 He is an author of a number of papers, articles and has written two well known books, namely An Eye Opening as I Saw and Betrayal of the Armed Forces - The Inside Truth 

Vishnu Bhagwat was appointed as chief of naval staff on 30 September 1996 and was relieved from office on 30 December 1998 under Article 310 of the Constitution of India.The unprecedented and much publicised row between the government and the admiral began after the Cabinet appointments committee appointed Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh as deputy chief of the naval staff.Refusing to accept the Cabinet order, Admiral Bhagwat went public with his opposition to the government's decision.