India’s civilisational story has been shaped as much by water as by land. While the Himalayas defined its northern frontiers, the Indian Ocean opened pathways to trade, ideas and influence far beyond the subcontinent. South of the Vindhyas, Indians were never hemmed in by geography; instead, they sailed east and west, building commercial networks and cultural linkages across Asia and Africa. Against this historical canvas, a fundamental question arises: how should India understand the significance of the maritime domain today — across history, strategy, economics and technology?
A recent scholarly volume, The Routledge Handbook of Maritime India, edited by Alluri Subramanyam Raju and R. Srinivasan, attempts a comprehensive answer by mapping India’s maritime past, present and future.
Why the seas have always mattered to India
Indian history demonstrates that maritime power has been central to both prosperity and security. Ancient and medieval Indian sailors reached the Mediterranean, the African coast and Southeast Asia, facilitating trade and cultural diffusion. This enduring truth was succinctly captured by “”, who warned that control of the Indian Ocean directly affects India’s trade and even its independence.
The opening section of the handbook traces this outward maritime reach through case studies of the Cholas, the Marathas, European powers and Indo-Arab trading networks. By highlighting figures such as the Cholas — described evocatively as “Nautical Tigers” — the book underlines that India’s maritime orientation is not a modern invention but a rediscovery of an older strategic instinct.
Ideas that shaped maritime thinking
Beyond events, the handbook also engages with ideas. A key chapter revisits the writings of K.M. Panikkar, the scholar-diplomat who first articulated India’s vulnerability to sea power in the modern era. His arguments, framed during the early Cold War, continue to resonate in contemporary debates on naval strategy and the Indian Ocean.
Looking ahead, Varun Sahni urges a conceptual shift: the Indian Ocean should be seen not merely as a transit space for shipping but as a lived maritime region — home to dense populations, coastal economies and shared ecological risks. This reframing has implications for how India approaches maritime governance and cooperation.
India’s maritime strategy and regional relationships
A substantial portion of the book is devoted to India’s maritime interactions with key regional and extra-regional actors, including Australia, Japan, France, China and India’s immediate neighbours. One notable achievement highlighted is India’s proactive effort to demarcate maritime boundaries with almost all its neighbours, with Pakistan remaining the lone exception.
The chapter on Sino-Indian maritime rivalry, by Huo Wenle, offers insight into how scholars on both sides perceive competition at sea. Rather than inevitability of conflict, it stresses the need for structured dialogue to prevent clashes of interest that could harm both countries. Other contributions explain the strategic convergence between India and Japan, the revival of India–Australia maritime ties since the 1980s, and the logic behind India–France cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Maritime governance and institutional challenges
Another cluster of essays examines maritime institutions and governance in South Asia, comparing India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and China. Zou Zhengxin warns of the dangers of a zero-sum approach to maritime security, exacerbated by great power rivalries, and calls for consultative mechanisms to manage shared challenges.
Sri Lanka’s experience receives particular attention, with R. Srinivasan arguing that weak governance, corruption and elite politics have pushed smaller states towards initiatives like China’s Belt and Road, often at the cost of long-term maritime sustainability. The implicit lesson for India is that maritime leadership also requires offering credible governance and development alternatives.
From coastal defence to power projection
The handbook notes a significant shift in India’s naval posture over the past two decades. The Indian Navy’s anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea marked its transition from a largely defensive force to a net security provider in the region. Essays in this section debate how India should navigate intensifying rivalries — whether through hedging strategies that account for U.S. policy shifts, or by deepening maritime presence to build a coalition of like-minded regional powers.
While the Indo-Pacific has dominated strategic discourse, the book also recognises that its salience fluctuates with global crises elsewhere and evolving U.S. strategic priorities, including the softer framing of China in recent American policy documents.
Economics, technology and the Blue Economy
The final section turns to the future-facing dimensions of maritime power. Topics range from underwater domain awareness and maritime security technologies to climate resilience, coastal protection and the Blue Economy. These chapters collectively argue that economic growth, environmental sustainability and security at sea are now inseparable.
By integrating technological innovation with governance and strategy, the contributors highlight how maritime policy is no longer the preserve of navies alone but a whole-of-state and whole-of-society challenge.
What to note for Prelims?
- India’s historical maritime linkages: Cholas, Indo-Arab trade, European expansion.
- Concepts such as maritime power, net security provider, Blue Economy.
- India’s maritime boundary agreements and regional partnerships.
What to note for Mains?
- Critically examine the role of maritime power in India’s strategic autonomy.
- Discuss India’s maritime governance challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.
- Assess the significance of the Blue Economy and maritime technology for India’s future.
Taken together, The Routledge Handbook of Maritime India reinforces a central insight: for India, the sea is not a peripheral concern but a core determinant of security, prosperity and global standing — a reality policymakers can no longer afford to overlook.
