Trace the evolution of shipbuilding techniques in India.
Since the beginning of civilization, Indians have known to
establish trade routes by sea which had resulted in a vigorous maritime activity
which ultimately necessitated the construction of a number of ships and boats
to carry passengers and goods.
The Negritos of the Paleolithic Age crossed the sea from
India to the Andaman Islands in small dugout canoes made by hollowing out trunks
of trees and propelled (driven forward) by paddles during the old stone age. This
was the first known oceanic voyage.
Indus Valley Civilization – We find evidence from Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa excavations from seals and earthen pots, paintings, that the
rivercrafts, a mast yard and a helm was in use.
The river boats were light drafted vessels including flat
bottom boats. The sea going vessels had a high prow and stern, single or double
mast, square or triangular sail. Sometimes, these boats had sheltering hut or
cabins, they had oars, paddles and anchors in the form of heavy round stone
with hold in the center.
Vedic Age – Some passages from the Rigveda show that there
were multi-oared vessels of sturdy construction which rode the sea.
Pali literature throws light on the size of vessels build
during the pre-Mauryan era which could accommodate 700 passengers. The Sanka Jataka
refers to a vessel with 3 masts, 1300 feet long, 1000 feet wise and 20 fathoms
deep. This gives us an idea of enormous size of the ships that were build in
India in those days. In Punjab, the Kshatriya tribe are supposed to have build
a fleet of river crafts.
During the age of Nandas and Mauryas, shipbuilding prospered.
Some ships of the era were of 75 tons. ‘Yukti Kalapataru’ a Sanskrit source
dates back to eight and fourteenth century complied by Bhoja Narapati probably
Bhoj Rajo of Dhar throws light on the ship building techniques, various ships
and the materials used during the Gupta and Post Gupta eras. The ships
according to it were classified into – ordinary type (samanya) or special type
(vishesht).
The ordinary type of craft was again classified into ten different
names according to its dimensions and drafts. For e.g., Kshudra, Bhima, Chopala,
Patala, etc.
The special type was meant for seagoing and was divided on
the basis of its length and height.
Ships were further classified into eight categories according
to their role:
Sarvamandira – had apartments and was used to carry jewelry
and the women of the harem. It was a passenger liner.
Madhyamandira – had midship cabins and were used as pleasure
boats for the kings.
Agramandira – had cabins forward and was fitted out for
battles at sea.
In the construction of the ships, metal was also used. Gold,
silver, copper, and alloy were used. Iron was forbidden due to the fear that it
may expose them to the influence of magnetic rocks in the sea. Even the timber
of ancient Indian ships was not nailed to avoid danger of magnetic rocks in the
sea.
The vessels of early Medieval period found depicted in the sculpture
of the Buddhist temple in java gives impression of heavy long super structure.
The Maldive Islands which were under Indian occupation also
build ships of timber. They were excellent ships with high class craftsmanship.
According to Marco Polo, Indian Navigable Ships were built
of Fir timber. They were double planked bound with iron nails. There were of such
a large size that they requreid a crew of 300 men. Some ships could carry a
crew of 200 to 150 men. Larger vessels had a single deck and below the deck the
space was divided into sixty small cabins.
Italian traveler Nicolo Conti visited India in the
fifteenth century. He observed that Indian build ships were larger than the Italians.
They were approximately sixty thousand cubic feet in capacity. The bottom was
made of three layers to enable the ship to resist cyclonic weather.
Ships were built in large numbers in several South Indian
yards. Calicut, Cochin, Caveri Patnam, Masulipatnam, and Caclutta. There were
two types of ships built during this period. The Monoxylon which was cut out of
a single log and could accommodate about 100 to 150 persons. These were used
for coastal traffic. The Colandiphonta were oceangoing ships. They were sturdy
and large and weighed more than one thousand tons.
During the Mughal period, ships of different sizes and
different purposes were built. For e.g., Emperor’s pleasure boats, some ships
were also built for the transportation of elephants.
The main centers of shipbuilding were Bengal, Allahabad,
Lahore and Sind.
In the seventeenth century, Shivaji, the Maratha ruler, realized
the importance of navy and encouraged shipbuilding. His ship building yard at
Vijaydurg built ships like the grabs, the gallivants and other smaller vessels.
Thus before the advent of the British, the Indians had made
much advancement in seafaring and shipbuilding. Ships were repaired at Surat. Ships
built at Surat were famous for durability and strength. Ships built at Surat
were mainly the Parsis.
In 1735, the ship building activity was transferred from
Surat to Mumbai. But within a few decades Indian shipping and seafaring came to
a standstill. The decline was due to the following reasons:
After the victory of Plassey in 1857, the British changed
their policy from commercial to political power.
The European mercantile community tried to throw out the
natives from the business of shipbuilding.
The check on the Indian trade had an adverse effect on the
Indian shipping industry.
The real set back suffered by the Indian ship building industry
came with the abolition of Indian Navy.
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