Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani

Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani (12 May 1930 – 14 October 2015) was a senior officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the 13th Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 December 1984 until 30 November 1987.[2] His prior commands included those as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) of the Western Naval Command, FOC-IN-C of the Southern Naval Command and Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF). A carrier-based aircraft pilot, he also served as the commanding officer of the aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant (R11).

Admiral R H Tahiliani PVSM, AVSM
Born	(1930-05-12)12 May 1930
Died	14 October 2015(2015-10-14) (aged 85)
Allegiance	India
Service/branch	Indian Navy
Years of service	1950–1987
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	Western Naval Command Southern Naval Command Western Fleet Goa Area INS Vikrant (R11) INS Trishul (1960)
Battles/wars	Liberation of Goa Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
Awards	Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
Other work	Governor of Sikkim Chairman, Transparency International India and Balvantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan ASMA[1] Board member, Transparency International

After retirement, Tahiliani served as the Governor of Sikkim from 1990 to 1994.[3] He was a founder member and chairman of the India chapter of Transparency International (TI). He also served on the board of TI.

Naval career

Tahiliani was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 1 September 1950, and was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant on 17 May 1952.[4] He joined the Indian Naval Air Arm and qualified as a pilot for carrier-based aircraft. He is a graduate of the Naval War College, United States and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He also qualified as a test pilot.

Promoted lieutenant-commander on 16 July 1960,[5] he was the first naval pilot to land an aircraft on the deck of INS Vikrant (R11), when he landed his Hawker Sea Hawk fighter on 18 May 1961. He served as a carrier-based strike pilot on board INS Vikrant; following his promotion to captain on 31 December 1970,[6] he commanded its carrier borne squadron during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

Later, he served as the commanding officer of INS Trishul (1960) and INS Vikrant. Promoted to acting rear admiral on 30 December 1977,[7] he was appointed Flag Officer, Goa Area (FOGA), with promotion to substantive rear admiral on 1 February 1978.[8] Later, he was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet (FOCWF).[9]

His next appointment was as Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (ACNS) at Naval Headquarters (NHQ). This was followed by appointment as the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS). He was promoted to Vice Admiral while in this office.

In February 1982, then vice admiral, Tahiliani was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-IN-C) Southern Naval Command.

In March 1983, he was appointed the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command. In May 1984, he was appointed the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS).

On 1 December 1984, he took over as the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) of the Indian Navy.[10]

Tahiliani retired from the Indian Navy on 30 November 1987.[2]

Awards

Admiral Tahiliani was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal for his distinguished service.

Later career

Admiral R H Tahiliani with former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Tahiliani served as the Governor of Sikkim between 8 February 1990 and 20 September 1994.

He helped launch the India chapter of Transparency International as a founder member in 1997. He served as the chairman of the India chapter practically from its founding until 2010 and was chairperson of Balvantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan Anguridevi Shersingh, a senior secondary school located in the South District of New Delhi, India.

Tahiliani was elected to the board of Transparency International in 2002.[11]

Personal life

Tahiliani was married to Jaswanti Tahiliani. His wife was the first female engineer in Mumbai. He is the father of noted Indian fashion designer, Tarun Tahiliani,[12] and executive director of Ensemble India, Tina Tahiliani Parikh. He died on 14 October 2015.[13]

References

1. "Balvantray Mehta Vidya Bhawan". BMVB ASMA. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
2. "Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani, PVSM, AVSM". Information Resource Facilitation Centre, Indian Navy. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
3. "Press Brief - Admiral Rh Tahiliani (Retd) passes away". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
4. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 13 September 1952. p. 200.
5. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 5 December 1960. p. 322.
6. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 14 August 1970. p. 945.
7. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 24 June 1978. p. 620.
8. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 January 1979. p. 65.
9. "Organisation of Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence" (PDF). Indian Navy. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
10. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Navy Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 March 1985. p. 327.
11. "TI's Annual General Meeting elects new board members from Zimbabwe, Argentina, UK and India". Transparency International. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
12. "Designs on the bride". India Today. 7 November 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
13. http://www.firstpost.com/india/ex-indian-navy-chief-admiral-radhakrishna-hariram-tahiliani-passes-away-2468870.html

Military offices
Preceded by Arun Shridhar Vaidya	Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee 1 February 1986 – 30 November 1987	Succeeded by Denis La Fontaine
Preceded by Oscar Stanley Dawson	Chief of the Naval Staff 1984–1987	Succeeded by Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni