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K M PANIKKAR’S PORTRAYAL OF MALABAR AS A
STRATEGIC LOCATION AT INDIAN OCEAN DURING
PORTUGUESE AND DUTCH INTERVENTION
K. M Panikkar was born in 1895 in Travancore, then princely state of British
India. He is known for his multifaceted talent in different areas. He took
different roles as an academician, diplomat, writer, and historian. He was
the ambassador of India to France, Egypt, and China. He left a legacy of his
pragmatic knowledge on International Relations through his writings. His
take on the influence of the region of Malabar in the maritime history of the
Indian Ocean is notable. Based on his research on the relevance of the region
of Malabar to Portuguese and Dutch before the arrival of the British in India
resulted in the writing of Malabar and the Portuguese (1929) and Malabar and
the Dutch (1931). He also portrays the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean
in The Strategic Problems of the Indian Ocean (1944). This paper looks at K. M
Panikkar’s outlook towards the Malabar region as a strategic location for
Portuguese and Dutch in the Indian Ocean.
23-24 March 2021 | Sapru House, New Delhi 43
