Anchored in Shivaji's spirit, India's naval operations get a desi touch in international waters

By carrying out back-to-back rescue operations in the past month, the Indian Navy has emerged as the bright spot in the otherwise unstable waters of the Red Sea. The Israel-Hamas war has not only thrown the Middle East into a flux but its effects are now also spilling over to South Asia and the wider expanse of the Indian Ocean Region. The worsening security concerns in the Red Sea due to constant attacks from the Yemen-based Houthis on cargo ships have further been exacerbated with Somali pirates also targeting the ships passing through this region. As the security situation in the Red Sea and also in the Arabian Sea has deteriorated, the Indian Navy has now emerged as the net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region. Indian Navy has always been exemplary in its duty and in particular, has always been proactive in benign causes like Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. However, with the spill-over effects of the war in the Middle East threatening the security of the Indian Ocean Region, India is asserting its position as the resident power and as the primary stakeholder in the security architecture of the region. India’s rescue operations and in particular the role of the Indian Navy not only correspond to the existing global order. The current security concerns may have pronounced the role of the Indian Navy. But there is also a strong civilisational undertone to India’s naval operations. This undertone could be considered from decolonisation and indigenisation perspectives. The decolonisation narrative has been a major issue in the Indian political discourse for a long time. However, in the past few months, there has been a tangible and accelerated effort towards decolonisation and indigenisation across different spheres. Some important steps in this direction include the use of the name Bharat instead of India. This was the highlight when India hosted the G20 Summit in September 2023 as the placard in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi displayed the name Bharat. Besides, three criminal justice laws, the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, the Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act, recently passed by the Indian parliament also seek to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act. The recent consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is projected as one of the most prominent steps towards decolonisation. Also, the scope of the decolonisation narrative has now expanded. For decades, only the 200-year British rule in India was earmarked as the colonial period in the collective memory of the Indian people. Now the 200-year period is being replaced by a period of about 1,000 years which includes the Islamic invasions in India. This indigenisation process which is becoming visible in the political, legal and cultural domains is gradually gaining emphasis in the security domain as well. Just as the decolonisation debate had been restricted to British rule, the same principle was evident in Indian strategic thought as well for a long time. As one of the relics of British rule, the continental mindset had remained a norm in Indian strategic thought for a long time. The continental mindset crept into India’s security outlook as a legacy of the British who were engaged in the Great Game with Russia. It led to the British focusing more on the territorial aspect of security to stop Russia’s advances against India. This included courting countries and regions in the Northwest and the Northeast such as Afghanistan, the Central Asian Khanates (as they were then known), Tibet and China. This thinking consolidated even after independence as India faced perpetual security concerns from Pakistan and China. As a result the fact that India was one of the major maritime nations in the world since time immemorial was greatly sidelined. However, in the past about one decade, the maritime domain has been regaining its importance in India’s strategic circles. The emergence of the geostrategic concept of the Indo-Pacific Region and China’s belligerence in India’s neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood have caused India to increase its focus on strengthening the naval arm of its military. The growing focus on the Indian Navy has essentially been accompanied by decoupling the Indian Navy from its British legacy and taking it back to its indigenous roots. To achieve this, the government has evoked Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who is considered as the Father of the Indian Navy. Shivaji, who inherited a landlocked region, recognised the importance of sea access and navy. His strategic vision proclaimed: ‘He who owns the Navy owns the Sea’. Shivaji foresaw that the Navy was essential not only to defend his kingdom but also to protect sea trade. At the peak of his rule, Shivaji successfully built sea forts to defend the coastlines extending through Konkan. Starting from scratch with around 18-20 ships Shivaji built a fleet of more than 500 ships. To decolonise and indigenise its naval strategic thought, India is now identifying itself with Shivaji and letting go off the British legacy. In September 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Indian Navy’s new ensign that is inspired by Shivaji and dropped St George’s Cross from the colonial era. On 4 December, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day, the Indian Navy held an operational demonstration (Op Demo) at Tarkali Beach on the West Coast against the backdrop of Sindhudurg Fort built by Shivaji. Further recently the government has proposed listing of Maratha Military Landscapes of India for the UNESCO World Heritage List for the year 2024-25. This list includes 12 forts, 11 of which are in Maharashtra and one is in Tamil Nadu. It is pertinent to note that out of these 12 forts, four forts – Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, Suvarnadurg and Khanderi – are sea forts in Maharashtra along the Konkan coast. These four forts were developed by Shivaji as the naval bases of his state. The Navy had played an important role in consolidating the Maratha rule, which reached its peak during the reign of Shivaji. While drawing inspiration from a historical figure like Shivaji in the operational domain, it is equally important to continue strengthening and upgrading the navy to face contemporary challenges. In this area as well India is following Shivaji by gradually shifting to Atmanirbharta or self-reliance in defence manufacturing. To this end, the Indian Navy recently released ‘Swavlamban 2.0’ document to synergise the Indian Navy’s relationship with the industry and to encourage all sectors of the industry to participate in the indigenous development of all naval systems. While the indigenisation plan is a positive step, it is important to back this with budget allocation. In the defence budget for 2024-2025, the Indian Navy has been allocated an outlay of Rs23,800 crore for the naval fleet and Rs6,830 crore for naval dockyard projects. The Indian Navy plans to acquire deck-based fighter aircraft, submarines, and next-generation survey vessels through this allocation. The Red Sea crisis has highlighted the role of the Indian Navy in international security. The contemporary global order combined with Shivaji’s legacy should further propel India to assert its rightful position as a leading maritime nation in the world. The author is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara. His areas of specialisation include international relations, foreign policy and geopolitics. He tweets @NiranjanMarjani. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.