did you serve in NHQ before
being promoted to Rear Admiral and how challenging
was it as the Indian Navy had really taken large
strides in technology and missiles. It is said
that the new generation technical officers with
M Techs degrees from IITs and WEESE helped make
the change swiftly.
Adm Bhasin.
I was lucky to serve as Deputy Director Weapons
Equipment (WE) which is a crucial directorate
for selection and commissioning of equipment,
and then Director Ship Production (DSP). They
are both futuristic directorates in the mainstream
of the Navy. And yes, the quality of technical
officers very much improved with all technical
officers being encouraged to qualify for M Tech
from IITs and other technical institutions. The
exposure and competition with younger civilians
in academic atmosphere and yet in uniform contributed
to making the Navy techno-savvy. The Weapons Electronics
Engineering Systems Establishment (WEESE), the
Navy’s mini research centre in New Delhi, was
a great support to mix and match various western
and Soviet systems on all our frontline ships.
India Strategic
You were Admiral Superintendent Naval Dockyard
(ASD) handling Asia’s largest warship repair yard
and then associated with the ATV Project for many
years. Though many issues are still classified,
the launch in July 2009 and has made the project
public. It is said that the ATV project has really
been a great partnership between the Navy, Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),
Bhabha Atomic Research centre (BARC), Department
of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Indian Industry with
full Russian support. Could you elaborate on the
project within the bounds permitted as Industry
and foreign partners are privy to many details?
Adm Bhasin.
I was ASD from 1989 and it is a humbling experience
to get productivity and operational availability
for ships from the large civilian and uniformed
workforce of a couple of thousands. But you must
know that very high standards and systems, including
for civilian designations of General Managers
for naval officers, have been put in place by
my predecessors with outside studies. So all one
can do is maybe to improve upon them, and lead
the teams with good morale and understanding which
is what leadership is all about. I had also worked
on the degaussing ranges in Goa, a new thing for
the Indian Navy and CSO (Tech). All this helped
when I became Project Director ATV and later DG
ATV under DRDO heads, including Dr APJ Kalam.
I must say they delegated a lot and supported
the most challenging project. My ATV team was
also allowed to conceive and steer the underwater
missile which is an achievement we will be proud
of when it is operational.
India Strategic.
How satisfied are you with your long and amazing
career which many say is like Admiral Rickover’s
of USA as you ordered and supervised the cutting
of steel of the ATV nuclear submarine and it became
a submarine hull in four years ready for launch?
Adm Bhasin.
No Rickover please, but it has been a satisfying
career seeing the Indian Navy join the ranks of
advanced technological navies and it is all team
work with all agencies. But anyone who oversees
a nuclear submarine from keel laying, section
building and joining, and fitting out a submarine
and its reactor in the dry dock and to see her
grow into a ready hull for launching with almost
daily challenges, can be trying but at the end
of the day it gives pride. Nuclear submarine building
and nuclear work involves dealing with the beuracrcy
in India and Russia, scientists from many walks
of life, industry, skilled labour and goading
(many of) them on.
India Strategic.
Tell us something of your family, and aspirations
after retirement and plans for the future.
Adm Bhasin.
I come from a middle class family and my wife
is religiously inclined and has seen tough separations
and brought up two children who are married and
settled. She supported me all along. I guess I
am fit and hope to work in any technical capacity
I can.
India Strategic.
Singapore’s long serving Prime Minister Lee Kuan
Yew took up Golf as a sport and advocates one
must keep working on, till one can, to live long.
You play golf and we would like your views on
Mr Lee’s observation as you also read avidly.
Adm Bhasin.
I think the sport of golf is a great leveller,
and it bonds players and is the best sport for
long and old age companionship. So I play regularly,
and enjoy the game both as a sport and for its
competitive ways. You don’t need muscles but an
attitude, mental strength and adapt a rhythm to
play golf which you can see has encouraged 18
golf courses to come up in the National Capital
Region (NCR) around Delhi. I hope the Indian Navy
also gets a course. As one gets older, I think
moderation, keeping busy with what you enjoy and
inquire all the time and work without straining
should be one’s endeavour. I think that is what
PM Lee has said in his memoirs, quoting that his
father worked daily in a jewellery shop till 80,
as he enjoyed it and kept busy.
India Strategic.Thank
you Admiral, India Strategic has enjoyed interviewing
you and getting your wide ranging views which
I am sure will goad young naval officers to emulate
as we learns all officers in the Navy coming out
of the Naval Academy will now have BTech degrees.
|
