Donald Trump was not the first man to send out ships to assert his country’s freedom of navigation. (This summer, the US sent two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea to intimidate China). In 1025, Rajendra Chola I—the most powerful king in southern India—sent out ships to Srivijaya (now in Indonesia) to make a similar demonstration of power.
According to an inscription at the biggest temple in Thanjavur, the heart of the Chola dynasty, his ships raided Srivijaya and 14 other ports. The Chola raid has been woven into the larger nationalist narrative of India as a muscular superpower. However, the Cholas never actually took over Srivijaya. Newer research suggests that the reason to invade was not expansionist, but rather a commercial one. “The Cholas were interested in maintaining free maritime lanes,” says Dennard D’Souza, a young researcher at the Maritime History Society in Mumbai.
The Chola invasion illustrates that, whatever the century, trade rivalries can be fierce. And India, exposed to water on three sides, has a rich maritime past. The Chola raid was just one chapter of a vast book of stories.
“The history that we have taught and written has implicitly accepted that there was a caste restriction to sailing across the ocean,” says scholar Himanshu Prabha Ray, the grande dame of maritime history. “This is, however, something that came up only in the 19th century—the notion of kala pani (a taboo of the sea). But it also ties into the post-economic (elitist) structure in which history has been written, which is why the only space it provides [to maritime affairs] is [related to] trade. It does not provide for maritime history, the notion of mobile communities travelling for not just trade, but also for religious purposes or just for the resources of the seas. There is a lacuna.”
Denne historien er fra December 27, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 27, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Themes Of Choice
As Savvy Investors Seek New Avenues, Thematic Mutual Funds Are Gaining Popularity
A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
Indian-Americans coming together under the Democratic umbrella could get Harris over the line in key battlegrounds
COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
Dasho Karma Ura, one of the world's leading happiness experts, has guided Bhutan's unique gross national happiness (GNH) project. He uses empirical data to show that money cannot buy happiness in all circumstances, rather it is family and health that have the strongest positive effect on happiness. Excerpts from an interview:
India is not a controlling big brother
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay considers India a benevolent elder sibling as the \"big brotherly attitude\" is happily missing from bilateral ties. He thinks the relationship shared by the two countries has become a model of friendship not just for the region, but for the entire world. \"India's attitude is definitely not of a big brother who is controlling and does not allow the little brother to blossom and grow,\" says Tobgay in an exclusive interview with THE WEEK.
Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict