Dufferin and Mercantile marine Sarma joined the
Dufferin in January 1937. A good student, he was awarded the Viceroy's gold medal for the best all-round cadet, the Lawrence and Mayo prize for navigation and the
Bombay Port Trust scholarship, when he graduated in December 1939. As the gold medal winner, he had offers from the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company,
British India Steam Navigation Company and the
Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. He chose to join the British India Steam Navigation Company in February 1940 as a cadet. He sailed on ships, voyaging in the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and to
Penang, Singapore,
Java and
Hong Kong. At Hong Kong, his ship was converted for war needs and sailed for the Mediterranean, carrying troops and war supplies. In April 1942, he was transferred to in Calcutta. Later that year, he obtained the second mate's certificate of competency.
World War II On 16 December 1942, as soon as he turned twenty, Sarma joined the
Royal Indian Naval Reserve (RINR), and was commissioned as a
sub-lieutenant. After a short training, in April 1943, he was posted to the auxiliary patrol vessel as its navigating officer. The ship sailed from Bombay to Calcutta and then to
Cox's Bazar, patrolling the coast. In August that year, he was transferred to the . She was assigned escort duties and minesweeping operations between Bombay and the
Persian Gulf. On 1 June 1944, Sarma was promoted to temporary
lieutenant. After
Victory over Japan Day in August 1945,
Kumaon was made a part of the 37th Minesweeping Flotilla and assigned minesweeping duties in the
Strait of Malacca and the
Singapore Strait. In September, Sarma and
Kumaon participated in
Operation Zipper and was present in Singapore during the
Operation Tiderace theJapanese surrender ceremony. In early 1946, the 56th Services Selection Board was set up at
Lonavla to screen the RINR and Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RINVR) officers for a permanent commission in the
Royal Indian Navy. In early 1946, Sarma was given his first command – a
MMS 154. He was in command of the vessel during the
Royal Indian Navy mutiny. In August that year, he was transferred to the
Bangor-class minesweeper which was part of the 37th Minesweeping Flotilla and performed minesweeping operations in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Post-Independence Immediately after the
Independence of India, Sarma was selected to attend the Navigation and Direction (ND) course at the Royal Navy School of Navigation, , then based at the
Southwick House, where he specialised in
navigation. After completing the course, where he stood second, he returned to India on the . He was appointed Staff Officer (Security) at Naval headquarters. He worked under two
Chiefs of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Navy – Commodores
M. H. St. L. Nott and
Ajitendu Chakraverti. In January 1949, he was posted to the newly established
Joint Services Wing (JSW),
Dehradun. He served as a divisional officer of the first and second courses of the JSW. In early 1951, he was transferred to the
flagship of the Navy, the , . After a short stint, he was appointed
executive officer of the
training ship . He was promoted to the acting rank of
lieutenant commander on 31 December 1951. In 1952, to commemorate the
Coronation of Elizabeth II, a massive Coronation review of the fleet was held at
Portsmouth. The flagship,
Delhi, destroyer and represented India at the review. A naval armada consisting of ships from the Indian Navy,
Royal Navy,
Royal Australian Navy and the
Royal New Zealand Navy sailed from Portsmouth to Gibraltar. The fleet carried out exercises along the way and was under the command of
Lord Mountbatten. Subsequently, the Indian ships continued exercising with the Mediterranean Fleet. They sailed from Gibraltar to Malta, the
Greek islands and to
Istanbul. Sarma was promoted to substantive lieutenant-commander on 1 June 1953. In 1954, he was appointed Officer-in-charge of the Navigation and Direction School in Cochin, the youngest incumbent. He also dual-hatted as the Staff Officer Operations (SO Ops) to the
Commodore-in-Charge Cochin (COMCHIN) Commodore
B.S. Soman. In August 1956, Sarma was selected to attend the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich. He completed the
Staff college course in April 1957 and was slated to take command of the which was under construction. In early 1958, Sarma was appointed the
commissioning commanding officer of
Khukri. She was under construction in the
Isle of Wight and commissioned on 16 July 1958. He sailed the ship down to India as her first commanding officer. He also led the ship in intensive anti-submarine exercises in Malta. In June 1959, after eighteen months in command of
Khukri, Sarma was appointed Commander (executive officer) of the new
flagship of the Navy – the , , commanded by Captain
Sourendra Nath Kohli. He succeeded Commander K. M. Nanavati in the aftermath of
K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra. During this tenure,
Mysore participated in two joint exercises off Trincomalee (JET) and numerous port visits flying the flag of the
Flag Officer Commanding Indian Fleet Rear Admiral
Ajitendu Chakraverti. In July 1960, Sarma was appointed the
Deputy Naval Adviser to the
High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom at
India House, London. The High Commissioner then was
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. It was during this time that India's first
aircraft carrier was commissioned in
Belfast. After a three-year stint as Deputy naval adviser, Sarma was promoted to
captain on 31 December 1964 and was appointed commanding officer of the
frigate . He also commanded the 16th frigate squadron comprising the ships , and from 1964 to 1965. In mid-1965, Sarma was posted as the Chief of Staff Southern Naval Area, and in February 1966, took over as the commanding officer of the largest training establishment of the Indian Navy, INS
Venduruthy. In August 1967, he was selected to attend the
National Defence College (NDC), New Delhi. Sarma declined the nomination to attend the NDC, continuing as CO INS
Venduruthy until late 1968. After commanding
Venduruthy for three years, he was appointed commanding officer of INS
Mysore on 16 December 1968. Under his command, INS
Mysore won the
Western Fleet Sailing Regatta in 1969. He also filled in as the Chief of Staff to the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Western Naval Command,
Vice Admiral Nilakanta Krishnan, an appointment he assumed full-time in August 1970. Sarma was promoted to acting
rear admiral and appointed Senior Directing Staff (SDS) at the
National Defence College (NDC),
New Delhi on 6 January 1971. He served as SDS at the NDC only for a few months, until September.
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was caused by the
Bangladesh Liberation war, a conflict between the traditionally dominant
West Pakistanis and the majority
East Pakistanis. In 1970, East Pakistanis demanded autonomy for the state, but the
Pakistani government failed to satisfy these demands and, in early 1971, a demand for secession took root in East Pakistan. In March, the
Pakistan Armed Forces began a campaign to repress the secessionists, the latter including soldiers and police from East Pakistan. Thousands of East Pakistanis died, and nearly ten million refugees fled to
West Bengal, an adjacent Indian state. In April, India decided to assist in the formation of the new nation of
Bangladesh. In September 1971, Sarma was summoned by the
Chief of the Naval Staff,
Admiral S. M. Nanda who told him that he was to move to
Visakhapatnam and take up command of the yet-to-be-formed
Eastern Fleet. The
two-fleet concept of the Navy came into force with the constitution of the
Eastern Fleet on 1 November 1971. Rear Admiral Sarma took over as the Founding
Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF). In mid 1971, The
aircraft carrier Vikrant, along with the frigates and were moved from the
Western Fleet to the
Eastern Naval Command.
Vikrant became the flagship of the new fleet. According to Sarma, the tasks of the Eastern Fleet were: • To seek and destroy enemy naval units at sea • To destroy his bases so that enemy naval units could not get shore support • To establish a blockade off the East Pakistani coast • To establish contraband control The Eastern Fleet blockaded the ports of
East Pakistan.
Alizé and
Sea Hawk aircraft from
Vikrant and the ships of the fleet bombarded
Chittagong and
Cox's Bazar. The air strikes of
Vikrant resulted in the sinking or rendering useless 11 merchant ships totalling 56,914 GRT. The Eastern Fleet also enforced contraband control until making an amphibious landing to cut off the land escape routes into Burma. After the
surrender of
Pakistan, in early 1972, Sarma led the fleet in minesweeping operations to make the
Port of Chittagong operational. For his command of the Eastern Fleet in the Indo-Pakistani War, Sarma was decorated with the
Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on 26 January 1972. The citation for the PVSM reads as follows: {{Blockquote| Acting Rear Admiral S H Sarma, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, the operational commander of all Indian naval forces in the Eastern Sector was responsible for safe-guarding the whole of Eastern seaboard from enemy attacks, to ensure complete blockade of the enemy held ports in Bangladesh. The officer conducted these operations with exemplary vigour, single mindedness of purpose and meticulous attention which resulted in the systematic disintegration and decimation of Pakistani Naval forces in the East and assured complete safety to the Indian Merchant shipping in the area. The Carrier borne forces under his command continuously attacked heavily defended enemy ports, inland waterways and hinterland causing serious damage to vital installations and seriously impairing the enemy's ability to continue to fight. He has displayed outstanding leadership and ability in the conduct of his duties as Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.
Post-war ,
Chief of the Naval Staff, congratulates Vice Admiral Sarma on his 99th birthday. After commanding the Eastern Fleet for about two years, Sarma was appointed Director General Naval Dockyard Expansion Scheme (DG-NDES) in 1973, taking over from Rear Admiral
P. S. Mahindroo. He was promoted to substantive rear admiral on 1 March of the same year. He then served as the Flag Officer Commanding
Southern Naval Area from 1973 to 1975. On 7 January 1975, he was promoted to
vice admiral and took over as the
Commandant of the National Defence College on 8 January 1975. After a two-year stint as Commandant NDC, he took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Eastern Naval Command. After commanding the
Eastern Naval Command for a year, Sarma retired on 2 February 1978. ==Later life, death and legacy==