Comprehensive Maritime Vision

Theme :  Bilateral, regional and global grouping involving India and affecting India’s Interests, significance of Maritime security etc

Paper:GS - 2

TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Context
2. Indian Navy
3. Operation Trident
4. Background of Navy victories
5. Evolution of Navy
6. Some Issues
7. Road Ahead

Context : On December 4, India celebrates Navy Day to acknowledge the role of the Indian Navy and commemorate its achievements in ‘Operation Trident’ during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

Indian Navy : 

• The Indian Navy was established in 1612 by the East India Company.
• It is headed by the President of India as its Supreme Commander.
• Indian Navy’s Motto is – Sam no Varunah– means that the God of water, Varuna, should be auspicious unto us.

Operation Trident : 

• It was a counter-attack by the Indian Navy on the Karachi harbor during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.
• India used anti-ship missiles for the first time during this operation and destroyed the Pakistani destroyer ship PNS Khaibar.
• The Indian Navy’s three warships – INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer – played an important role in the attack.

Background of Navy victories : 

• The navy of 10th century South Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola vanquished the Sumatra-based Sri Vijaya thalassocracy to establish Chola power across present-day Malaysia and Indonesia.
• The resolute and visionary zamorins of Kozhikode: led by the captains of the Kunjali Marakkar clan to eject the Portuguese from Malabar.
• The 17th century Maratha “sarkhel” or admiral Kanhoji Angre’s Konkan fleet ceaselessly defeated the British, Dutch and Portuguese.

Evolution of Navy : 

• In 1736, Bombay’s Lovji Nusserwanji Wadia: Wadia master shipbuilders constructed superb merchantmen and warships for the British.
• The first modern, Indian-built merchant vessel, MV Jalusha, joined Seth Walchand’s Scindia Steam Navigation Co. in 1948.
• Mazagon Docks: delivered the first, license-built frigate, INS Nilgiri, in 1972
• Cochin Shipyard Ltd.(in 2013): launched India’s largest indigenously designed and built warship-an aircraft carrier-INS Vikrant

Some Issues : 

• The ship’s major systems, including gas-turbine engines, guns, missiles and radars, are imported.
• Foreign origin of aviation-related facilities such as workshops, aircraft lifts, arrestor-wires and landing-aids, vital for flying operations.
• The case for IAC-2 remains in limbo: even as China awaits the third ship in its carrier-building programme and envisions a carrier-led Indian Ocean task force.

Road Ahead : 

• The hiatus between ordering, launch and commissioning of Vikrant: It may be excessive by international standards but this prolonged gestation would serve a purpose if the invaluable experience gained and the priceless skills are acquired.
• Indigenously designed, destroyers and frigates, stealthy in form, fielding long-range sensors and heavily armed with missiles, guns and anti-submarine weapons are being delivered at a slow but steady pace by domestic shipyards.The Voids in mine counter-measures, amphibious-lift and fleet-support capabilities need to be fulfilled.
• Project-75: Government must urgently green-light Project 75 (I) so that serial production of submarines can commence.
• Aerial surveillance: With PLA Navy units now frequently prowling the Indian Ocean, aerial surveillance and anti-submarine warfare assume strategic dimensions.
• Recent inductions of US-built, shipborne helicopters and maritime-reconnaissance aircraft: They will boost the Indian Navy’s surveillance and anti-submarine capabilities but also enhance interoperability with partner navies.
• Political leadership’s regional/global aspirations: the service has a significant contribution to make, whether as a Quad member or as the regional “net security provider
• Maritime vision: The national security elite should conceive a comprehensive “maritime vision”, and articulate it.

FAQs : 

1. What are Origins of the Indian Navy ?

ANS. 

• The Indian Navy was established in 1612 by the East India Company.
• It is headed by the President of India as its Supreme Commander.
• Indian Navy’s Motto is – Sam no Varunah– means that the God of water, Varuna, should be auspicious unto us.

2. What was Operation Trident ?

ANS.

•  It was a counter-attack by the Indian Navy on the Karachi harbor during the Indo-Pakistan war in 1971.
• India used anti-ship missiles for the first time during this operation and destroyed the Pakistani destroyer ship PNS Khaibar.
• The Indian Navy’s three warships – INS Nipat, INS Nirghat and INS Veer – played an important role in the attack.