Muziris, July 6 -- India is today, for all practical purposes, almost an island nation for trade. With negligible commerce moving across its western, northern and much of its eastern land borders, the overwhelming share of India's external trade now moves by sea. In many respects, however, this is not a new reality but a return to history.

Long before the emergence of modern nation states, India was a maritime civilisation. The seas connected the subcontinent with West Asia, East Africa, Southeast Asia and beyond through dense networks of commerce, navigation, and exchange of ideas, religions and technologies. The Indian Ocean was not a barrier but a bridge.

Gateway to an Oceanic World

At the centre of this maritime world stood Muziris...