Home Minister Amit Shah, inaugurated the Khukri Museum on June 11, 2022, along with the presence of Shri Praful K Patel, Administrator of Union Territory of DNHDD & Lakshadweep, and Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, FOC-in-C. (West).
Rear Admiral Manish Chadha, VSM, Flag Officer Gujarat Naval Area, Commodore Nitin Bishnoi, Naval Officer-in-Charge Gujarat, and other naval personnel were also present during the inauguration.
After 32 years of distinguished service to the nation and Navy, the Indian Navy’s first indigenous missile corvette, INS Khukri (P49), was delivered to the Diu Administration on January 26, 2022, to be transformed into a ship museum.
The newly opened ship museum, as well as the existing Khukri Memorial, which features a scaled-down copy of the first INS Khukri (F149), a Blackwood class anti-submarine frigate, will serve as standing emblems of the Navy’s valour in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests.
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh mentioned during his remarks that the first INS Khukri was sunk in combat in the 1971 conflict off the coast of Diu. Her reincarnation, the indigenously built corvette, was commissioned into the Navy in 1989 and served admirably until December 2021, when she was decommissioned. The presence of both INS Khukris at Diu – the Museum (second avatar) and a Memorial (first Khukri) – is a fitting homage to the two ships’ brave crews. Even more importantly, it has the potential to remind Indian youth of our country’s amazing maritime capabilities and legacy, as well as encourage them to make national service their primary goal and ambition in life.
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