ABSTRACT
Officially, the Indian Navy (IN) reckons its age from 26 January 1950, when, 28 months after independence, India declared itself a republic. Although the prefix, ‘Royal’ was dropped from all nomenclature and His Majesty’s Indian Ships redesignated as Indian Naval Ships (INS), many umbilical links with the Royal Navy (RN) remained. The new naval ensign, for example, displayed the Tricolour in its canton instead of the Union Jack, but (unlike other Dominion navies) retained its original St George’s Cross. In the same spirit, the IN retained British flag officers as chiefs for the next eight years, and has, till today, carefully preserved most customs, traditions and ceremonials inherited from the RN.
