ON BOARD INS IMPHAL: Manipur has been in the throes of violence over the past many months and while the concern for their families back home is real, the crew from the north-eastern state on board India’s latest stealth destroyer INS Imphal continue to hold a steady course at the helm, with nothing coming in the way of their dedication and duty to the nation.

And as they prepare to deploy on the high seas, combat ready and primed to take on any challenge, they see hope for enduring peace back home.

INS Imphal, commissioned into service by defence minister Rajnath Singh at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on December 26, takes on an extra special meaning for the five sailors serving on board the country’s first warship named after a city in the north-east and whose crest is also inspired by the state of Manipur —Sunshine Meetei, Boris Laishram, Oinam Deepak Singh, SR Sheikh and Simon Singh.

“We are combat ready, but what’s better than peace. Here, there, everywhere,” said 23-year-old Meetei, who is from the navy’s anti-submarine warfare stream.

“There’s no denying that things are bad back home. It’s not the Manipur I grew up in. It hurts. I pray peace returns. But here, I am focused on my job and nothing else,” said Meetei.

Ethnic violence began in Manipur in early May as clashes erupted between the Meiteis, the most populous community in the state, and the tribal Kukis. Attacks between communities have continued intermittently ever since.

The blood bath has seen 197 lives lost, according to official data, and more than 50,000 people from both communities have been displaced from their homes, with Meiteis from the Kuki dominated hills fleeing for their lives, and Kukis from the Meitei dominated Imphal valley chased out of their homes.

His family is safe, but friends have borne the brunt of violence, said Laishram, 30, who is from the engineering department.

“As a sailor, I am trained to be mission ready. And I am, like the rest of us on the warship. The commissioning of INS Imphal was the finest moment of my life. And the next best thing will be Manipur turning towards normalcy,” he said as he escorted this correspondent around the warship’s decks, compartments, alleyways and steep stairways.

This guided missile destroyer will enable the Indian Navy confront challenges in distant seas including China’s carefully calculated power play for influence in the Indo-Pacific, defending the rules-based international order, the Arabian Sea emerging as a new front with Red Sea tensions escalating and counterpiracy in the Gulf of Aden.

A warship being named after a city in the north-east is definitely a moment of celebration, said the commanding officer Captain Kamal Kumar Choudhury.

“But once you are in the white uniform, your identity is by your name, rank and service number. As far as I am concerned, I have 30 officers and 330 sailors and all of them are from India. We don’t identify with any other affiliations. When we leave Mumbai harbour… when we sail on the ship, we are out of the territorial sea after 12 nautical miles,” said Choudhury, calling the warship a fortress that is a a piece of sovereign Indian territory.

Also Read: Missile specialist to navigation expert: The crew of INS Imphal

The destroyer’s crest depicts Imphal’s iconic Kangla Fort in the background, alongside the mythical guardian animal Kangla-Sa, with blue and white waves in the foreground. For centuries, the fort has remained the traditional seat of power of the kingdom of Manipur. “Having weathered invasions, conflicts, transformations and vagaries of history, the monument stands resilient through the epochs and bears testament to the indomitable spirit of the Manipuri people,” said a navy handout.

Kangla-Sa, the mythical guardian and also the state’s emblem, has a lion’s body and a dragon’s head with horns.

The warship’s crest, depicting the fort and Kangla-Sa atop the waves, symbolises the navy’s commitment to protect the nation and its interests in the maritime domain, while paying homage to the rich cultural and historical heritage of Manipur, the handout said.

Beneath the crest, a ribbon presents the ship’s motto in Sanskrit — Sadaiv Tatpar or Always Ready.

Also, the destroyer’s logo depicts INS Imphal rising symbolically with the sun in the background, flanked by a pair of horses, underlined by the inscription Invincible Imphal. The frontal silhouette riding the waves defines the warship’s destiny to rule the oceans, while meeting all challenges head-on, the handout said.

“The rising sun symbolises infinite energy, characteristic of the powerful destroyer. It aptly denotes the warship’s linkage with the north-east, India’s land of rising sun. The horses epitomise the ship’s martial character: speed, strength, stamina, agility and valour. The inscription Invincible Imphal embodies the ship’s ethos and the crew’s indomitable spirit,” it added.

The destroyer is equipped with weapons and systems that can take down any kind of aerial threat, has the capability to carry out long-range surveillance and engagement of surface and land targets, and can attack submarines with torpedoes and rockets.

As Laishram said: Mission ready.