By Admiral R. Hari Kumar PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC
Commissioning of INS Vikrant on 2 September 2022, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, marked a seminal event for India and the Indian Navy. In the wake of this momentous day, when I was asked to write on what Vikrant means for India, the first word that came to mind was Amrit –the elixir of life. As a maritime practitioner, this thought flowed from the fact that, akin to Vikrant, Amrit too is said to have a maritime character – since it is believed to be an outcome of Samudra Manthan or a churning of the oceans.
In the context of Naya Bharat – modern day India, I allude to Amrit offered by Vikrant as a symbol, which serves as a – mark of Aspirations, driver of Motivation, benchmark of Resolve, source of Inspiration, and a beacon of Transformation – AMRIT.
Aspirational India has firmly established itself on a path of growth and prosperity. The ambitious trajectory needed to navigate this path is driven by the aspirations of every Indian. Vikrant is a symbol which reaffirms these aspirations. Through its sheer size, complex design, enviable firepower, phenomenal military capabilities and, most of all, its ‘Made in India’ character, the ship serves as a reminder that we, as Indians, are a highly motivated society which can achieve anything and everything that we set our minds to.
Vikrant is a product of synergy between a multitude of stakeholders who conceptualised, designed, built and equipped her. Equally, the ship is a realisation of the dream pursued relentlessly by an entire generation in the Government, Navy, Industry and Scientific community. The dream was big, and the result – the biggest warship ever built in India. Realisation of this dream, through years of perseverance, can serve as a key driver for motivation, as India and her citizens follow their dreams.
However, as was aptly emphasised by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode on 27 March this year, “the Nation takes great strides when resolutions are greater than dreams”. Building Vikrant was a dream akin to building an entire city – no mean feat. Given the complexities of such a venture, the project was not without challenges, which were innumerable. At various points of time, some of these appeared insurmountable and, indeed, unsolvable. However, these could not – and did not – stop the dream from materialising. This was testimony to the resolve of each organisation and individual involved in the project. Therefore, as we look back at the project and look ahead into the future, Vikrant is a symbol of collective resolve towards common purpose – this accomplishment should inspire each one of us to inculcate a steely resolve as we work together, as one team, taking India to the heights it is destined for.
Vikrant has also heralded India’s entry into a very elite group of nations capable of building a complex platform like an aircraft carrier. At the same time, it also makes us part of an ever more limited group of nations that operate more than one such ship. This achievement is an outcome of the efforts of every individual involved in building Vikrant – the designers, the planners, the managers, the craftsmen, the scientists, the ship painters, the machinists, the engineers, the electricians, the shipwrights, the crane operators, the logistics transporters and providers…the list is endless. I am sure that each one of them, today, enjoys an immense sense of satisfaction – professional and personal – for having been part of something bigger than any individual.
Their achievements are, but merely, indicators of the bright future that lies ahead. Coincidentally, the ship’s commissioning was almost simultaneously accompanied by India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world. These are harbingers of a future, where India and Indians are enabled and facilitated in pursuit of our collective and individual growth, competing with the best in the world, while at the same time influencing and shaping the destinies of our Nation and the world. Thus, Vikrant, today and for decades to come, should serve as a source of inspiration for every Indian – to be an active contributor in India’s flight into the future – as we seek to transform our outlook, our capabilities, our goals, our teamwork and, indeed, our Nation.
Vikrant should serve as a beacon of this transformation that we desire. It will transform the way the Indian Navy goes about its business of assuring an umbrella of security in the maritime domain, under which our Nation and citizens can thrive and prosper. It will push the envelope of our expectations as to what our indigenous efforts can achieve. It will transform and transcend the limits that we may have placed upon our imagination in the past. It will redefine the very way we think of ourselves as a Nation and its people.
This AMRIT should serve as a contributing factor as we traverse the waters of the future towards 100 years of Independence – in 2047 – as a fully self-reliant, self-assured, self-driven and self-aware Nation. Vikrant is but a small drop in the vast ocean, but a significant one nevertheless, in our pursuit.
A pursuit to ensure Shatayu Bharat – Chirayu Bharat : India at 100 – India Forever.
