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By:

Aishwarye Dubey

16 March 2025 at 10:53:01 pm

India’s Maritime Future Needs Its Veterans

India’s retired naval personnel and merchant mariners possess a reservoir of practical expertise that could help transform the country’s maritime ambitions into reality. AI Generated Image Bharat is currently witnessing a substantial transformation in its maritime posturing. With the way the current milieu is changing, it is expected that major changes, in the current way of working, are not far away to witness. For decades, the maritime sector of Bharat has witnessed apathy, neglect and...

India’s Maritime Future Needs Its Veterans

India’s retired naval personnel and merchant mariners possess a reservoir of practical expertise that could help transform the country’s maritime ambitions into reality. AI Generated Image Bharat is currently witnessing a substantial transformation in its maritime posturing. With the way the current milieu is changing, it is expected that major changes, in the current way of working, are not far away to witness. For decades, the maritime sector of Bharat has witnessed apathy, neglect and disdain. But times are changing for the better. The government’s Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 seek to strengthen the country’s ports, shipping, shipbuilding and inland waterways. Yet, alongside investment in infrastructure and technology, the mobilisation of experienced maritime professionals must become an equally important part of this national endeavour. However, in the past decade, a slew of changes has been witnessed which are aimed at mobilizing and augmenting Bharat’s precious maritime resources. Amongst all the resources available with the nation, the most valuable are maritime human resources. Every year, scores of maritime professionals are transitioning from the ocean-going professions to shore-based employment opportunities. Officers and personnel retiring and transitioning onto shore-based professions have to undergo degree and certification courses to increase their employability in the corporate domain. Similarly, merchant marine officers and sailors are expected to undertake courses which are not just expensive but also do not impart critical skills to transitioning professionals. This raises an important question: why should professionals with decades of operational experience have to prove their worth all over again when the nation could be putting their knowledge to productive use? Experience as Asset Our retired naval personnel and merchant marine constitute a humongous reservoir of maritime expertise ranging from practical knowledge of hydrography, crisis management, shipping operations, navigation, surface and sub-surface maritime operations, logistics management and port operations to name a few. When we as a nation envision Bharat as a maritime powerhouse by the year 2047, the critical factor on which the success of this vision is dependent on is our domestic maritime human resource. The importance of utilizing this rich maritime human resource lies in the fact that practical knowledge gained by the officers and personnel cannot be replicated by classroom teaching. This is highlighted in the current times when reputed national educational institutions are giving preference in recruitment to inexperienced individuals (who merely have an academic degree) over the immensely experienced maritime (naval and merchant marine) professionals. Such absurd preference may be the result of nepotism and favouritism being adopted by those sitting in powerful positions in such academic institutions. A maritime nation that overlooks the experience of its own professionals risks wasting an invaluable resource even as it seeks to build new capabilities. The stakes are considerable. According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, nearly 95 percent of India’s trade by volume and around 70 percent by value moves through maritime routes. Reclaiming Heritage A poignant point to note here is that the maritime consciousness is relatively low in Bharat. For millennia, the Dharmic (religious) scriptures have referred to the Indian subcontinent as “Jambu-dweep Bharat-khanda”. The English translation of the term “dweep” is – Island. The contemporary civilizations, which existed in roughly the same time-frame have always referred to Bhartiya people as maritime-centric. The archaeological remains of those contemporaneous civilizations such as tablets, seals and hieroglyphic evidence refer to the Indian subcontinent by different local terminologies. However, the common idea behind all this is that they refer to a set of people who come to their land crossing the ocean/sea on shipping vessels. The vessels may have been used for different purposes- such as exploration, trade and even military conquest. The archaeological record offers tangible reminders of this maritime past. Lothal, the Harappan settlement in present-day Gujarat, is associated with one of the earliest known dock facilities, while Harappan artefacts discovered across the Arabian Peninsula testify to commercial connections extending beyond the subcontinent. Centuries later, Indian Ocean networks carried not merely commodities but also religious ideas, navigational knowledge and cultural influences across Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, with the collapse of the financing mechanism of maritime trade, over the past 700 years, Bharat gradually forgot its outstanding maritime heritage. The financing bodies of maritime trade were the temples of Bharat. The temple management committees financed the EXIM trade of Bharat’s traders. However, with the repeated onslaught of Islamic invaders and the subsequent destruction of the temples, this financing mechanism of EXIM trade gradually withered away. The institutional history of Indian maritime commerce merits deeper research, including the role of temples, merchant guilds, coastal trading communities and other sources of commercial finance. Recovering this history through archaeological evidence, inscriptions and contemporary records could help the country understand how earlier maritime networks were organised and what lessons they may hold for modern trade and shipping. Such niche maritime knowledge is known to only a handful of people in the country. Therefore, to revisit such glorious chapters of our maritime heritage and to conduct application-based research for the Bharatiya maritime fraternity, a maritime research chair (MRC) can be established in maritime institutions (both public and private) in the country. The maritime fraternity can pool their resources (such as maritime human resource, funding and knowledge-sharing mechanisms) under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) route. The Government of India (through the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways) can gently nudge the private players to focus on establishing Maritime Research Chair (MRCs) in academic institutions. Firstly, such MRCs will play a pivotal role in bringing awakening in the academia about the importance of having a robust maritime academic knowledge base. Secondly, the maritime professionals who have served at sea can lend their expertise in bringing about a positive change in the academic discourse of our nation by serving as the Chair Professor in such MRCs. The actionable research and deliberations initiated by such MRCs can then be transformed and shared as policy inputs to the various governmental bodies for acting on such matters. Such an initiative would also create a bridge between the people who have acquired maritime knowledge through years of service and the institutions responsible for shaping the next generation of maritime professionals. MRCs could also document operational experience that might otherwise be lost when senior professionals retire. Case studies on maritime accidents, port congestion, emergency response, navigational challenges and supply-chain disruptions could give students and policymakers access to practical lessons that rarely find their way into conventional textbooks. Innovation and Enterprise Another domain wherein our experienced maritime human resources can be deployed is in the realm of innovation. The start-up ecosystem in our country is booming and the time is ripe to incentivize efforts which are aimed at developing newer technologies, platforms and services which will augment the maritime posturing of our nation. Maritime consulting and advisory services are virtually non-existent in our country. The Bharatiya maritime fraternity should come together to take-up this challenge. There is ample scope for specialised Indian firms to advise on port efficiency, ship operations, maritime risk, coastal logistics, marine environmental management and digitalisation. Retired professionals could serve as mentors, technical advisers and co-founders, helping young entrepreneurs test new ideas against the realities of maritime operations. Their experience could also help bridge the gap between research laboratories, start-ups and the commercial requirements of the shipping industry. It cannot be denied that experienced naval personnel and honest merchant mariners possess discipline, technical competence, leadership skills, and decades of practical wealth which is extremely vital for the Bharatiya maritime as well as EXIM industry. Rather than allowing this expertise to dissipate after retirement, Bharat must utilize this tranche of maritime wealth by placing them in strategic positions. Harnessing this talent pool will accelerate India’s transformation into a secure, prosperous, and globally influential maritime nation. (The writer is a maritime lawyer known for his expertise in shipping law and dispute resolution. Views personal.)

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Writer: Romita Datta
Romita Datta
Aug 27, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Mamata is seeing a ghost of Bangladesh behind the massive outrage and waves of protest over rape and murder of the trainee doctor. And the reasons are many.

It’s been over a fortnight. Yet with each passing day the voice of protest is getting louder and stronger. From the streets of Kolkata it’s pouring into roads of hinterland. The cry for justice for a rape victim has consolidated into a wail of demands to set a lot of wrongdoings right. Here in lies the fear and trepidation. Wasn’t the issue that brought the youth of Bangladesh out on the thoroughfares a simple, innocent one of quota reform?

The chief minister of Bengal, known for understanding the pulse of people better than many, was quick to read the signages floating in the political horizon.

The most obvious reason for her to be tensed is that both the regime change in Bangladesh and the mass protest in Bengal, were student-driven to begin with. The two incidents---end of 15 year old Sheikh Hasina government and turbulence in West Bengal, over the heinous crime, falling back to back, the first on August 5th and the latter from August 9th onwards, give natural scope for comparisons. More so, because in both the cases the movement strayed beyond an affected constituency to include aggrieved people at large, cutting across socio-economic demography. If the quota reform protest started by students in Bangladesh became a mass uprising against an autocratic regime, the campaign demanding justice for the rape victim and overall safety and security of women in Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal soon snowballed into a movement of no-confidence against the government. Slogans--”Mamata must resign” also got floated in social media much in line with the call for ouster of Sheikh Hasina. In fact “Resignation of Hasina” became the single point agenda into which all other fringe demands coalesced.

Incidentally, even before people started drawing parallels, that there could be a thread of commonality in the way the upheaval in Bangladesh and Bengal played out, Mamata was quick to point out that the Opposition were trying to pull off a Bangladesh by politicizing the tragic incident: “A coordinated approach has been executed by the BJP and the CPIM with support from the Centre to defame Bengal and exploit the situation....They want to make a Bangladesh here. They are taking cues from student unrest in Bangladesh and are attempting to capture similarly. I have no longing for the chair. I came here to serve people.”

Not only Mamata, her political lieutenants are consistently equating the turmoil in Bengal with the mayhem in Bangladesh. Cabinet minister for North Bengal development Udayan Guha threatened to take stern action against those, who would be trying to exploit the situation by emulating a Bangladesh like movement. “ Even after the hospital was vandalised, the police did not open fire on anyone. The police will not allow a Bangladesh type situation. We will not allow Bengal to turn into Bangladesh, Guha thundered.

Is the government’s fear unfounded?

Apart from the similarities on ground zero, as to how and where the future course of events are heading to, there are ample reasons for Bengal to mull on-- as to what led to a Bangladesh like boiling point. To begin with, it’ll be appropriate to talk of Bangladesh and the prevailing situation, that made the students’ protest become big in magnitude. The students were out on the streets because of a high reservation in public jobs. Unemployment and stagnant job market in private sector coupled with a high rate of inflation drove the educated youth to rebel against the government.

But soon the students found enormous number of sympathisers, who were equally at the receiving end. According to Bangladesh citizens, the last two terms of the Sheikh Hasina government were a mockery of democracy. Even elections would be compromised. As Hasina grew from strength to strength, she politicized institutions. The rank and file of police owed allegiance to the ruling dispensation. Extortion, harrassment and raids by police and people in power became rampant. An atmosphere of fear and repression reigned and people got restless to overthrow the government.

Politicization of institutions has been happening in Mamata government too. Allegations are quite strong that police in Bengal functions at the beck and call of political bosses. The lapses and alleged loopholes on the part of police in handling the rape and murder of the young doctor have yet again revealed a sense of confused or misplaced loyalty.

But above everything else both Hasina and Mamata governments allegedly seem to have twined in accepting corruption as a way of life. In Bangladesh jobs of primary and secondary teachers got sold at premium, Rs 10-12 lakh in the Hasina regime. Even police had to pay up for prized postings and transfers. In Bengal busting of the teacher’s recruitment scam has revealed how unsuccessful and ineligible candidates got government jobs in schools in exchange of bribes.

Similarities are multiple and inescapable. Mamata has good reasons to be apprehensive. It’s not only she, who can see and connect the dots. People, out on the streets, clamoring for justice, can see a providential pattern somewhere in the unfolding of future events in these two places-- Bangladesh and Bengal. True, they share more than 2,217 odd km of border. They share the same umbilical cord, other than language, culture, ethos, icons. Even emotions are the same. So she cannot take any risk.

(The writer is a senior jounalist based in Kolkata. Views personal)

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