The recent mumbai attacks paint a very poor picture of the protection on our marine borders. we will never learn from the past!!
Starting at the Pakistan border, the Indian shoreline extends over nearly 7000 kms, from Gujarat in the west, down along the Konkan and Malabar coasts, around Kanyakumari and then up along the Coromandel coast to Bengal's Sundarbans, to continue into Bangladesh. The Indian Ocean covers about a fifth of the world's ocean area, with almost 50 countries around its littoral and immediate hinterland. With links to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, it is of vital commercial, political and strategic importance to India. The peninsular nature of India's shoreline exposes it to potential seaborne threats from the east, west and south. Then there are the island territories: the Andaman and Nicobar chain to the east and the Lakshadweep group to the west.
There is both commercial and strategic security reasons to develop our commercial and military maritime capabilities.The two World Wars reminded Indians of the importance of sea lanes of communication around the approaches to the subcontinent. It was the ability to rule the waves which brought Britain to India as the colonizing power. Yet independent India is yet to wake up fully to the strategic importance of the waterways around it.
Since we are a history forum ... the stealthy attack by a small roving party via the sea route, reminds me of similar incident.
A light cruiser of the German navy in a matter of 59 days between 10th sept and 9th Nov 1914 brought the entire commerce along the indian ocean to a standstill. Her exploits and those of her Gentleman captain are the most romanticised incidents of World War I, including the master guiles and strategies, cunning, resourceful....yet deadly - only for ships, and her daring assault on chennai on the fateful night of ..... Accounting for sinking or capturing thirty Allied merchant vessels and warships before .....
Oh,Oh...cant say more. You have to wait for 10 more days to read more in the delightful tamil of Dhivakar sir - a fast paced racy historic fiction with a `twist'.
Sir, NE'yar request - can you give us a sample chapter as ebook.
Attack of Karachi by the Indian Navy deserves a special mention. This attack brought Pakistan to its knees, as its Oil import was halted due to the threat by Indian Navy. Read below for a special preview of the Naval action during the 1971 war