What is ailing India at maritime front?

KANNUR: 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.