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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
