The Indian Navy has quietly dropped a plan to indigenise the ranks of its non-officer cadre, a proposal that was part of a larger drive to shed military traditions inherited from the British.
According to senior officials, the defence ministry believes any change in nomenclature should be implemented uniformly across all three services, rather than as a navy-specific initiative.
The proposed indigenised ranks would have covered more than 65,000 sailors, but the defence ministry favours a tri-services approach to any change.
The ranks slated for renaming included Master Chief Petty Officer First Class, Master Chief Petty Officer Second Class, Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer, Leading Seaman, Seaman First Class and Seaman Second Class.
There are no plans for a tri-services indigenised rank framework, said another official, citing the Indian Air Force's use of ranks such as Warrant Officer, Sergeant, and Corporal, and the army's use of 'Lance' in its lower ranks.
