Indian Navy Day: Strategic, technological prowess key for Navy

The need of a professional defence mechanism has been, and will remain, of prime importance in managing organised and unorganised violence, which is further indistinguishably associated with the decisive question of life and death. The shared uniqueness of the different defence forces of India moulds its fellows into the comradeship of arms with united morals, principles and codes of conduct.

A soldier of the Indian Armed Forces, including a sailor or an airman, wears the uniform on oath to execute all allotted tasks willingly even if it puts his/her life on the line. This feeling and compassion for the country don't come merely because they are paid for it but has a rather deeper honour and pride they feel by serving their motherland.

Today as the Indian Navy celebrates 'Navy Day' on December 4, we need to make ourselves cognizant of the boundless improvement of technology and strategies by the defence force.

The Indian maritime diplomacy is often linked with its naval outreach in the Indian Ocean or its stretched capabilities in the East Asia. With its increasing number of visits to the South East Asia in recent times, New Delhi's apparent Pacific goal, a notion has been formed that East Asia has become Indian Navy's diplomatic venture.

Indian nautical diplomacy in the Indian Ocean has looked to be fairly modest. However, despite that it has a substantial influence in the security and counter-piracy operations of the sea-lanes.

Several advancements have taken place in the past few months with regards to maritime diplomacy from India's side. Since early this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka, Seychelles and Mauritius, constructing a clear image of Indian Ocean littorals being of prime priority to the country.

India has enthusiastically cultivated associations with its maritime neighbours. It has, over the time, enhanced the quality of its diplomatic connections, as well as pursued to conduct joint developmental projects and tone up a marine protection trilateral with Sri Lanka and Maldives through an annexation of Seychelles.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of India's Indian Ocean diplomacy took place in October when they outreached to the Arab Gulf states, where the Indian Navy started programmes for unremitting measurement building security partnership. 4 Indian Naval ships – Trishul, Tabar, Deepak and Delhi – proceeded on one-month deployment in the Arabian Gulf.

On the other hand, Indian Navy is constantly working on developing its indigenous technology. Indian Navy is ranked in the top 5th largest navy in the world. Since, 2015, the national navy has the assets of 58,350 personnel and one of the largest functioning fleets comprising two aircraft carriers, one amphibious transport dock, 9 Landing ship tanks, 10 destroyers, 15 frigates, one nuclear-powered attack submarine, 14 conventionally powered attack submarines, 25 corvettes, 7 mine countermeasure vessels, 47 patrol vessels, 4 fleet tankers and numerous additional ancillary watercraft.

It also has 42 warships and six submarines under manufacturing in local shipyards on an approximate expenditure of over Rs 3 lakh crore, aimed at building a powerful three-dimensional Navy to safeguard its massive maritime concerns covering from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait to counter the increasing Chinese naval occurrence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Admiral Robin Dhowan in an interview said, "a long-term naval technology roadmap" was now on the right trajectory since a wide range of discussions have taken place with the Defence Research and Development Organization and additional investors.

With Indian Navy only progressing on its path, be it strategic security or technology growth, one thing is sure it is only adding on to its significance and respect across the globe.

With all said, one of the most interesting facts about the Indian Navy Day is that it is not celebrated to commemorate the day Indian Navy was founded rather it is celebrated to signify the day Indian Navy had successfully executed Operation Trident, an attack on Pakistani Naval Headquarters in Karachi.