“His last cigarette"

He was a husband, 'kind and considerate'.
He was a father, of young daughters whom he doted upon.
But on the night of December 9, 1971, during the third India-Pakistan war, it was as the captain of India's first and only.... 1/n

warship to be sunk that 45-year-old Mahendra Nath Mulla made his final decision.
The INS Khukri, the anti-submarine frigate he was commanding, had been torpedoed by the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor at around 2100 hrs, about 72 kms from the coast of Diu. 2/n

It was destined to sink in a matter of minutes. Captain Mulla was on the bridge of the Khukri and could have saved himself easily. He was aware, however, that the majority of his officers and men were trapped below deck. 3/n

Being the man that he was, he knew that it was not right for him to think of his safety while his sailors went to a watery grave. In for him to think of his safety while his sailors went to a watery grave. In the little time that remained, 4/n

he helped guide as many of his crew as he could - 67 - to safety before calmly electing to go down with his ship and 194 of his men. 5/n

One of the survivors Commander Manu Sharma tells us of the final moments of the ship and its valiant commanding officer: 'Captain Mulla pushed Lieutenant Kundan Mall and me off the bridge. We tried to take him along with us but he refused and ordered us to jump to safety. 6/n

We both jumped into the sea from the starboard side.' Commander Sharma was swimming to safety when he caught his last glimpse of the Khukri: `The bow of the ship was pointing upwards at an angle of eight degrees and sinking slowly. 7/n

I got a glimpse of Captain Mulla sitting on his chair and hanging on to the railing. He was still smoking a cigarette.` 8/n

"His world was either black or white"
What was it that made Captain Mulla the man that he was?
Why did his men love him so much?
We can learn more by listening to what Mrs Mulla has to say about her husband. Mahendra was a kind and considerate husband and a devoted family man 9/n

He believed that religion was a very personal thing. He was not what one would call a religious man. He never made a show of it, but he had a firm belief in God and I would often find him deep in meditation totally oblivious of his surroundings. 10/n

He was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda and believed that religion was the way you lived and how you treated others. He had very strong beliefs, values and principles and he lived by them irrespective of the cost. 11/n

The sailors and his subordinates adored him because he was very fair and just. Although he was a strict disciplinarian, he was kind and generous to his subordinates, particularly when they were in trouble or needed help. 12/n

He was very straightforward and truthful. To him, the world was either black or white. He disliked having to compromise and in any case, he never compromised on values. This evoked strong responses in people. 13/n

Some liked him and some did not but I believe that he was respected by all - seniors and juniors alike. 14/n

''I will never leave the Navy"'

Mrs Mulla also shared her memories of her husband's two abiding loves: the navy and his daughters. He was emotionally attached to people and institutions that he was close to. 15/n

He loved the Navy and he loved being a sailor. Many of his friends left the Navy to join the Merchant Navy where the salary and the perks were much better. 16/n

Some of them urged him to also join the Merchant Navy and he would tell them 'I will never leave the Navy for anything in the world.' 17/n

And when I broached the subject with him one day he said 'Are you uncomfortable with the way we live? Tell me what it is that you need that I am not able to give you'. I never raised the subject again. 18/n

He was very happy to have daughters and said so repeatedly, particularly because in Indian families, it is so important to have sons and he probably wanted me to be as happy with our daughters as he was. 19/n

He was very kind to the children and yet he was strict in the way they were brought up, although they were so young. He was particularly concerned about their moral values, the importance of integrity, of being truthful and honest, of intellectual pursuits, 20/n

of reading and the development of one's character and being comfortable with oneself. 21/n

'He passed on to them the need for self control, of being able to enjoy the good things of life and yet to be happy and content without them. He introduced our daughters to literature and poetry both English and Hindi and he made them well versed with the classics.' 22/n

A glorious captain and a much beloved husband and father, the late Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla, ladies and gentlemen - indeed, the greatest hero I have known. 23/n

"The nation comes first''
In the whole episode of the sinking of INS Khukrii, what comes shining through is the character and personality of Captain Mulla, who was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously. 24/n

Given the difficult task of locating and destroying PNS Hangor, a state-of-the-art underwater weapon of war, he did not flinch and accepted the orders given to him unhesitatingly, knowing full well the importance of his task, 25/n

and despite the inadequacies of the ship at his command. Not only did the Hangor boast of superior sensors and weapons, but also on the unfortunate night, the Khukri did not have the cover otherwise provided by two Sea King anti-submarine warfare helicopters, 26/n

both of which had been employed elsewhere. His conduct and attitude on the night in question brings to mind other heroic actions of the past where soldiers and sailors went unflinchingly into battle against superior odds. 27/n

A true colossus, Captain Mulla proved himself to be a leader who practised what he believed was right to his very last breath. Given the choice of saving his own life, he rejected it outright, as he could not abandon those of his men, who were forced to give up theirs. 28/n

Personal acts of cold courage like this are rare. Through his bravery and heroism, Captain Mulla taught us not only how to live, but how to die. He upheld the highest traditions of the armed forces, which emphasise that the nation comes first, 29/n

that the men you command next and your safety comes last. The principles and values that he stood and lived for should be imbibed by all of us so that we can become better citizens of this great country. 30/n

''What is the point...?''
Mrs Mulla recalls an incident that underlined her husband's sangfroid to her. He had amazing powers of concentration and if he was absorbed in something, he gave his total attention to it. 31/n

He believed strongly in self-control and his attitude to pain was unbelievable.I once accompanied him to the dentist to have a troublesome tooth removed. The dentist was a young and inexperienced naval officer. My husband refused the painkilling injection. 32/n

The dentist struggled hard to remove the tooth and discovered to his horror that he had removed a good tooth. 'I was furious but Mahendra did not get angry and told the dentist to go ahead and remove the bad tooth, this one too without painkillers. 33/n

So, two teeth were removed without painkillers and he bore the pain without flinching. The person most affected by this whole episode was the dentist. Mahendra calmly walked out and went to work as though nothing had happened.' 34/n

'He had no attachment to material wealth. He believed that the good things of life were to be enjoyed but that we should do so with a detached mind because nothing in life was permanent and that we should try to be comfortable and happy and dignified under all circumstances. 35/n

With regard to the material things of life he used to say, 'What is the point of the material world when you have to leave everything behind?'
Source-Bharat Rakshak, Ameeta Mulla. 36/36