KSHIRSAGAR MANTHAN : Indian Ocean: An Ocean of Decision
Maj Gen VS Ranade (Retd)
Army Institute of Management, Kolkata
India has been a seafaring nation earlier than medieval times. The Chola Kings and Vijayanagar Kingdoms have been known to have sea trade routes to Southeast Asian countries of Java, Sumatra, and Cambodia. The religious and cultural connect is quite evident in the historical finds and records. The cross-pollination of cultures is there in the historical narrative of the people and the countries. History does record Indian Naval vessels in the Indian Ocean supporting the trade routes and naval battles, thus, adding to the importance of Naval power as an instrument of power in nation-building. India holds over 3000 km of coastline with rich marine culture and suitable ports for commerce, economic and maritime defence. The Indian Ocean, combined with the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea, adds to the importance of the Naval power in India. The Indian Naval power in the olden times was primarily an escort for trading ships and means of naval diplomacy and seeking forays into new lands. However, it was Shivaji, in the medieval period, who first actually understood the strategic importance of sea power and the defence of the coastal areas. He developed a formidable naval arm and weaponised it with the construction of two Naval Forts- Sindhudurg and Jinjira and later on Vijay Durg. He had a formidable Naval presence on the western coast and was capable of defending the coast from Britishers and Portuguese invaders/traders.
The Indian Ocean had always been important in Indian history and today it’s the ocean that holds the power. Today, it accounts for major shipping lanes and the flow of essential trade which includes oil through the three choke points. The first chokepoint is the Malacca strait between Malaysia, Singapore, and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which connects Southeast Asia and the western Pacific to the Indian Ocean. The second is the Strait of Hormuz, which is the only sea passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean. The third is the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which flows between Eritrea and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Indian ocean has become a major battleground with the world powers due to its strategic location and economic importance.
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Maj Gen VS Ranade (Retd)
Army Institute of Management, Kolkata