Situated at the far end of Mumbai, in Navi Nagar, Colaba, this society was born in 1978, originally to educate young naval officers about their naval history. But it was soon obvious that such information is not available to the masses and slowly, the society’s research became accessible to civilians. “Our society caters to a very niche audience, mostly academicians and students majoring in history, especially maritime history, though any Indian national is welcome to enrol,” says Commander Mohan Narayan, curator of the Maritime History Society.
The financial capital is the only city in the country that hosts such a society. And, by maritime history, they don’t only include battles fought or lost – a large aspect of the society’s archival records cover maritime trade and communities that have come to exist only because of coastal regions and due to their navigational skills.
The MHS harbours many priceless relics and books like The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Voyage of Nearchus, Diaries of Admiral Sir Charles Malcom, Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur, The Royal Indian Navy, Charts of the Rutters of India of Dom Joao De Castro, to mention only a few of their extensive collection.
The society also has the original three volumes of a detailed report of the epochal naval uprising that had taken place in 1946, plus original photographs of the role of the Navy in the Second World War.
The society has collaborated with the Ballard Bander Museum and has contributed all its artefacts. It has also given many relics to the Indian Museum Ship Vikrant, an aircraft carrier now being preserved as a museum.
Any Indian citizen can be an ordinary member (annual) or a lifelong member of this society. The society also conducts annual lectures during the monsoon season, called the monsoon lectures’, generally held on every third Friday of the monsoon months. Along with that, they also conduct seminars every year during the winter. The proceedings of these seminars are published by the society and are distributed free of cost. Apart from educationalists, all members of the society are invited for these lec tures and seminars.
“The society also as sumes the responsibility of sponsoring the ex pense of researchers whose research propos als will culminate into a book and later we also underwrite the printing costs,” says Cdr Narayan. The profits obtained from selling these books are a major source of income for the society. Even though the MHS is essentially a part of the Western Naval Command, the society is financially independent.
The MHS has published eight books till date on maritime issues and a few other projects are still underway.
Prof B Arunachalam (Retd), the academic advisor for the society, has also contributed significantly with his books like Mumbai by the Sea, Heritage of Indian Sea Navigation and Chola Navigation Package. “The MHS has been in existence since the last 30 years and I have been associated with it since its beginning,” says Prof Arunachalam. “The sources of these researches depend from compilation to inspection of artefacts and analyzing the skills and techniques of settlements along the coast,” he adds.
With the kind of information available with the MHS, the members also hope to make it available to a larger audience. “To make our information more approachable, we do intend to create a website with a hassle-free log in. As of now our existing website is complicated to access,” admits Cdr Narayan.
After spending a day at the MHS, it would be hard for anybody not to be astounded by the rich information available on India’s maritime history. As Cdr Narayan says: “We are a water world, so there is more history on water than on land.”
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