The Portuguese who came to India to trade defeated the Indian maritime powers along with others on the sea at the Battle of Diu and forced every maritime trade to pay a tax to them. India which was once a maritime nation lost its sovereignty, Director Maritime Warfare Centre, Eastern Naval Command, Commodore Srikant B Kesnur said.
Addressing students of Andhra University Department of History and Archaeology here on Friday as part of the ongoing Maritime Awareness programmes being conducted by the National Maritime Foundation Cmde Kesnur gave an overview of Indian Maritime History and explained how the country lost its glory as a maritime power. He agreed with the suggestion by former principal of AU College of Arts and Commerce M. Krishna Kumari calling for more marine archaeology explorations to reignite the maritime awareness among the people.Noting that the country would be celebrating the National Maritime Day on April 5, he urged the students to learn more about Indian maritime heroes. The National Maritime Foundation would be willing to support the academic efforts of the students by bringing in experts for seminars and workshops on the subjects apart from helping publish the research works of the students, NMF regional director G, Padmaja said. Andhra University Registrar V. Uma Maheswara Rao, University EC member Prasada Rao, director GITAM Law School Y Satyanarayana, head of Department of History and Archaeology E. John Babu, students and others were present.