India must do away with colonial naval ensign
St George’s Cross ruled the waves for three centuries at the BBC Prom’s when they sing, ‘Britannia Rules the Waves’, that is the flag they wave. As the naval ensign of the once mighty Royal Navy, it was a symbol of that island’s naval might, because there is no doubt that it was the Royal Navy that enabled centuries of colonial power and protected trade and
organised loot from the colonies. So, why does the Indian Navy continue to use St George’s Cross on its naval ensignIJ It is a horrible reminder of our colonial past, where a grand Indian naval tradition was emasculated by the British. It is also disrespectful to the 10,000 officers and sailors of the Royal Indian Navy, who in 1946, stood up to their mistreatment and the farcical trials of Azad Hind Fauj officers at the Red Fort.
The events at Colaba have rightly been described as India’s ‘last war of Independence’ and did play a major role in speeding up India’s independence. India has an immense coastline and a long and proud tradition of seafaring from the earliest known civilisations in the Indus valley area. The trading relations of the Chola dynasty, which was supplemented by a strong Navy, are well-known, taking Indic knowledge as far afield as Vietnam and China. And then there are the stories of the great naval commanders of Calicut, the Kunhali Marakkars, who defeated several European expeditions to the Malabar Coast. And then there is the great Maratha admiral Kanoji Angre, the scourge of European merchant fleets shipping India’s treasures out towards Europe.
As India re-establishes its position in the world, it is also strengthening its Navy. Indeed, as several of the European nations, whose fleets came to India two centuries ago, cut back their naval forces to become a shadow of their former selves, India has an ocean and resources of its own to protect. India also has an economic rival which would not think twice
before appropriating territory and resources for itself, and that rival also has a renewed focus on its Navy. It was the navies of the United States and the Soviet Union with their nuclear tipped missiles that eventually kept the balance during the Cold War, it is highly probable that the Indian and the Chinese Navies will do the same in the coming decades. Maintain balance: In the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But if India is to expand its Navy and make it a vital part of both its offensive and defensive strategy in the coming century, it also
should look at shedding that vestige of its colonial past. An ensign that reminds us of our colonial past. India should be proud of its historical naval heritage and of the men who stood up in 1946. Britannia may not rule the waves
anymore, maybe India will, but not with a reminder of Britannia flying from the masts of our ships.