In a historic move after inducting women into various ranks, the Indian Navy has bid adieu to its colonial-era ranks, replacing them with Indianised designations. This comes as the Tri-Services have completed reviewing the ranks held by sailors and inherited from the British empire’s legacy along with gender neutrality.
Over 65,000 dedicated sailors are poised to receive their new designations. Within the ranks of the navy’s personnel below officer rank (PBOR) cadre, seven titles are set for a transformation, including three titles which were not gender-neutral.
The upcoming ranks are:-
Master Chief Petty Officer Ist Class
Master Chief Petty Officer IInd Class
Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer
Leading Seaman, Seaman Ist Class
Seaman IInd Class
“This transition to indigenous ranks for the PBOR cadre has been long-awaited on our to-do list,” shares an official. “The existing terms are an embodiment of British legacy. Moreover, gender-neutral ranks are pivotal for fostering an inclusive environment. The proposed designations are currently under approval by the Ministry of Defence, which is expected soon”.
While officer ranks remain unchanged, reports revealed ranks with petty officer titles were unfavourable among the sailors.
The introduction of women into the navy’s PBOR cadre this year, under the Agnipath recruitment initiative, propelled the shift towards gender-neutral ranks. The first batch of Agniveers, which included around 270 women, completed training at INS Chilka, the Navy’s lakeside training facility in Odisha, in March this year.
The Agnipath model represents a departure from the military’s long-standing recruitment system, a transition catalysed by last year’s government announcement. This visionary scheme recruits soldiers for a four-year tenure, with a provision made to retain 25% in regular service for an additional 15 years after fresh screening.
Much of this Indianisation journey commenced two years ago, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inspiring call to erase colonial-old customs and embrace new ethos in the armed forces at the Combined Commanders’ Conference in Kevadia, Gujarat. This led the Tri-Services to identify customs misaligned with their heritage in the 75th year of the nation’s independence.
“We have formed a team to study what are the practices in the Navy that are archaic and have no relevance today. Navies have evolved over many centuries, and some practices are still being followed. They have no use today, so why follow them,” Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, stated.
The Armed forces, especially the navy, have manifested in several moves, including adopting a new naval ensign, which had Saint George’s Cross with the Tricolour in the canton. The new flag design was inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Moreover, the practice of senior officers carrying batons has also been discontinued, while the defence ministry renamed British-era cantonments as military stations.
In addition, the army recently announced its plan to draw wisdom from ancient Indian treatises such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Kamandaka’s Nitisara, and the Thirukkural of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar for warfare and strategies. This effort to establish the relevance of these century-old scriptures in the 21st century is part of a project called Udbhav, or emergence. Not only this, the government is encouraging Indianisation in other sectors, including education, health and science.
In his 2023 Independence Day address, Prime Minister Modi expounded on the “Panch Pran”, or five pledges driving India towards becoming a developed nation by its 100th year of Independence. Notably, one of these resolutions is to uproot all signs of colonial slavery from mindsets and daily practices.
