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 The
Rig Veda, written around 2000 BC, credits
Varuna with
knowledge of the ocean routes commonly used by ships and describes naval
expeditions which used hundred-oared ships to subdue other kingdoms.
There is a reference to Plava, the side wings of a vessel which give
stability under storm conditions: perhaps the precursor of modern
stabilisers. Similarly, the Atharva Veda
mentions boats which were spacious, well constructed and comfortable.
In
Indian mythology, Varuna was the exalted
deity to whom lesser mortals turned for forgiveness of their sins. It is
only later that Indra became known as the
King of the Gods, and Varuna was relegated
to become the God of Seas and Rivers. The ocean, recognised as the
repository of numerous treasures, was churned by the
Devas and
Danavas, the
sons of Kashyapa
by queens Aditi
and Diti, in order to obtain Amrit, the
nectar of immortality. Even today the invocation at the launching
ceremony of a warship is addressed to Aditi.
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The
influence of the sea on Indian kingdoms continued to grow with
the passage of time. North-west India came under the influence
of Alexander the Great, who built a
harbour at Patala where the Indus branches into two just before
entering the Arabian Sea. His army returned to Mesopotamia in
ships built in Sind. Records show that in the period after his
conquest,
Chandragupta Maurya established an Admiralty
Division under a Superintendent of Ships as part of his war
office, with a charter including responsibility for navigation
on the seas, oceans, lakes and rivers. History records that
Indian ships traded with countries as far as Java and Sumatra,
and available evidence indicates that they were also trading
with other countries in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Even
before Alexander there were references to India in Greek works,
and India had a flourishing trade with Rome. The Roman writer
Pliny speaks of Indian traders
carrying away large quantities of gold from Rome, in payment for
much-sought exports such as precious stones, skins, clothes,
spices, sandalwood, perfumes, herbs and indigo.
Trade
of this volume could not have been conducted over the centuries
without appropriate navigational skills. Two Indian astronomers
of repute,
Aryabhatta and Varahamihira, having accurately
mapped the positions of celestial bodies, developed a method of
computing a ship's position from the stars. A crude forerunner
of the modern magnetic compass was being used around the fourth
or fifth century AD. Called Matsya Yantra,
it comprised an iron fish that floated in a vessel of oil and
pointed North.
Between
the fifth and tenth centuries AD, the
Vijaynagaram and
Kalinga kingdoms of southern
and eastern India had established their rule over Malaya,
Sumatra and Western Java. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands then
served as an important midway point for trade between the Indian
peninsula and these kingdoms, as also with China.
The daily revenue from the eastern
regions in the period 844-848 AD was estimated at 200 maunds
(eight tons) of gold. In the period 984-1042 AD, the
Chola kings despatched great naval
expeditions which occupied parts of Burma,
Malaya and Sumatra, while suppressing piracy by the
Sumatran warlords. In 1292 AD, Marco Polo
described Indian ships as " ...built of fir timber, having a
sheath of boards laid over the planking in every part, caulked
with oakum and fastened with iron nails. The bottoms were
smeared with a preparation of quicklime and hemp, pounded
together and mixed with oil from a certain tree which is a
better material than pith." |
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A
fourteenth century description of an Indian ship credits it with
a carrying capacity of over 100 people, giving a fair idea of
both the shipbuilding skills and the maritime ability of seamen
who could successfully man such a large vessel. Another account
of the early fifteenth century describes Indian ships as being
built in compartments so that even if one part was damaged, the
rest remained intact,
enabling the ship to complete her voyage — a forerunner of the
modern day subdivision of ships into watertight compartments; a
concept then totally alien to the Europeans. |
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The
decline of Indian maritime power commenced in the thirteenth
century,andIndian sea power had almost disappeared when the
Portuguese arrived in India. The
latter imposed a system of licence for trade, and set upon all
Asian vessels not holding permits from them. A Naval engagement
in Bombay Harbour in 1529 resulted in Thana, Bandora and Karanja
agreeing to pay tribute to the Portuguese, and a grand naval
review was held by them in 1531. They took complete control of
the harbour in 1534 and finally ceded it to the British in 1662,
under a treaty of marriage between Charles II and Infanta
Catherine of Braganza.
The piracy
by the Portuguese
was challenged by the Zamorin of Calicut when
Vasco da Gama,
after obtaining permission to trade, refused to pay the customs
levy. Two major engagements were fought during this period. The
first, the Battle of Cochin in 1503, clearly revealed the
weakness of the Indian navies and indicated to the Europeans an
opportunity for building a naval empire. The second engagement
off Diu in 1509 gave the Portuguese mastery over Indian seas,
and laid the foundation of European control over Indian waters
for the next 400 years.
Indian
maritime interests witnessed a remarkable resurgence in the late
seventeenth century, when the Sidis of Janjira allied with the
Moghuls
to become a major power on the West Coast. This led to the
Maratha King Shivaji
creating his own fleet, commanded by able Admirals like Sidhoji
Gujar and later Kanhoji Angre. This Maratha fleet along with the
legend of Kanhoji held sway over the entire Konkan Coast,
keeping the English, Dutch and Portuguese at bay. The death of
Angre in 1729, left a vacuum in leadership, and this resulted in
the decline of the Maratha sea power.
Despite
the eclipse of Indian kingdoms with the advent of western
domination, Indian shipbuilders continued to hold their own well
into the nineteenth century. Ships displacing 800 to 1000 tons
were built of teak at Daman and were superior to their British
counterparts both in design and durability. This so agitated
British shipbuilders on the River Thames that they protested
against the use of Indian-built ships to carry trade from
England. Consequently active measures were adopted to cripple
the Indian industry. Nevertheless, many Indian ships were
inducted into the Royal Navy, such as
HMS Hindostan
in 1795, the frigate
Cornwallis in 1800, HMS
Camel in 1806 and HMS Ceylon in 1808. HMS Asia carried the flag
of Admiral Codrington at the Battle of Navarino in 1827 — the
last major sea battle to be fought entirely under sail.
 Two
Indian-built ships witnessed history in the making: the Treaty
of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong to the British, was signed on board
HMS Cornwallis in 1842, whilst the national anthem of the United
States of America, "The Star Spangled Banner," was composed by
Francis Key on board HMS Minden when the British ships were at
war and attempting to reduce Fort McHenry in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Numerous
other ships were also constructed, the most famous being HMS
Trincomalee, which was launched on 19 October 1817, carrying 46
guns and displacing 1065 tons. This ship was later renamed
Foudroyant, and is reputed to be the oldest ship afloat built in
India.
The
Bombay Dock was completed in July
1735 and is in use even today. The period of 4000 years between
Lothal and Bombay Dock, therefore, offers tangible evidence of
the seafaring skills the nation possessed in the days of sail.
Thus, in the early seventeenth century, when British naval ships
came to India, they discovered the existence of considerable
shipbuilding and repair skills, and a seafaring people—an ideal
combination for supporting a fighting force.
The Genesis of
Indian Navy.. |
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India's
maritime history predates the birth of western civilisation. The
world's first tidal dock is believed to have been built at
Lothal around 2300 BC during the
