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| map_label = [[Dwarka]]
| map_label = [[Dwarka]]
| territory =
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|result = Pakistan naval success<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/navy-history.htm|title=Pakistan naval history, operation Dwarka|publisher=Global security.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-131091-Pakistan-Navys-shelling-of-Dwarka-in-1965-War|title=Pakistan Navy’s shelling of Dwarka in 1965|publisher= The News International}}</ref>
| combatant1 ={{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan|State of Pakistan]]
| combatant1 ={{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Pakistan|State of Pakistan]]
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{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}
{{Campaignbox Indo-Pakistani Wars}}


'''Operation Dwarka''', also known as "'''Operation [[Somnath]]'''",{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} was a naval operation commenced by the [[Pakistan Navy]] to attack the Indian coastal town of [[Dwarka]] on 7 September 1965. This was the first use of Pakistan Navy in any of the [[Indo-Pakistan Wars]].{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} It was one of the significant naval events of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and Pakistan celebrates 8 September as "''[[Victory Day]]''" for [[Pakistan Navy]].{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
'''Operation Dwarka''', also known as "'''Operation [[Somnath]]'''",{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} was a naval operation commenced by the [[Pakistan Navy]] to attack the Indian coastal town of [[Dwarka]] on 7 September 1965. This was the first use of Pakistan Navy in any of the [[Indo-Pakistan Wars]].{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} It was one of the significant naval events of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and Pakistan celebrates 8 September as "''[[Victory Day]]''", a [[national holiday]] which especially honours the [[Pakistan Navy]].{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}


As the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] broke out between [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] over [[Kashmir]], armies and air forces of both nations were involved in intense fighting in the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] region and in [[Kashmir]]. To relieve pressure on the southern front, [[Pakistan]] decided to use its navy in the war by launching a quick strike on Indian coast. The primary objective of the attack ostensibly was to destroy the [[radar]] station at Dwarka which Pakistani Naval intelligence believed had a [[Huff-Duff]] beacon to guide Indian bombers.<ref name="MohanChopra2005">{{cite book|last1=Mohan|first1=P. V. S. Jagan|last2=Chopra|first2=Samir|title=The India-Pakistan air war of 1965|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FAhuAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=8 November 2011|date=May 2005|publisher=Manohar|isbn=978-81-7304-641-4|page=157}}</ref> Pakistani high command also hoped to divert the operations of the [[Indian Air Force]] away from the north.
As the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]] broke out between [[India]] and [[Pakistan]] over [[Kashmir]], armies and air forces of both nations were involved in intense fighting in the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] region and in [[Kashmir]]. To relieve pressure on the southern front, [[Pakistan]] decided to use its navy in the war by launching a quick strike on Indian coast. The primary objective of the attack ostensibly was to destroy the [[radar]] station at Dwarka which Pakistani Naval intelligence believed had a [[Huff-Duff]] beacon to guide Indian bombers.<ref name="MohanChopra2005">{{cite book|last1=Mohan|first1=P. V. S. Jagan|last2=Chopra|first2=Samir|title=The India-Pakistan air war of 1965|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FAhuAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=8 November 2011|date=May 2005|publisher=Manohar|isbn=978-81-7304-641-4|page=157}}</ref> Pakistani high command also hoped to divert the operations of the [[Indian Air Force]] away from the north.
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==Objectives==
==Objectives==
The mission objectives of Pakistan Navy are listed below:<ref name="PakNavyHist">{{cite web |url=http://www.paknavy.gov.pk/history.htm |title=History |author=Unspecified |date= |work= |publisher=Pakistan Navy |accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref>
The mission objectives of Pakistan Navy are listed below:<ref name="PakNavyHist">{{cite web |url=http://www.paknavy.gov.pk/history.htm |title=History |author=Unspecified |date= |work= |publisher=Pakistan Navy |accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref>
* To draw heavy enemy units out of Bombay for the submarine [[PNS Ghazi]] to attack.
* To draw heavy enemy units out of [[Bombay]] for the [[submarine]] [[PNS Ghazi|PNS ''Ghazi'']] to attack.
* To destroy the radar installation at Dwarka.
* To destroy the radar installation at Dwarka.
* To lower Indian morale.
* To lower Indian morale.
* To divert Indian Air Force effort away from the north.
* To divert [[Indian Air Force]] effort away from the north.


==The naval attack==
==The naval attack==
On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on [[Western India]]n shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity (200&nbsp;km from [[Karachi Port]]), its lower defences and historical relevance. The plan called for a fleet of 7 naval vessels of [[Pakistan]] to bomb the tiny town of [[Dwarka]]. It was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships. The intention was that the [[submarine]] [[PNS Ghazi|PNS ''Ghazi'']] lurking in the [[Arabian Sea]] would then engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising [[PNS Babur|PNS ''Babur'']], [[PNS Khaibar|PNS ''Khaibar'']], [[PNS Badr|PNS ''Badr'']], [[PNS Jahangir|PNS ''Jahangir'']], [[PNS Alamgir|PNS ''Alamgir'']], [[PNS Shah Jahan|PNS ''Shah Jahan'']] and [[PNS Tippu Sultan (1941)|PNS ''Tipu Sultan'']] set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town.
On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on [[Western India]]n shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity (200&nbsp;km from [[Karachi Port]]), its lower defences and historical relevance. The plan called for a fleet of 7 naval vessels of Pakistan to bomb the tiny town of Dwarka. It was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships. The intention was that the submarine PNS ''Ghazi'' lurking in the [[Arabian Sea]] would then engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising [[PNS Babur|PNS ''Babur'']], [[PNS Khaibar|PNS ''Khaibar'']], [[PNS Badr|PNS ''Badr'']], [[PNS Jahangir|PNS ''Jahangir'']], [[PNS Alamgir|PNS ''Alamgir'']], [[PNS Shah Jahan|PNS ''Shah Jahan'']] and [[PNS Tippu Sultan (1941)|PNS ''Tipu Sultan'']] set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town.


The warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did [[PNS Ghazi|PNS ''Ghazi'']] encounter the active combatants on the West coast.<ref name="Hiranandania">Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34-35. FOCIF sailed with his flagship, INS Mysore, and three escorts out of Bombay Harbour and remained on station without encountering any Pakistani naval vessels till 8 September when the Talwar, returning from Okha, joined her.</ref> The objective to divert the Indian Air Force attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as the Indian Air Force raids on the city of Karachi ceased, presumed by Pakistani sources to be due to lack of availability of the radar guidance to the IAF fighter jets, which was damaged in the attack.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}
The warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did PNS ''Ghazi'' encounter the active combatants on the West coast.<ref name="Hiranandania">Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34-35. FOCIF sailed with his flagship, INS Mysore, and three escorts out of Bombay Harbour and remained on station without encountering any Pakistani naval vessels till 8 September when the Talwar, returning from Okha, joined her.</ref> The objective to divert the Indian Air Force attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as the Indian Air Force raids on the city of Karachi ceased, presumed by Pakistani sources to be due to lack of availability of the radar guidance to the IAF fighter jets, which was damaged in the attack.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}


The Indian Navy's official version of events states that, at around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25&nbsp;inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser ''PNS Babur''. The report adds that most shells fell between the temple and the railway station, which lay 3&nbsp;km from the [[lighthouse]]. Some buildings were hit, with only the Railway Guest House suffering some minor damages and a cement factory of Associated Cement Company was also hit. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships approximately 20 kilometers away.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>
The Indian Navy's official version of events states that, at around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25&nbsp;inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser PNS ''Babur''. The report adds that most shells fell between the temple and the railway station, which lay 3&nbsp;km from the [[lighthouse]]. Some buildings were hit, with only the Railway Guest House suffering some minor damages and a cement factory of Associated Cement Company was also hit. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships approximately 20 kilometers away.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>


The radar installation was shelled during the bombardment but neither the radar was damaged nor were any casualties reported by Indian sources.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} A frigate INS Talwar was in nearby Okha port undergoing repairs and did not intervene.<ref name="Hiranandani">{{cite book|last=Hiranandani|first=G. M.|title=Transition to triumph: history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zFyMKROi46kC&pg=PA33|accessdate=7 November 2011|date=January 2000|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-1-897829-72-1|pages=33–35}}</ref> Hiranandani's history of the Indian Navy states that:<ref name="Hiranandani"/> {{quote|Next morning she (INS ''Talwar'') was directed to send a team to Dwarka to assess the damage. The team found that most of the shells had fallen on the soft soil between the temple and the radio station and failed to explode. The air attack damaged a railway engine and destroyed a portion of a railway guesthouse.}}
The radar installation was shelled during the bombardment but neither the radar was damaged nor were any casualties reported by Indian sources.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} A [[frigate]] (INS ''Talwar'') was in the nearby [[Okha]] port undergoing repairs and did not intervene.<ref name="Hiranandani">{{cite book|last=Hiranandani|first=G. M.|title=Transition to triumph: history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zFyMKROi46kC&pg=PA33|accessdate=7 November 2011|date=January 2000|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-1-897829-72-1|pages=33–35}}</ref> Hiranandani's history of the Indian Navy states that:<ref name="Hiranandani"/> {{quote|Next morning she (INS ''Talwar'') was directed to send a team to Dwarka to assess the damage. The team found that most of the shells had fallen on the soft soil between the temple and the radio station and failed to explode. The air attack damaged a railway engine and destroyed a portion of a railway guesthouse.}}


A total of 40 unexploded shells were also recovered intact.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/> Interestingly, the shells bore the mark "INDIAN ORDNANCE"; these were dated from the 1940s before the [[Partition of India]] into [[India]] and [[Pakistan]].<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>
A total of 40 unexploded shells were also recovered intact.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/> Interestingly, the shells bore the mark "INDIAN ORDNANCE"; these were dated from the 1940s before the [[Partition of India]] into India and Pakistan.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>


Radio Pakistan, however, transmitted that Dwarka was badly damaged.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>
[[Radio Pakistan]], however, transmitted that Dwarka was badly damaged.<ref name="Ramesh Madan"/>


===Naval command===
===Naval command===
The following is the list of commanding officers of the Operation Dwarka:{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}
The following is the list of commanding officers of Operation Dwarka:{{citation needed|date=November 2011}}
*[[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] S.M. Anwar, [[Officer in Tactical Command|OTC]] - [[Officer Commanding]] of Operation Dwarka
*[[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] S. M. Anwar, [[Officer in Tactical Command|OTC]] &ndash; [[Officer Commanding]] of Operation Dwarka
*[[Captain (naval)|Captain]] MAK Lodhi - Officer commanding of PNS Babur, the [[destroyer]].
*[[Captain (naval)|Captain]] MAK Lodhi &ndash; Officer commanding of [[PNS Babur]], [[destroyer]].
*Captain A Hanif-Officer Commanding of PNS Khaibar, the destroyer.
*Captain A. Hanif &ndash; Commanding officer, [[PNS Khaibar]], destroyer.
*[[Commander]] IH Malik - [[Commanding officer]] of PNS Badr, the [[frigate]].
*[[Commander]] I. H. Malik &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Badr]], [[frigate]].
*Commander KM Hussain - Commanding officer of PNS Jahangir, the [[cruiser]].
*Commander K. M. Hussain &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Jahangir]], [[cruiser]].
*Commander Iqbal F. Quadir - Commanding officer of PNS Alamgir, the destoyer.
*Commander Iqbal F. Quadir &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Alamgir]], destroyer.
*Commander SZ Shamsie - Commanding officer of PNS Shah Jahan, the destroyer.
*Commander S. Z. Shamsie &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Shah Jahan]], destroyer.
*Commander Amir Aslam - Commanding officer of PNS Tipu Sultan, the destroyer.
*Commander Amir Aslam &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Tipu Sultan]], destroyer.
*Commander [[Karamat Rahman Niazi]] - Commanding officer of [[PNS Ghazi]], the [[submarine]].
*Commander [[Karamat Rahman Niazi]] &ndash; Commanding officer of [[PNS Ghazi]], submarine.


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
Operation Dwarka was a significant naval operation of the 1965 war,<ref name="PakNavyHist"/><ref name="Kavic1967">{{cite book|last=Kavic|first=Lorne J.|title=India's quest for security: defence policies, 1947-1965|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=F_5CAAAAIAAJ|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=1967|publisher=University of California Press|page=190}}</ref> considered by some as a nuisance raid or of little strategic value.<ref name="nuisance">Working paper, Issue 192 , Australian National University. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1989, isbn="0731508068, 9780731508068"</ref><ref name="Ghosh2009">{{cite book|last=Ghosh |first=Anjali|title=India’s Foreign Policy|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Y32u4JMroQgC|accessdate=8 November 2011|date=1 September 2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1025-8}}</ref><ref name="Dittmer2005">{{cite book|last=Dittmer|first=Lowell|title=South Asia's nuclear security dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FuKWbnl-y5MC&pg=PA77|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=2005|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-1419-3|page=77}}</ref> The Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor North of the parallel of Porbander".<ref name="PradhanChavan2007">{{cite book|last1=Pradhan|first1=R. D.|last2=Chavan|first2=Yashwantrao Balwantrao|title=1965 war, the inside story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's diary of India-Pakistan war|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ymYCJQjEGBUC|accessdate=10 November 2011|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0762-5|page=117}} The authors were the Defence Minister of India and his Private Secretary from 1962-65 (see pg xiii).</ref> The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in Indian parliament<ref name="Hiranandani"/> and was considered a humiliation by Indian citizens and Navy personnel and a challenge to be answered by others.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|52}}<ref name="defencejournal_agosta">Sardar FS Lodi, [http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/jan/agosta.htm An Agosta Submarine for Pakistan]</ref><ref name="Roy1995#2">Roy, Mihir K. (1995) pg. 84. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false "War in the Indian Ocean"] {{quote|'But the Bombayites failed to understand the lack of success by the Indian fleet, especially with sirens wailing, Jamnagar attacked and Dwarka shelled. But nonetheless, the naval bombardment of Dwarka with the Indian fleet still preparing to sail was an affront to the sailors in white, who could not understand what was holding the fleet back.'}}</ref> The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral [[Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman|B.S. Soman]] was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister.<ref name="PradhanChavan2007"/> Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the Vikrant, the cruiser Delhi, three destroyers and two frigates.<ref name="Hiranandani"/><ref name="Qadir">{{cite web |url=http://www.defencejournal.com/march98/pak3wars1.htm |title=Pakistan and its three wars |author=Qadir, Iqbal, Vice Admiral (retd)|year=1998 |work= |publisher=www.defencejournal.com |accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian Government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict.<ref name="Hiranandani2002">{{cite journal |last1=Hiranandani |first1=Vice Adm Gulab, IN (Retd) |last2= |first2= |year=Spring 2002 |title=The Indian End Of The Telescope — India and Its Navy |journal=Naval War College Review |publisher= |volume=LV |issue=2 |pages= |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060916122311/http://www.usnwc.edu/press/Review/2002/spring/art4-sp2.htm |doi= |accessdate=8 November 2011 }}</ref> The failure of [[INS Talwar]] to retaliate, then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha,<ref name="Hiranandanib">Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34.Talwar encountering contamination of her boilers due to leakage of her condensors put in at Okha for temporary repairs.</ref> has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no Government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked.<ref name="defencejournal_agosta" /><ref name="Roy1995#3">Roy, Mihir K. (1995) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false "War in the Indian Ocean"], pp 84-85. {{quote|'As Vice Admiral N. Krishnan is supposed to have said. "One of our frigates Talwar was at Okha. It is unfortunate that she could not sail forth and seek battle. Even if there was a mandate against the Navy participating in the war, no Government could blame a warship going into action, if attacked. An affront to our national honour is no joke and we cannot laugh it away by saying 'All the Pakistani's did was to kill a cow'. Let us at least create a memorial to the 'unknown cow' who died with her boots on in a battle against the Pakistan Navy."'}}</ref> [[PNS Ghazi]] continued to patrol Kachhh and Bombay coasts spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling.<ref name="Roy1995">{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Mihir K.|title=War in the Indian Ocean|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA118|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=1995|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-1-897829-11-0|pages=83–85}}</ref>
Operation Dwarka was either a significant naval operation of the 1965 war,<ref name="PakNavyHist"/><ref name="Kavic1967">{{cite book|last=Kavic|first=Lorne J.|title=India's quest for security: defence policies, 1947-1965|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=F_5CAAAAIAAJ|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=1967|publisher=University of California Press|page=190}}</ref> or a nuisance raid, or of little strategic value, depending on the viewpoint of the observer.<ref name="nuisance">Working paper, Issue 192 , Australian National University. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1989, isbn="0731508068, 9780731508068"</ref><ref name="Ghosh2009">{{cite book|last=Ghosh |first=Anjali|title=India’s Foreign Policy|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Y32u4JMroQgC|accessdate=8 November 2011|date=1 September 2009|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1025-8}}</ref><ref name="Dittmer2005">{{cite book|last=Dittmer|first=Lowell|title=South Asia's nuclear security dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=FuKWbnl-y5MC&pg=PA77|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=2005|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-1419-3|page=77}}</ref> The Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor north of the parallel of Porbander".<ref name="PradhanChavan2007">{{cite book|last1=Pradhan|first1=R. D.|last2=Chavan|first2=Yashwantrao Balwantrao|title=1965 war, the inside story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's diary of India-Pakistan war|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ymYCJQjEGBUC|accessdate=10 November 2011|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0762-5|page=117}} The authors were the Defence Minister of India and his Private Secretary from 1962-65 (see pg xiii).</ref> The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in Indian parliament<ref name="Hiranandani"/> and was considered a humiliation by Indian citizens and Navy personnel and a challenge to be answered by others.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|52}}<ref name="defencejournal_agosta">Sardar FS Lodi, [http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/jan/agosta.htm An Agosta Submarine for Pakistan]</ref><ref name="Roy1995#2">Roy, Mihir K. (1995) pg. 84. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false "War in the Indian Ocean"] {{quote|'But the Bombayites failed to understand the lack of success by the Indian fleet, especially with sirens wailing, Jamnagar attacked and Dwarka shelled. But nonetheless, the naval bombardment of Dwarka with the Indian fleet still preparing to sail was an affront to the sailors in white, who could not understand what was holding the fleet back.'}}</ref> The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral [[Bhaskar Sadashiv Soman|B. S. Soman]] was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister.<ref name="PradhanChavan2007"/> Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the ''Vikrant'', the cruiser ''Delhi'', three destroyers and two frigates.<ref name="Hiranandani"/><ref name="Qadir">{{cite web |url=http://www.defencejournal.com/march98/pak3wars1.htm |title=Pakistan and its three wars |author=Qadir, Iqbal, Vice Admiral (retd)|year=1998 |work= |publisher=www.defencejournal.com |accessdate=10 November 2011}}</ref> An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian Government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict.<ref name="Hiranandani2002">{{cite journal |last1=Hiranandani |first1=Vice Adm Gulab, IN (Retd) |last2= |first2= |year=Spring 2002 |title=The Indian End Of The Telescope — India and Its Navy |journal=Naval War College Review |publisher= |volume=LV |issue=2 |pages= |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060916122311/http://www.usnwc.edu/press/Review/2002/spring/art4-sp2.htm |doi= |accessdate=8 November 2011 }}</ref> The failure of [[INS Talwar|INS ''Talwar'']] to retaliate as she was then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha,<ref name="Hiranandanib">Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34.Talwar encountering contamination of her boilers due to leakage of her condensors put in at Okha for temporary repairs.</ref> has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no Government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked.<ref name="defencejournal_agosta" /><ref name="Roy1995#3">Roy, Mihir K. (1995) [http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA84#v=onepage&q&f=false "War in the Indian Ocean"], pp 84-85. {{quote|'As Vice Admiral N. Krishnan is supposed to have said. "One of our frigates ''Talwar'' was at Okha. It is unfortunate that she could not sail forth and seek battle. Even if there was a mandate against the Navy participating in the war, no Government could blame a warship going into action, if attacked. An affront to our national honour is no joke and we cannot laugh it away by saying 'All the Pakistani's did was to kill a cow'. Let us at least create a memorial to the 'unknown cow' who died with her boots on in a battle against the Pakistan Navy."'}}</ref> PNS ''Ghazi'' continued to patrol the Kachhh and Bombay coasts, spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling.<ref name="Roy1995">{{cite book|last=Roy|first=Mihir K.|title=War in the Indian Ocean|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Tqr8r7EB18wC&pg=PA118|accessdate=8 November 2011|year=1995|publisher=Lancer Publishers|isbn=978-1-897829-11-0|pages=83–85}}</ref>


The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from [[Indian rupee|Rs. 35 crores]] to [[Indian rupee|Rs. 115 crore]]s.<ref name="defencejournal_agosta" /> The Dwarka raid, as per an Indian historian G. M Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the Soviet Union for the Defense of Kutch. These were subsequently used by India in [[Operation Trident (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971)|Operation Trident]] in the 1971 war.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|326}} However, he attributes the expansion of the Indian Navy in the period 1965 to 1975 to the post-1962 planned expansion of the Indian Navy with many ships being negotiated and purchased from the [[Soviet Union]] prior to the war.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|8-11}}
The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from [[Indian rupee|Rs. 35 crores]] to [[Indian rupee|Rs. 115 crore]]s.<ref name="defencejournal_agosta" /> The Dwarka raid, as per the Indian historian G. M. Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the [[Soviet Union]] for the defense of Kutch. These were subsequently used by India in [[Operation Trident (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971)|Operation Trident]] in the 1971 war.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|326}} However, he attributes the expansion of the Indian Navy in the period 1965 to 1975 to the post-1962 planned expansion of the Indian Navy with many ships being negotiated and purchased from the Soviet Union prior to the war.<ref name="Hiranandani"/>{{rp|8-11}}


==Popular culture==
==Popular culture==
⚫
In 1998, [[Inter Services Public Relations]] (ISPR) financed and produced a dramatization of the operation titled ''[[Operation Dwarka, 1965]]'', which was based on this incident. The film was directed by Pakistani film director Qasim Jalali and it was written by Hameed Kashmiri.
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2014}}
⚫
In 1998, [[Inter Services Public Relations]] (ISPR) financed and produced the dramatization of the operation named, "Operation Dwarka, 1965", which was based on this incident. The film was directed by Pakistani film director Qasim Jalali and it was written by Hameed Kashmiri.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 15:24, 17 December 2014

Operation Dwarka
Operation Somnath
Part of Naval conflict of Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Date7 September 1965
Location
Dwarka, Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India
Result Pakistan naval success[1][2]
Belligerents

Pakistan State of Pakistan

Pakistan Navy

India Republic of India

 Indian Navy
Commanders and leaders
Commodore S.M. Anwar Rear Admiral K.P. Samson [citation needed]
Units involved
25th Destroyer Squadron
Strength
PNS Babur
PNS Khaibar
PNS Badr
PNS Jahangir
PNS Shah Jahan
PNS Alamgir
PNS Tippu Sultan
PNS Ghazi		 Unknown
(Ships were kept at bay)
Casualties and losses
None Partial physical damage to Dwarka.[3]

Operation Dwarka, also known as "Operation Somnath",[citation needed] was a naval operation commenced by the Pakistan Navy to attack the Indian coastal town of Dwarka on 7 September 1965. This was the first use of Pakistan Navy in any of the Indo-Pakistan Wars.[citation needed] It was one of the significant naval events of the 1965 Indo-Pak war, and Pakistan celebrates 8 September as "Victory Day", a national holiday which especially honours the Pakistan Navy.[citation needed]

As the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 broke out between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, armies and air forces of both nations were involved in intense fighting in the Punjab region and in Kashmir. To relieve pressure on the southern front, Pakistan decided to use its navy in the war by launching a quick strike on Indian coast. The primary objective of the attack ostensibly was to destroy the radar station at Dwarka which Pakistani Naval intelligence believed had a Huff-Duff beacon to guide Indian bombers.[4] Pakistani high command also hoped to divert the operations of the Indian Air Force away from the north.

Objectives

The mission objectives of Pakistan Navy are listed below:[5]

  • To draw heavy enemy units out of Bombay for the submarine PNS Ghazi to attack.
  • To destroy the radar installation at Dwarka.
  • To lower Indian morale.
  • To divert Indian Air Force effort away from the north.

The naval attack

On the night of 7 September, the Pakistan Navy launched its assault on Western Indian shores. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity (200 km from Karachi Port), its lower defences and historical relevance. The plan called for a fleet of 7 naval vessels of Pakistan to bomb the tiny town of Dwarka. It was aimed at luring the heavy ships anchored in Bombay into attacking the Pakistani ships. The intention was that the submarine PNS Ghazi lurking in the Arabian Sea would then engage and sink the Indian ships. Accordingly, a fleet of seven ships comprising PNS Babur, PNS Khaibar, PNS Badr, PNS Jahangir, PNS Alamgir, PNS Shah Jahan and PNS Tipu Sultan set sail for Dwarka and bombarded the town.

The warships harbored in Bombay were under refit and were unable to sortie, nor did PNS Ghazi encounter the active combatants on the West coast.[6] The objective to divert the Indian Air Force attacking Pakistan's southern front worked as the Indian Air Force raids on the city of Karachi ceased, presumed by Pakistani sources to be due to lack of availability of the radar guidance to the IAF fighter jets, which was damaged in the attack.[citation needed]

The Indian Navy's official version of events states that, at around 23:55 hours, the Pakistani vessels fired on Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each, which included 5.25 inch rounds fired by the Pakistani cruiser PNS Babur. The report adds that most shells fell between the temple and the railway station, which lay 3 km from the lighthouse. Some buildings were hit, with only the Railway Guest House suffering some minor damages and a cement factory of Associated Cement Company was also hit. Smoke from the damage was visible to the Pakistani warships approximately 20 kilometers away.[3]

The radar installation was shelled during the bombardment but neither the radar was damaged nor were any casualties reported by Indian sources.[citation needed] A frigate (INS Talwar) was in the nearby Okha port undergoing repairs and did not intervene.[7] Hiranandani's history of the Indian Navy states that:[7]

Next morning she (INS Talwar) was directed to send a team to Dwarka to assess the damage. The team found that most of the shells had fallen on the soft soil between the temple and the radio station and failed to explode. The air attack damaged a railway engine and destroyed a portion of a railway guesthouse.

A total of 40 unexploded shells were also recovered intact.[3] Interestingly, the shells bore the mark "INDIAN ORDNANCE"; these were dated from the 1940s before the Partition of India into India and Pakistan.[3]

Radio Pakistan, however, transmitted that Dwarka was badly damaged.[3]

The following is the list of commanding officers of Operation Dwarka:[citation needed]

Aftermath

Operation Dwarka was either a significant naval operation of the 1965 war,[5][8] or a nuisance raid, or of little strategic value, depending on the viewpoint of the observer.[9][10][11] The Ministry of Defence had issued written instructions which ordered the Indian Navy "not to proceed two hundred miles beyond Bombay nor north of the parallel of Porbander".[12] The lack of response by the Indian Navy to the attack on Dwarka led to questions being asked in Indian parliament[7] and was considered a humiliation by Indian citizens and Navy personnel and a challenge to be answered by others.[7]: 52 [13][14] The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral B. S. Soman was restrained from retaliation for the Dwarka raid by the Defence Minister.[12] Of the Indian Navy's 23 ships, ten were under refit in Bombay, including the Vikrant, the cruiser Delhi, three destroyers and two frigates.[7][15] An Indian source explained this by saying that the Indian Government did not want to get into a naval conflict with Pakistan, but wished to restrict the war to a land-based conflict.[16] The failure of INS Talwar to retaliate as she was then undergoing repairs to her condensers in Okha,[17] has been lamented by Indian Vice Admiral N. Krishnan who said that no Government would blame a warship going into action, if attacked.[13][18] PNS Ghazi continued to patrol the Kachhh and Bombay coasts, spotting aircraft positions when snorkeling.[19]

The Dwarka raid is considered by Pakistani sources as being a prime reason for the Indian Navy's subsequent post-war modernization and expansion, with an increase in budget from Rs. 35 crores to Rs. 115 crores.[13] The Dwarka raid, as per the Indian historian G. M. Hiranandani, led to the procurement of missile boats by the Indian Navy from the Soviet Union for the defense of Kutch. These were subsequently used by India in Operation Trident in the 1971 war.[7]: 326  However, he attributes the expansion of the Indian Navy in the period 1965 to 1975 to the post-1962 planned expansion of the Indian Navy with many ships being negotiated and purchased from the Soviet Union prior to the war.[7]: 8–11 

In 1998, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) financed and produced a dramatization of the operation titled Operation Dwarka, 1965, which was based on this incident. The film was directed by Pakistani film director Qasim Jalali and it was written by Hameed Kashmiri.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pakistan naval history, operation Dwarka". Global security.org.
  2. ^ "Pakistan Navy's shelling of Dwarka in 1965". The News International.
  3. ^ a b c d e Madan, Ramesh (Ex-Sgt, IAF). "The Shelling of Dwarka". Bharath Rakshak. Bharat-Rakshak.com. Retrieved 8 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Mohan, P. V. S. Jagan; Chopra, Samir (May 2005). The India-Pakistan air war of 1965. Manohar. p. 157. ISBN 978-81-7304-641-4. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b Unspecified. "History". Pakistan Navy. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  6. ^ Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34-35. FOCIF sailed with his flagship, INS Mysore, and three escorts out of Bombay Harbour and remained on station without encountering any Pakistani naval vessels till 8 September when the Talwar, returning from Okha, joined her.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Hiranandani, G. M. (January 2000). Transition to triumph: history of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975. Lancer Publishers. pp. 33–35. ISBN 978-1-897829-72-1. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  8. ^ Kavic, Lorne J. (1967). India's quest for security: defence policies, 1947-1965. University of California Press. p. 190. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  9. ^ Working paper, Issue 192 , Australian National University. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, 1989, isbn="0731508068, 9780731508068"
  10. ^ Ghosh, Anjali (1 September 2009). India’s Foreign Policy. Pearson Education India. ISBN 978-81-317-1025-8. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  11. ^ Dittmer, Lowell (2005). South Asia's nuclear security dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-7656-1419-3. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  12. ^ a b Pradhan, R. D.; Chavan, Yashwantrao Balwantrao (1 January 2007). 1965 war, the inside story: Defence Minister Y.B. Chavan's diary of India-Pakistan war. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 117. ISBN 978-81-269-0762-5. Retrieved 10 November 2011. The authors were the Defence Minister of India and his Private Secretary from 1962-65 (see pg xiii).
  13. ^ a b c Sardar FS Lodi, An Agosta Submarine for Pakistan
  14. ^ Roy, Mihir K. (1995) pg. 84. "War in the Indian Ocean"

    'But the Bombayites failed to understand the lack of success by the Indian fleet, especially with sirens wailing, Jamnagar attacked and Dwarka shelled. But nonetheless, the naval bombardment of Dwarka with the Indian fleet still preparing to sail was an affront to the sailors in white, who could not understand what was holding the fleet back.'
  15. ^ Qadir, Iqbal, Vice Admiral (retd) (1998). "Pakistan and its three wars". www.defencejournal.com. Retrieved 10 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Hiranandani, Vice Adm Gulab, IN (Retd) (Spring 2002). "The Indian End Of The Telescope — India and Its Navy". Naval War College Review. LV (2). Retrieved 8 November 2011.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  17. ^ Hiranandani, "Transition to triumph", pp 34.Talwar encountering contamination of her boilers due to leakage of her condensors put in at Okha for temporary repairs.
  18. ^ Roy, Mihir K. (1995) "War in the Indian Ocean", pp 84-85.

    'As Vice Admiral N. Krishnan is supposed to have said. "One of our frigates Talwar was at Okha. It is unfortunate that she could not sail forth and seek battle. Even if there was a mandate against the Navy participating in the war, no Government could blame a warship going into action, if attacked. An affront to our national honour is no joke and we cannot laugh it away by saying 'All the Pakistani's did was to kill a cow'. Let us at least create a memorial to the 'unknown cow' who died with her boots on in a battle against the Pakistan Navy."'
  19. ^ Roy, Mihir K. (1995). War in the Indian Ocean. Lancer Publishers. pp. 83–85. ISBN 978-1-897829-11-0. Retrieved 8 November 2011.

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