Lieutenant Adhir Chandra Bhattacharjee, VSM, the doyen of Indian diving industry, was born in 1924 in undivided Bengal, India. He joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1943. After Independence, he was the first Indian to be selected for training at the Royal Navy diving school HMS Vernon and became India's first Deep Sea Diver in the year 1948. In 1961, he was commissioned in the navy and took over as the first Indian Officer In-charge of the Indian Navy Diving School. (Formerly Torpedo and Anti Submarine School.)

He is widely acclaimed as the Founding Father of the diving branch of Indian Navy. For his meritorious service to the Indian Navy and to the nation, Late Dr. Zakir Hussein, President of India, awarded him the Vishist Seva Medal. He resigned his commission with the navy in 1971 and went on to found Abee Engineering Corporation, India's first commercial diving company.

The Indian commercial diving industry, to a large extent, owes its very existence to this pioneer. He passed away in 1982 leaving behind a thriving Abee Engineering Corporation and a vibrant commercial diving industry.