NAVAL TRADITIONS IN INDIA

In India, on September 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new Naval Ensign / Naval Flag during the commissioning of INS Vikrant. The Naval ensign is the flag which represents the nationality of ships or the Naval formation. The naval flag has been changed five times till now (1950, 2001, 2004, 2014 and 2022).

THE OLD FLAG

The naval flag of India till this time carried Saint George's cross with the Tricolour or Tiranga in the Canton. This was a sign of slavery. Saint George’s cross is named after a Christian Warrior considered a Crusader during the third Crusade.

Saint George’s cross is still present in the flag of England and was adopted in 1190 to recognise their ships while entering the Mediterranean. England keeps changing the pattern of ensign but Saint George's cross was constantly there. The present pattern was adopted around 1707 which is also known as British White Ensign.

Many Commonwealth countries, at their time of independence, retained Saint George’s cross but several have done away with it over the years. Some prominent countries that do so are Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

In India, on January 26, 1950, when Indianised pattern was made to replace colonial flags and badges, the Navy crest and flag also changed. The only difference in the Naval flag of pre-Independence and post-independence was that the Union Jack was replaced with Tiranga/ Tricolour but Saint George’s cross was still there.

THE NEW FLAG

There had been a long pending demand for new Naval Ensign with Indian origin patterns on it. The strongest voice behind the demand was of Vice-Admiral V.E.C. Barboza who retired from the Navy as the Flag-Officer commanding in Chief of Western Naval Command.

In the new Naval Ensign sign of slavery (Saint George’s cross ) is replaced by the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The Tiranga / Tricolour is placed on the upper canton (top left) of the new flag. Apart from this, on the right a blue octagonal shape that encompasses the National Emblem is present.

The octagonal shape represents eight directions, symbolising all eight directional reach and the multi-dimensional operational capability of the Indian Navy. The twin golden borders surrounding it are said to draw inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji.

WHY SEAL OF CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ

In the 17th century, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the first to set the foundation of a modern naval force. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj developed a naval force of more than 500 ships and had two categories of ships:

Fighting ships: which included ships classified as Gurabs and Galbats. The most special warship was famous by the name Sanghameshwari which was able to trawl through the shallows.

Merchant ships: which included ships classified as Machhua, Shibar, Tarandi and Pagar.

Many coastal forts were built along the Konkan coast, which protected the coastline from attacks of the Siddis fleet. Vijaydurg and Sindhudurg are famous forts. With a strategic naval force for 40 years, the Marathas were able to hold the Portuguese and British at bay.

The strong naval presence of the Maratha protected the sea trade of the Maratha empire which helped the Empire to flourish. But every story has to meet an end. The end of the Maratha naval supremacy came when the task force of Peshwa and English came together against Tulaji Angre at Vijaydurg.

NAVAL PRESENCE IN ANCIENT INDIA

Indus Valley Civilization

During this time, inhabitants had a Maritime trade link with Mesopotamia and built the world’s first tidal dock at Lothal around 2300 BC. (present-day Gujarat coast).

Mauryan Dynasty

Arthshastra has written about the Department of Waterways which worked under Navadhyaksh who was the Superintendent of the ships. In this era, Megasthenes also described the presence of a special group that looked after the Naval war and its different aspects. This dynasty had strong maritime trading activities and that paved way for Indian immigrants to Indonesia and surrounding islands.

Satvahana Dynasty

These were the first Indian ruler to have the inscription of ships on their coins which proves the importance of maritime trade to them. They controlled the east coast of India and had contacts with Southeast Asian countries too.

Gupta Dynasty

The Gupta dynasty operated through many ports which revived Maritime trade with European and African countries. Famous travellers like Fa-Hien and Huien Tsang have also written about vast oversea trade.

Southern Dynasty

Chola, Chera and Pandya had strong trade links with rulers of Sumatra, Java, Malay, Peninsula Thailand and China. They navigated through various rivers which opened into the Arabian Sea enabling flourishing trade with Greeks and Romans.

CONCLUSION

Naval strength is nothing new to India. In Rig Veda, there are descriptions of merchants sailing ships across the oceans to foreign countries for wealth and trade and many Puranas have the story of sea voyages too. The Navy has played a significant role in Indian history for various purposes like the creation of external links, maritime trade, exchange of knowledge and protection of borders.

The changing of the Naval Ensign removed the association of colonialism and rejected the shadow of England. The seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj develops and makes us remember the sense of pride for the indigenous past and legacy.