In the time of his grandson Asoka, India was brought intosystematic connection with the Greek kingdoms of Syria, Egypt, Cyrene,Macedonia and Epirus and she became, through the efforts of the Emperor, themissionaries and the merchants, not only a spiritual centre but also athrobbing commercial spot of the Old World. The development of nationalshipping led to the creation and organisation of a Board of Admiralty (NavParishad) as one of the six Boards which made up the War Office of EmperorChandragupta. Megasthenes informsus that the shipbuilders of India were salaried public servants and that theships were built in the royal shipyards. From the time of the Mauryas we have definiteinformation on shipbuilding and construction of men-of-war. This geographical position ofIndia necessarily involved the maintenance of a navy, the history of which goesback to ancient times. Maritime Advance from the 3rd Century B.C. However,the coast-line does not provide many harbours, and has only few good harbours.The chief of them before 1939 were Bombay, Calcutta, Cochin, Madras andVizagapatam. The centre of gravity ofthe Indian Ocean thus rests on the vast continental space of India.Geographically India occupies a strategic position in south-east Asia. The Indian Ocean is avast frontage facing India and is its natural highway. On the eastern side, the Bay of Bengal is connectedwith the South China Sea through the Straits of Malacca. India has a vast coast-line running to nearly 3,500 miles.On its west coast is the Arabian Sea which stretches up to the Red Sea and isjoined to the Persian Gulf. U NLIKE the Atlantic andPacific Oceans, the Indian Ocean is indented by the land mass of India, whichlies in its centre.

HyperWar: The Royal Indian Navy (Chapter 1) Chapter I

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