Centuries ago, Indian merchants rode monsoon winds across the seas, their cargoes stitching together a maritime world stretching from East Africa to Southeast Asia.
Today, as container ships queue outside clogged ports and great powers quarrel over access and tariffs, India is trying to sail back into that history – this time as a modern shipping and shipbuilding power.
Standing before global investors late last month, a day after presiding over a glittering maritime industry showcase in Mumbai, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a deceptively simple invitation: “Come aboard.”
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It was more than a sales pitch. Modi’s administration seeks to reclaim India’s maritime prowess and anchor itself as a resilient economic and strategic force at a moment of rising geopolitical uncertainty.
“When the global seas are rough, the world looks for a steady lighthouse,” Modi told the Global Maritime CEO Forum on October 29. “India is well poised to play that role with strength and stability.”
In his speech at India Maritime Week, the prime minister pitched his country as “a symbol of strategic autonomy, peace and inclusive growth” that would weather global tensions, trade disruptions and shifting supply chains.
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