Foreword

Summary

I am delighted to welcome a valuable addition to the limited canon of books on India's interaction with Southeast Asia. Indian Ocean studies still remain unexplored, though the Indian Ocean and its “Maritime Silk Road” have been the main focus of global and in particular Asian history in recent decades.

The book titled Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia deals with several fascinating subjects, amongst them:

• the naval expeditions of the Cholas in the context of Asian history and Indian Ocean trade system;

• South Indian merchant guilds, whose fame is strongly associated with the Cholas and which are often regarded as a driving force behind the naval expeditions of the Cholas;

• developments in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, which were most directly affected by Chola expansionism.

India has been following a conscious “Look East Policy” since the early 1990s and India's present accentuated level of interaction with ASEAN is integral to this approach. There has been steady progress in the India-ASEAN relationship since this policy was initiated. India-ASEAN functional cooperation is diverse and includes cooperation in several sectors. As regards political and security issues, ASEAN also has expressed its desire to work with India to fight terrorism, transnational crimes and similar problems. Recently, India concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with ASEAN, which will ensure lower duties and a freer flow of trade in goods. In the cultural, educational and religious fields, India's efforts aim to promote people to people contacts, religious tourism and linkages among institutions of higher learning.

This volume fits well within these objectives. The present book Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia, about the naval expeditions of the South Indian Chola Dynasty in the eleventh century, is a welcome contribution to Indian Ocean studies. I hope it will enhance its readers’ awareness of a vital and sadly-neglected aspect of India's involvement with its broader neighbourhood.