Shipbuilding legacy in India under the Wadia family

ABSTRACT

Maritime trade and shipbuilding have flourished in India since the Indus Valley civilisation. Of these, shipbuilding developed in India more as an art rather than being a science and hence has largely remained undocumented. The art has been passed down from one generation to another through training and hands-on experience. When Europeans came to India, Bombay was neither a trading centre nor a city of importance. Shipbuilding was then mainly controlled from Surat by the Parsis, however, the English found it difficult to get their vessels built here due to monopolistic control of the Portuguese. Once the English got control of Bombay, they focused on developing it for trade and shipbuilding but found the process slow. With great effort, they managed to get a Parsi shipbuilder or ‘Wadia’ (shipbuilder in Gujarati) who brought shipbuilding to Bombay and helped continue the shipbuilding legacy of India at the Bombay Dockyard. The article intends to discuss the shipbuilders’ family of Bombay, the ‘Wadia’ family. It will look at how the Wadias are considered instrumental in keeping the shipbuilding legacy of India alive in India for over 150 years and their contribution to shipbuilding in India.

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Nitin Agarwala

Nitin Agarwala is a serving naval officer who has experienced various facets of a warship as a user,designer, inspector, maintainer, policymaker, teacher and a researcher. He has authored over 80 articles, papers and book chapters and two books. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the views or policies of the Government of India or the Indian Navy.