India awakens to maritime realities

In the course of his remarks at Port Louis, Modi observed: "To me the blue chakra or wheel in India's national flag represents the potential of Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the ocean economy is to us." The speech writers in the Prime Minister's stable warrant praise for the manner in which form and substance have been leavened

The three island nation trip that took Prime Minister Modi to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka in mid-March may well mark the beginning of India's long-overdue maritime awakening. For a nation so richly endowed with a distinctive maritime geography, the paradox has been the tenacious indifference, often veering towards inexcusable sea-blindness, that has characterised Delhi's policy orientation as regards the Indian Ocean.

However, the very fact that Modi embarked upon such a trip to three strategically important island states in the Indian Ocean which have been long neglected by way of a summit visit reflects a political determination that has the potential to become the beginning of the end of this self-inflicted strategic myopia.In Mauritius, Modi handed over an Indian built $50 million offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to that country's Coast Guard and this marks the first such export of a naval ship designed and built in India.

Highlighting the centrality of a cooperative strategy to manage the vast water body of the Indian Ocean and the role of the smaller island nations, Modi drew attention to the strategic significance of the IOR and noted: "The Indian Ocean is critical to the future of the world. This Ocean bears two-thirds of the world's oil shipments, one-third of its bulk cargo and half of its container traffic. Over three-fourths of its traffic goes to other regions of the world."

This overview is familiar to the professionals but what is instructive is the manner in which Modi invoked rich symbolism related to the national flag and endorsed the need for India to embark upon a Blue Revolution. In the course of his remarks at Port Louis, Modi observed: "To me the blue chakra or wheel in India's national flag represents the potential of Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the ocean economy is to us." The speech writers in the Prime Minister's stable warrant praise for the manner in which form and substance have been leavened.

The Blue Revolution endorsed by Modi, if realized in its entirety, has the potential to transform India in similar manner and both the normative vision and the policy clarity are laden with deep import. Asserting that the "Indian Ocean Region is at the top of our policy priorities", Modi added that the regional vision "is rooted in advancing cooperation in our region; and, to use our capabilities for the benefit of all in our common maritime home."

This sets the base for the Modi vision of the IOR and is in many ways a logical extension of the modest but relatively still-born 'sagar mala' (ocean garland ) enunciated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in August 2003 that sought to revitalize the moribund Indian ports sector and inland connectivity.

China, which is the most recent of the major powers to focus on the maritime sector, offers many policy cues for India. One of the first priorities is to review and rationalize the myriad ministries and departments that have sectoral and insular responsibility in managing India's maritime assets.

The Indian Ocean is not India's ocean alone but the Modi vision is laudable: "We seek a future for the Indian Ocean that lives up to the name of SAGAR - Security and Growth for All in the Region."Acronyms are addictive but the challenge now is to walk the talk and convert rich rhetoric into tangible reality.

By C Uday Bhaskar