Indian Navy ranks and insignia

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The Indian Navy (IN), the naval component of the Indian Armed Forces follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile Royal Indian Navy (RIN). [1]

Contents

History

The Indian Naval Ensign. Naval Ensign of India.svg
The Indian Naval Ensign.

1947-2023

Upon the establishment of establishment of India's independence in 1947, the country became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations; nevertheless, the armed forces, namely, the British Indian Army (BIA), the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) and the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) - under the helm of King George VI as the Commander-in-Chief, retained their respective pre-independence ranks and corresponding insignia. [2]

In May 1949, Lord Mountbatten, the inaugural Governor-General of India and himself a naval officer, dispatched a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces, containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion's conversion to a republic. [2] In the note, Mountbatten proposed that the future IN should retain its predecessor's nomenclature as much as possible - advocating the retention of the RIN's ranks, insignia and uniforms; the only exemption to these retentions was the force's naval ensign, which was modified to feature the Indian tricolor as a substitute for the Union Jack. [2] In September 1949, Nehru forwarded the proposals to the country's minister of defence, Baldev Singh, recommending Mountbatten's suggestions, which were consequently enforced upon India's emergence as a republic on 26 January 1950. [2]

2023 modifications

In December 2022, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, the IN's Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), proposed several alterations to the force's rank structure, namely, a proposal to drop the rank of Petty Officer and to integrate IN ranks with that of the IA and the IAF, reasoning the present rank nomenclature reflected of what was termed by several as a colonial mindset. [3]

Following a review of the IN rank structure in October 2023, the IN announced that the rank nomenclature of the Personnel Below Officer Rank (PBOR) cadre would be revised to reflect a gender-neutral perspective. [4] Multiple sources indicated that the seven ranks of the PBOR cadre, namely, Master Chief Petty Officer Ist Class, Master Chief Petty Officer IInd Class, Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer, Leading Seaman, Seaman Ist Class and Seaman IInd Class, would be allotted Indian-origin names. [5] In March 2024, Kumar revealed that the IN had suggested to renaming the ranks of Leading Seaman, Seaman Ist Class and Seaman IInd Class to Nausainik Class I or Nausainik Class II. [6]

Consequently, the revision plan was publicized during the IN's 2023 Navy Day celebrations, when prime minister Narendra Modi announced that the rank structure's designations would be rescripted with domestic names to reflect Indian-origin traditions, while the shoulder board epaulettes worn by flag officers would be altered to bear the octagonal-shaped naval crest, inspired by the Father of Indian Navy Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj This octagonal shaped taken from his Rajmudra's (Symbol of shiv currecy) octagonal shaped which had been adopted by the IN the previous year. [5] Accordingly, the alterations to the flag officer insignia were revealed later that month; notably, other observable emendations in the new insignia included the introduction of an Indian sword-cum-telescope design in lieu of the older sword-cum-baton design and a gold button embossed with a clear anchor in lieu of a fouled anchor. [7]

Structure

Presently, the IN's rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories:

Commissioned officers

(Note: Rank insignia to be altered according to IN specifications.)

Rank groupGeneral/flag officersSenior officersJunior officersOfficer cadet
Naval Ensign of India.svg  Indian Navy [8]
14-Indian Navy-ADM.svg Generic-Navy-12.svg 13-Indian Navy-VADM.svg Generic-Navy-11.svg 12-Indian Navy-RADM.svg Generic-Navy-10.svg Generic-Navy-9b.svg Generic-Navy-8.svg Generic-Navy-6.svg Generic-Navy-5.svg Generic-Navy-4.svg Generic-Navy-2.svg British Royal Navy OF-1a.svg
Admiral
एडमिरल		 Vice admiral
वाइस एडमिरल		 Rear admiral
रियर एडमिरल		 Commodore
कमोडोर		 Captain
कैप्टन		 Commander
कमांडर		 Lieutenant commander
लेफ़्टिनेंट कमांडर		 Lieutenant
लेफ्टिनेंट		 Sub-lieutenant
सब लेफ्टिनेंट		 Midshipman
मिडशिपमैन

Command flags

Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg Vice Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg Rear Admiral ensign of Indian Navy.svg Commodore ensign of Indian Navy.svg
AdmVAdmRAdmCdre

The highest rank in the IN's CO cadre is Admiral, a four-star rank, which is held exclusively by the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). [9] The rank was first awarded to then-Vice Admiral A. K. Chatterji in March 1968, following his appointment to the post of CNS; prior to him, CNS appointees belonged to the three-star rank of Vice Admiral. [10] However, unlike the IA and the IAF, which both bear the honorary five-star ranks of Field Marshal (FM) and Marshal of the Indian Air Force (MIAF) respectively, the IN does not have a correspondingly recognized equivalent, as no four-star admirals were deemed for promotion to five-star rank. [11]

Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranks

Rank groupJunior commissioned officersNon commissioned officerEnlisted
Naval Ensign of India.svg  Indian Navy [8] [12]
India-Navy-OR-9.svg India-Navy-OR-8.svg India-Navy-OR-7.svg PO Indian Navy.svg Leading Seaman Indian Navy.svg No insignia
Master chief petty officer I
मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर फर्स्ट क्लास		 Master chief petty officer II
मास्टर चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर सेकेंड क्लास		 Chief petty officer
चीफ पेटी ऑफिसर		 Petty officer
पेटी ऑफिसर		 Leading Seaman
लीडिंग सीमैन		 Seaman Ist class
सीमैन फर्स्ट क्लास		 Seaman IInd class
सीमैन सेकंड क्लास

Since 1950, the designation of Chief Petty Officer was the highest non-commissioned rank in IN's rank hierarchy until December 1968, when the designations of Master Chief Petty Officer I and Master Chief Petty Officer II were introduced. [13]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Military Digest: As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks, a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks". indianexpress.com. 16 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten's suggestions". optimizeias.com.
  3. ↑ "Do away with ranks like petty officer to shed colonial legacies: Navy chief at Agenda Aaj Tak". www.indiatoday.in. 10 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Indian Navy To Adopt Gender-Neutral Ranks After Opening Doors To Women". 9 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 "What Veterans Think About PM Modi Announcing Change of Navy Epaulettes". thewire.in. 5 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ranks for sailors in Indian Navy to be gender-neutral: Navy Chief". www.heraldgoa.in. 6 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "Navy unveils new epaulettes for Admirals: What are the changes, what do they signify?". indianexpress.com. 31 December 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Ranks & Insignia". Join Indian Navy. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Ranks In Indian Navy – Insignia And Hierarchy". alpharegiment.com. 23 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Remembering the Admiral who shed his vice and built the Navy". thedailyguardian.com. 15 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "IA has Field Marshal, IAF has Marshal of Indian Air Force, Indian Navy's glory deserves the honour of 'Admiral of the Fleet' rank". www.indiandefencereview.com. 5 December 2023.
  12. ↑ "Forwarding Nomenclature of Ranks in Navy" (PDF). 23 August 2011.
  13. ↑ "New Cadre for Senior Sailors Formed" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 December 1968. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
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