Project Mausam and Maritime Silk Route

Project Mausam is a Ministry of culture initiative with Indira Gandhi National centre for the Arts(IGNCA) as the nodal coordinating agency. Mausam in literal sense refers to a season where it becomes safer to sail in the sea. Indian ocean has seasonal wind pattern which follows a particular direction in between May and September and different direction between October and April. The project is considered the new government’s most significant foreign policy initiative designed to counter China. It is inspired by India’s historical role as the focal point for trade in the Indian Ocean. In premodern Times sailors used seasonal winds to sail across the sea. This trip usually involved starting from one of the edges of the ocean and then sailing to India, stopping in India and allowing the crew to wait for seasonal wind to reverse its direction and finally start the sail back to original place.

The endeavor of project mausam is to project itself at two levels: at the macro level, it aims to reconnect and reestablish communications between countries of the Indian Ocean world, which would lead to an enhanced understanding of cultural values and concerns~ while at the micro level, the focus is on understanding national cultures in their regional maritime milieu. The central theme of project Mausam is those routes which linked the different parts of Indian Ocean. These routes will help in developing a shared knowledge systems and knowledge which will spread along these routes will impact coastal centers.

Project ‘Mausam’ is an project which has benefits in multiple dimensions for the member states, it also restarts the lost ties and routes between Indian ocean states. This project will help in forgeing new avenues of cooperation and exchange of knowledge. The project, launched by India in partnership with member states, will enable a significant step in recording and celebrating this important phase of world history from the African, Arab and Asianworld perspectives. The project purpose is to develop the Indian Ocean world which will expand between East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka to the Southeast Asian archipelago. By some it is considered as most important step taken by New government in foreign policy sphere. Work for project has already been started by India organizing a national conference on ‘Indian Ocean Region: Cultural Landscapes and Maritime Trade Routes of India’, in connection with Project ‘Mausam’. This project is India’s initiative in face of China’s maritime silk route development.

For Full Article Join Online Coaching

<< Go Back To Magazine Articles Main Page