13-06-2025
Plea to name submarine after freedom fighter Abid Hasan Safrani
A relative of Abid Hasan Safrani, a member of the Indian National Army, and a close associate of freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose, has urged the Indian Navy to name a submarine after him.
Ismat Mehdi, who is Safrani's niece, has written to Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, requesting him to name a submarine after the freedom fighter. Prof. Ismat recalled that Major Safrani was Netaji's companion on the historic voyage aboard a submarine from Germany to Sumatra. En route, they boarded a Japanese submarine.
'It is for this reason that I request naming one of the submarines as INS Safrani,' she wrote.
In his reply, Admiral Tripathi expressed his gratitude to Prof. Ismat for suggesting the name. 'Indian Navy deeply values the contributions made by our freedom fighters to the Indian Freedom movement including that of Shri Abid Hasan Safrani. Your suggestion has been duly noted and forwarded to the concerned authority for consideration, subject to established guidelines,' he wrote.
