The Information and Broadcasting Ministry in collaboration with the Indian Navy is planning to publish one or multiple volumes of books documenting the history of legendary naval battles as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, a government campaign to commemorate 75 years of India’s Independence.
As per sources in the government, the Publications Division, a media unit under the I&B Ministry, will be coming out with the books, among a series of other books which it plans to publish as part of the occasion. This will include books on lesser known freedom-fighters as well as events and places associated with India’s Independence struggle.
This, sources added, could include books on INA trials, Bhagat Singh, the music and songs composed during India’s freedom movement, struggle for India’s freedom in the north-eastern states, role of industrialists in India’s freedom struggle and also on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
A senior government official told News18 that as part of the campaign, the Publications Division would publish books on historical naval battles, particularly those that have found little mention in India’s documented history.
“This could cover the maritime history from Vedas and naval battles fought during the medieval times, the Battles of the Marathas to World Wars I and II as well as those fought after India’s Independence in 1947,” the official said.
Given the quantum of India’s naval history, there may be up to three volumes of books. The idea is to publish the books by August next year.
It is learnt that the Ministry of Defence, along with National Archives of India and the Publications Division, will provide the authors with the available history, maps and other research and information support needed to put the book together.
Naval exploits of the Cholas, Angre, Marthand Varma and Marakkars
The books, the official added, could include historical battles fought by naval commanders like Kanhoji Angre, King Marthand Varma at Colachel (close to modern day Kanyakumari), the battles fought between Kunjali Marakkar IV and the Portuguese, and the naval exploits of Raja Raja Chola I and his Chola emperor son Rajendra in southeast Asia, along with the lesser known naval operations undertaken during the India-Pakistan war of 1971.
As per available records, around 1025 CE, Rajendra I had attacked the Srivijaya empire that operated from Sumatra, Indonesia, and exercised control over the naval trade that flowed through the straits of Malacca and the Sunda. The Chola emperors had also attacked Sri Lanka and the Maldives during their reign.
An article by the think-tank Gateway House describes Angre as an “important naval figure in modern India”, who started heading the Maratha Navy in 1698 and had managed to hold the west coast during this period when the British, Portuguese and the Mughals were competing to stake claim over the region.
Legendary ruler Marthanda Varma of the then Travancore kingdom had defeated the Dutch forces in the Battle of Colachel. This happened when the latter took exception to Varma’s expansion plans in the region and his partnerships with the British, as they considered his moves to be threatening to the flourishing spice trade of the Dutch.
Kunjali Marakkar IV was a naval chieftain of the Zamorin (rulers of Calicut) of the Kingdom of Calicut during the 1590s. He and other Marakkars in the past several decades were formidable characters in history for the guerrilla tactics they used to defend the coast from invading Portuguese ships. However, threatened by Kunjali Marakkar IV’s popularity, the Zamorin joined hands with the Portuguese and attacked the former’s fort, leading to his execution.
Book can reignite maritime consciousness
When told about the project, a senior Navy officer said the requirement to document historical naval battles could have stemmed from long-time degradation of maritime consciousness among the masses, including from the pre-colonial times.
“Popularly, the battles that were highlighted were the ones fought on land and air as the seas were mostly looked at as a trade route. The sea was not really looked at as a threat but as a barrier to threat, before it was first militiarised during the war between the British and Portuguese in Swally in 1612,” the officer said.
“Moreover, sea battles were fought in isolation and are inherently beyond the vision of people other than involved in it,” the officer added.
Another officer said that while the coastal exploits of Marathas find some mention in history, there are much fewer references to naval wars of the Cholas who fought pirates near Indonesia and conquered the islands in the region.
The officer said that even when it comes to the Indian Navy’s moment of glory — the 1971 operations — most people know about Operation Trident and Python that were launched by the force on Pakistan’s Karachi which set the harbour ablaze.
“Few are aware of Operation X, the secret naval operation in the then East Pakistan which holds the record for maximum tonnage of ships sunk after World War II. And not to forget the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant’s operations to ensure the naval blockade of East Pakistan and the operations done in the south in 1971 to stop Pakistan’s vessels transiting from West to East in aid of Pakistani forces,” he said.
“Documenting the history and making it widely available to the masses will go a long way in reigniting the consciousness that we were a seafaring nation and that is again the future for us,” the second officer said.
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