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Eminent maritime historian and former flag
officer commanding-in-chief, Western Naval
Command, Vice Admiral MP Awati, said India
should give more importance to seaborne trade
without which the Indian Navy will have a
purposeless existence.
Inaugurating the third edition of the Annual
‘Dilli’ series INA seminar on “Indian Maritime
History Expeditions, Operations & Players”, at
the Indian naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala,
here on Friday, he also said India should build
the modern navy of the nation based on the
example of Europe which optimally used the
sea power.
“Without a thriving merchant fleet engaged in
carrying India’s seaborne trade which is more
than eighty percent of her overseas trade, and
the trade of other nations as well, the Indian
Navy has no locus standi, no reason to exist,”
asserted the expert. Only twenty percent of the
ships involved in the sea trade of India are
from the country while the rest are from
abroad, he pointed out.
MP Awati also said though the Indian boat
carpenter had long been recognized as the
best in the profession in the Indian Ocean
world, in the years to come they did not learn
from technologies used in ships of other
nations visiting the coast, and that is why the
country is still lagging behind in ship building
technology whereas countries like China have
made much strides in this front.
This is the case with our defence research as
well, he opined.
“This proclivity to refuse to learn from others
remains a trait with us even to this day,
rendering our DRDO a near toothless
institution, way behind the world in defence
research and development, attempting to
reinvent the wheel through so-called
indigenous technology. It is a story which does
not do us much credit,” said Awati.
One of the reasons for our lagging behind in
the sea power was the caste system, after the
Aryan invasion, which pushed back India’s
maritime history several centuries back, he
opined, adding that Aryan’s had a continental
mindset.
“It (sea) became a prohibited arena for
venturing upon, on pain of losing caste… The
people who sailed the sea in ships were, quite
naturally, relegated to the Outcastes in this
new society…. It could only be ventured upon
by the seamen and fishermen who would,
otherwise, starve,” he said.
Awati also opined that India lags behind in
building ports in the modern times and
siltation is a major problem in many ports.
“Ancient India had much better ports than
modern India has,” said the expert.
Nearly 16 papers will be presented in the two-
day seminar, which will conclude on Saturday
officer commanding-in-chief, Western Naval
Command, Vice Admiral MP Awati, said India
should give more importance to seaborne trade
without which the Indian Navy will have a
purposeless existence.
Inaugurating the third edition of the Annual
‘Dilli’ series INA seminar on “Indian Maritime
History Expeditions, Operations & Players”, at
the Indian naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala,
here on Friday, he also said India should build
the modern navy of the nation based on the
example of Europe which optimally used the
sea power.
“Without a thriving merchant fleet engaged in
carrying India’s seaborne trade which is more
than eighty percent of her overseas trade, and
the trade of other nations as well, the Indian
Navy has no locus standi, no reason to exist,”
asserted the expert. Only twenty percent of the
ships involved in the sea trade of India are
from the country while the rest are from
abroad, he pointed out.
MP Awati also said though the Indian boat
carpenter had long been recognized as the
best in the profession in the Indian Ocean
world, in the years to come they did not learn
from technologies used in ships of other
nations visiting the coast, and that is why the
country is still lagging behind in ship building
technology whereas countries like China have
made much strides in this front.
This is the case with our defence research as
well, he opined.
“This proclivity to refuse to learn from others
remains a trait with us even to this day,
rendering our DRDO a near toothless
institution, way behind the world in defence
research and development, attempting to
reinvent the wheel through so-called
indigenous technology. It is a story which does
not do us much credit,” said Awati.
One of the reasons for our lagging behind in
the sea power was the caste system, after the
Aryan invasion, which pushed back India’s
maritime history several centuries back, he
opined, adding that Aryan’s had a continental
mindset.
“It (sea) became a prohibited arena for
venturing upon, on pain of losing caste… The
people who sailed the sea in ships were, quite
naturally, relegated to the Outcastes in this
new society…. It could only be ventured upon
by the seamen and fishermen who would,
otherwise, starve,” he said.
Awati also opined that India lags behind in
building ports in the modern times and
siltation is a major problem in many ports.
“Ancient India had much better ports than
modern India has,” said the expert.
Nearly 16 papers will be presented in the two-
day seminar, which will conclude on Saturday
