Heroes of the high seas

To pay tribute the sacrifices made by the brave men and women of the Indian Navy, the Apeejay Svran Global School conducted a virtual assembly on December 4, to commemorate the National Navy Day.

The assembly was organised by class 8 students. It aimed to create awareness about the reasons behind the occasion: celebrating the magnificent achievements of the Indian Navy in both protecting the nation as well as maintaining peace at the maritime front.

The assembly began with a soulful recitation of the Gayatri mantra by Aryaman Singh. Devishi Gupta recited the prayer for the day. The school pledge was recited by Nikunj Madaan. Priyal Swarankar presented the news headlines. The assembly was compered by Aryaman Singh. Devishi Gupta recited a powerful poem saluting and thanking the Indian Navy for their tremendous sacrifices for the nation. Through her verse she also prayed to the almighty for the safety of the men in white, “Help them to feel Your presence. Keep them healthy and free from sickness as well as injury.”

 Class 8 student Aditi Jain gave an insightful speech in which she highlighted the importance of the day. She said, “The Indian Navy plays a major role in making sure that our marine borders are properly safeguarded. It also improves India’s foreign relations by way of seaport visits, humanitarian missions, joint exercises and calamity relief programmes. It has four bases: Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Mumbai, and Chennai. The strength of the Indian Navy includes more than 67,000 personnel and about 150 ships and submarines”

She further added, “The India Navy Day is celebrated annually on December 4. It commemorates the ‘Daredevil attack’ officially known as Operation Trident. The Indian Navy had pulled off a heroic victory at the Pakistani naval base in Karachi during the India-Pakistan war on December 4, 1971. While there were zero casualties at the Indian end, numerous Pakistani soldiers were injured. The operation was carried out during the night since the Pakistani forces did not possess night-bombing capacities. Incidentally, this was also the first time that anti-ship missiles were used in the region. This mission is regarded as the most successful Indian attack.”

Speaking about the event, Principal, Mrs Deepika Arora, emphasised upon the role of the Indian Navy in guarding the nation’s coastal boundaries. She proudly reiterated to the students that the Indian Navy is the reason the nation sleeps peacefully.