Jal Cursetji

Admiral Jal Cursetji, PVSM (20 May 1919 – 29 January 1991) was a former Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He served as the ninth Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from 1 March 1976 until 28 February 1979. He was the first hydrographer to serve as the CNS.

Born in a Parsi family in Jabalpur, Cursetji joined the Training Ship Dufferin in 1935, where his batchmate was Nilakanta Krishnan. After training on various ships of the Royal Navy, he served on the Aubrietia-class sloop HMIS Clive (L79) and the Bathurst-class corvette HMIS Bombay (J249). In 1944, he commanded HMIS Bombay. After specialising in hydrography in the United Kingdom, he was tasked with the planning of setting up a hydrographic office in India. He served as the Surveyor-in-Charge, Marine Survey of India and commanded the survey ship INS Investigator. He was the first Indian to serve as the Chief Hydrographer of the Navy, from 1955 to 1957.

Cursetji subsequently commanded the 11th destroyer squadron and the lead ship INS Rajput (D141) and served for about four years as the Naval attaché at the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., from 1961 to 1965. Returning to India, he commanded the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant from 1966 to 1967. Promoted to flag rank in 1967, he took over as Chief of Personnel at Naval headquarters. In 1970, he was appointed the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and served in this appointment during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Cursetji served as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command from 1973 to 1976, before taking over as the Chief of Naval Staff. During his tenure as the CNS, the maritime reconnaissance role was taken over by the Navy, the Indian Coast Guard came into being and the Goa Naval area was established. The Southern Naval Area was also upgraded into a full-fledged command. Cursetji was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1971 and was the first recipient from the Indian Navy of the Legion of Merit.