The Indian Navy's Maritime Outlook: The Path Walked since Independence (original) (raw)

2020, USI Journal CL/622 Oct to Dec 2020

It is an obvious fact to any student of history that India’s security lies on the Indian Ocean: that without a well-considered and effective naval policy, India’s position in the world will be weak, dependent on others, and her freedom at the mercy of any country capable of controlling the Indian Ocean. India’s future, therefore, is closely bound up with the strength she is able to develop gradually as a naval power”. These words of KM Panikkar’s, written around the time of independence, preordained the maritime activities of nations in the Indian Ocean like the withdrawal of the British, the entry of the US and Soviets, the gradual rise of India as a maritime power, and the entry of China into the Indian Ocean. Over the years, India’s relative position in terms of economy, military power, mode of governance, and good relations with most of its neighbours have aided India to be seen as a stable nation in what had once been termed as ‘A Sea of Uncertainty’ or ’the stage for the new Great Game’. The Indian Navy (IN) has been central to the rise of India as a maritime power and is today the nation’s principal maritime agency with a wide ambit that covers all the four roles of any modern navy. The IN has evolved from a coastal force to a modern navy which has earned, in the IOR, the tag of ’first responder in the maritime domain’. The path travelled has not been easy and the IN owes its growth to the maritime vision of strategic thinks, both in and out of uniform, who have contributed immensely to its development. This article attempts to trace the path traversed since 1947 and place in perspective many issues that merit attention.