Vir Chakra (VrC)

Captain Kumara Madhava Velappan Nair was the commander of the task force, which attacked Karachi on the night of 8 December 1971. In the face of imminent air attack and in the presence of enemy shore gun batteries, he led his task force against the enemy off Karachi. Despite the fact that his force was detected and reported to Karachi by a picket vessel, he led his ships undeterred into action in the area off Karachi, which resulted in the sinking and damaging of many Pakistani naval units.

In this action, Captain Nair displayed gallantry and leadership of a high order.