Why the Strait of Hormuz Matters to India’s Past and its Future

Credit By: MUSKAN SHAFI MALIK

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• 18 Apr 2026

The Strait of Hormuz is not merely a contemporary geopolitical concern; it is a historical constant in India’s engagement with the wider world

At a time when global tensions frequently centre on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow maritime corridor through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, it is tempting to view India’s interest in the region as purely contemporary, driven by energy security and diaspora concerns.

Yet such a reading obscures a deeper historical reality. India’s engagement with the Persian Gulf, especially Hormuz, is not a recent compulsion but part of a long-standing maritime tradition that predates colonialism and, in many ways, shaped the contours of colonial rule itself. To understand India’s present, one must recover this forgotten past.

A Maritime Civilization Before Colonialism

Long before European intervention, the Indian subcontinent was embedded in a dense web of Indian Ocean exchanges. Historian K. N. Chaudhuri has shown that between the 13th and 16th centuries, the Indian Ocean functioned as an integrated commercial arena linking East Africa, India, Arabia, Persia, and Southeast Asia. Trade was not peripheral but central to political and social life.

Ports such as Surat, Calicut, and Masulipatnam were not isolated entrepôts but vibrant nodes in a transregional system. At the heart of this network stood Hormuz Island, a decisive hub at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It functioned as a cross-continental center, channelling horses from Arabia, textiles from Gujarat, and silk from Persia.

Indian traders thrived through adaptability and trust-based credit systems. As Ashin Das Gupta noted, merchant communities like Multanis, Bohras, and Banias sustained Gulf-wide commercial networks. Rather than domination, the pre-colonial maritime world was governed by norms of cooperation. The sea was not a battlefield, but a space of circulation and exchange.

The Portuguese Disruption and the Rise of “Fortified Trade”

 The arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century marked a decisive rupture. Under Afonso de Albuquerque, the earlier patterns of free exchange were replaced by attempts at coercive control. The seizure of Hormuz transformed it into a strategic choke point.

Historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam describes this phase as “fortified trade,” where commerce was backed by military force. The introduction of the cartaz (permit) system turned the sea into a regulated and militarised space, disrupting Gujarat’s established trade networks. This moment marked the beginning of maritime colonialism in the Indian Ocean.

British Expansion and India as a Sub-Imperial Centre

 While the Portuguese initiated control, it was the British who systematised it. Unlike their predecessors, they integrated maritime dominance with territorial expansion. By the late 18th century, as K. N. Chaudhuri observed, the British East India Company had transformed into a governing power. Bombay emerged as a strategic hub, extending influence deep into the Persian Gulf.

Control over Hormuz now served dual purposes: securing imperial trade routes and protecting British India. Historian Sugata Bose emphasises that India functioned as a sub-imperial centre, administering Gulf affairs. The Indian rupee circulated widely in the region, and Indian intermediaries adapted effectively to colonial structures. As Seema Alavi notes, Indian merchants were not passive subjects but active participants in imperial networks. In this world, as Sugata Bose puts it, “the sea was not a barrier but a bridge.”

From Trade to Oil: A Strategic Transformation

By the 19th century, India had become deeply integrated into global capitalism through expanding trade networks. However, the discovery of oil in the 20th century fundamentally altered the region’s significance. The Persian Gulf and particularly the Strait of Hormuz emerged as a vital artery of global energy flows. India, under British rule, continued to function as a logistical and strategic hub in this evolving order.

Reclaiming the Maritime Lens in Contemporary India

Indian historiography has long been land-centric, often overlooking maritime histories. However, scholars advocating “connected histories” have emphasised the enduring relevance of these oceanic linkages. Today, these historical connections remain critical. Through the Strait of Hormuz, much of India’s energy supplies flow. Millions of Indians in the Gulf contribute significantly through remittances.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated, “the seas are the lifelines of our prosperity and security.” Decades earlier, K. M. Panikkar had warned: “India that forgets the sea will cease to be India.” These insights underscore the need for a maritime reorientation in India’s strategic thinking.

History as a Guide to Strategy

The Strait of Hormuz is not merely a contemporary geopolitical concern; it is a historical constant in India’s engagement with the wider world. Reclaiming India’s seafaring past is essential not only to understand its historical trajectory but also to navigate present and future geopolitical realities. In doing so, India can rediscover an older identity: not just a continental power, but a maritime civilisation deeply connected to the currents of the Indian Ocean.

(The Author is pursuing Post-Graduation in History at Aligarh Muslim University. Feedback: muskanshafimalik@gmail.com)