Tag Archives: Rakesh Chopra

Rakesh (Rocky) Chopra / Prayer Meet

Leave a reply

Rakesh Chopra Curzon 1958-63) passed on at Delhi on 29th March 2025.

PRAYER MEET

Rear Admiral Rakesh (ROCKY) Chopra VSM (RETD).

Sep 27, 1948 – March 29, 2025

Celebrating a distinguished service career and a life well lived

Remembrance To Be Held On

April 2, 2025 Wednesday | 3:30 pm

Venue:

Chinmaya Mission

89, Lodi Road, New Delhi

—•—

Marilyn I Vikram-Noopur I Varun

RSVP: 99719 72221; 9820238515

FROM VIJAY KHURANA :
While I put up details on the WhatsApp Group,” Young but Once” for those who did not possess this information, Rocky was admitted with acute COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), diabetes and he had had a stent inserted a few years ago. The medical condition was, when he was admitted, bleak and in the previous few days at home he had been indolent, sleeping most the time and ignoring meals or any other activity. The family then admitted him to the Army Hospital Research and Referral on Sunday March 23, 2025. He was taken directly to the ICU given his precarious condition.

Rocky’s cremation took place yesterday, March 30, 20225 at the Lodhi electric crematorium with arrangements being made by the Indian Navy.

A prayer meeting for Rocky will be held onWednesday, April 2, 2025 at the Chinmaya Mission on Lodhi Road at 3:30PM. Details in the attachment to this mail

Several of you have sent comments and condolence messages over WhatsApp or separate mails. You may like to place them on this trailing page.

On a personal note, Rocky was a second generation naval officer. His father Devender Chopra was a Captain in the Indian Navy, his mother, Kamala, passed away early. For a while Rocky was the only child and developed his skills at being adept at making friends offering a lively disposition. He was never heavily academically inclined, though he did well in School (Curzon, 1958-1963),  but that scholarly attribute of character made itself obvious in the years to come. He collected a PhD, became an academic and that was a side he rarely exhibited with any kind of abandon. His vast knowledge he never flourished except to his students in the class room. It earned him great admiration and respect. In any discussion, Rocky preferred to listen and when he did offer a view point, it was supported by hard core information and indisputable facts. He was dead sure when he did offer a comment!!

Rocky was scheduled to spend four months in Taiwan collecting material about a book that he was planning to write on the politics of the South China Sea !! That is no ordinary subject in today’s political context.

We all knew Rocky as an affable, lively soul which is an enduring memory. However, he was also a very private man and you never got deep down into the recesses of his personality or his mind. Some things and important aspects of his life he kept to himself !! That private side he never offered to anyone. Often the butt of jokes, he accepted them with a smile and a gentle flick! He left us with a persona that he would like us remember – Jovial, Happy and Very Friendly.

Good bye, Dearest Friend. We will miss you when next we raise our glasses!!

Warmly

Vijay Khurana

Rakesh (Rocky) Chopra – [BCS Curzon 1958-1963] passed on 29th March ’25

3 Replies

March-29-2025
With profound grief, we regret to inform you of the passing of Rear Admiral Rakesh (Rocky) Chopra, after many glorious years of service in the Navy and an accomplished post-retirement career.

Rocky, as he was affectionately known within the naval fraternity, was from the 31st NDA course and was commissioned on 1st July 1968. After completing his Sub Lieutenant courses, he qualified as a ship’s diver and helicopter controller. He was part of the team of divers deployed off Chittagong to recover gold that had been sunk in the river by the retreating Pakistani Army.

In 1973, he specialized in Navigation and Direction as a Lieutenant and later completed the Staff Course at Wellington in 1980 as a Lieutenant Commander, eventually serving there as Directing Staff.

Throughout his distinguished career, Rocky held several key appointments. At sea, he commanded a Petya-class frigate in the Eastern Fleet and later INS Ganga in the Western Fleet. His shore postings included Fleet Operations Officer (Western Fleet), Director Warship Overseeing Team, Chief Staff Officer (Operations), Eastern Naval Command, and Instructor at the Naval War College.

On promotion to Rear Admiral, he took on significant leadership roles, including FODAG and later a key appointment at Naval Headquarters.
Beyond his naval service, Rocky was a highly respected professional, a lively and immensely likeable officer, and a cherished friend to many. He had a rare ability to connect with people, earning admiration not just from his peers but also from those he mentored and worked with. His departure leaves an irreplaceable void in the lives of his close friends and coursemates, who will forever treasure his camaraderie, wisdom, and unwavering spirit.

Rocky was a lifelong learner, always striving to expand his horizons. While posted in Mumbai, he completed an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, a qualification that proved invaluable in his post-retirement years. He went on to become a Professor of Management and Strategy at XLRI, Jamshedpur, and later at IMT, Ghaziabad, in recognition of his academic excellence. He also earned a Diploma in International Humanitarian Law, a testament to his relentless pursuit of knowledge.

To his friends and colleagues, Rocky was the embodiment of intellectual curiosity, adventure, and lifelong learning. He had an insatiable passion for travel, both within India and overseas, and a deep love for yachting, always embracing new experiences with enthusiasm.

The funeral and last rites of Rear Admiral Rakesh Chopra will be performed Lodhi Electric Crematorium on30/03/25 at 1330.

We pray to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to his noble soul. His memory will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

NOK:

Wife Marilyn Chopra (99719 72221)
Son Vikram Chopra (9820238515)
Son Varun Chopra (9920200104)
Daughter-in-law Noopur Jain Chopra

PRAYER MEET details link 

Photos from Saturday March 19th 2016 / Bittu Sahgal and OCs

The dinner on March 19, 2016 which was hosted by Royina Grewal and her daughters, friends of Bittu Sahgal. Royina has a fabulously large place and it was warm and cozy. The Grewals and the Sahgal families are close and have been for over 40 years. Royina was gracious and generous to host the evening. It was simply fabulous. The accompanying pictures, and I have many more, tell the story.
– Vijay Khurana

Spotlight on OCs: RAKESH CHOPRA

RakeshChopra-ocaRear Admiral Dr RAKESH CHOPRA.
IN, VSM (Retd) MSc (Madras University), MSc Nautical Science (Cochin University of Science &Technology), MBA (JBIMS, Mumbai), MPhil & PhD (Mumbai University) 

Dr Rakesh Chopra is an MSc from Madras University and an MBA from B school, JBIMS, in Mumbai. After an MPhil from Mumbai University was thereafter awarded PhD for his thesis on ‘The Strategic Significance of Oil and Gas for the Security of India’. Also an amateur historian, he is a member of the Indian History Congress in recognition of his being the Vice Chairman of the Maritime History Society of South India. 

He studied at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, and on graduation joined the National Defence Academy for a military career. After serving in the Indian Navy for 38 years he retired in the rank of Rear Admiral in 2006 and took up appointment on the faculty of XLRI Jamshedpur, as Professor of Strategy.

Dr Rakesh Chopra is also a Senior Visiting Research Fellow with the “Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War” at Oxford University. He is a founder member and on the Board of Directors of a think tank “Peace Operations Institute” in Washington DC, USA.

Dr R Chopra has also had a commendable academic and instructional career in the military. An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, he has also been on the faculty as Directing Staff. He was a founding member and Chief Instructor of the College of Naval Warfare at Karanja, Mumbai, and the Chief Instructor of the Navigation & Direction School where officers specialize in the planning and conduct of maritime operations.

A specialist in Navigation & Direction and diving, he has navigated several ships, controlled aircraft from the carrier and commanded three major IN Ships. He has been the Additional Director General of the National Cadet Corps, Flag Officer Offshore Defence (FODAG), Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) and the Assistant Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), Joint Operations, Information Warfare and Weapon Systems. He has been involved with strategy and policy formulation and implementation as also human resource development for senior positions in the military.

He commanded a ship in the 1971 Indo Pak war in the Eastern Theatre and was a member of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka in 1988 where he was awarded ‘Mention in Dispatches’ for gallantry. Subsequently he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India for exemplary service.

He is a yachtsman of national stature; a qualified International Race Officer, a national judge in sailing and was the Hon Treasurer of the Yachting Association of India. He is an avid golfer. He is married and has two sons.