 Water covers 70% of our planet. Oceans and rivers are the underlying fabric that bind all our lands. They are our conveyor belts, connecting civilizations and charting the course of human progress. Since ancient times, India, with all our natural wealth, has provided the thrust for sea-bound explorations, voyages that have formed the bedrock of modern-day maritime trade. The Indian Ocean touches the coastlines of 37 nations, spanning three continents. With more than 80% of the world's sea-borne trade in oil, one-third of the bulk cargo, and carrying half of the world's container traffic, the Indian Ocean region is the epicentre of economic activity. And India is strategically placed at the very centre of this network. Every conceivable route along the Indian Ocean region has seen India as a destination for trade. The ancient spice, silk and incense trade routes were inevitably linked to India. Sailors and soldiers from the Iron Age, fortune-seekers and missionaries from the medieval era, to geographers and administrators at the turn of the Industrial Revolution, all have stepped ashore on the Indian land. From cotton to crude oil, India's maritime history beholds some of the most intriguing tales of wars and voyages, conquests and coalitions, events that have defined our world in the 21st century.