The arrival of the Portuguese in the Arabian Sea in 1498, under the command of Vasco da Gama, marked a turning point in the history of the Indian Ocean. Here I am proposing a hypothesis that presence of Portuguese in the Arabian sea might paved the way for Hindu India othereise India might be a Muslim country had history was different. For over 450 years, the Portuguese maintained a stronghold in the region, disrupting long-established trade routes, engaging in conflicts with local powers, and shaping the religious, political, and economic landscape of the subcontinent. Their presence played a significant role in the weakening of the Mughal Empire, contributing indirectly to the rise of a distinctly Hindu India. Additionally, the Portuguese naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean occurred during a period when regions like Indonesia and Malaysia were becoming predominantly Muslim, further highlighting the diverse religious dynamics in the region.
Here I examine how the Portuguese presence in the Arabian Sea influenced the formation of Hindu India, while contrasting it with the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia. This is simply a proposal and has to further explored with rigorous research .Hence, Scholars interested in these studies could throw more light.
The Portuguese Arrival and Maritime Domination
The Portuguese entry into the Indian Ocean disrupted centuries-old trading systems that linked India with the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Before the Portuguese, Arab, Persian, and Indian Muslim merchants had dominated these sea routes, controlling a vast and lucrative trade network centered on spices, textiles, and precious metals. The Portuguese sought to monopolize the spice trade, and in doing so, they confronted and often clashed with the dominant Muslim traders. Here we may have to explore how the fall of Constantinople had affected spice trade and how Muslim traders might have take a dominant position in this trade at the time.
By establishing forts and trading posts along the western coast of India, including Goa, Daman, and Diu, the Portuguese began to exert their influence over maritime trade. Being in the Arabian sea , the Portuguese imposed custom duties on sea traffic. Besides, their superior naval technology, exemplified by heavily armed ships and strategic fortifications, allowed them to assert control over key ports. This, in turn, weakened the economic power of the Mughal Empire, which relied on trade revenues from the Arabian Sea. The loss of these revenues, coupled with internal challenges and wars, contributed to the eventual decline of the Mughals. The weakening of Mughals and active presence of the Portuguese in the Arabian Sea has to be further explored .
Religious Conflicts: Christianity vs. Islam
The Portuguese were not just traders; they were also fervent propagators of Christianity. Their arrival in India was accompanied by an all out effort to spread Christianity. The Portuguese clergy, backed by the state, embarked on large-scale conversion campaigns, particularly in Goa, which became the epicentre of Portuguese colonial rule. The establishment of the Goa Inquisition in 1560 further intensified religious persecution, as local converts were targeted to save them from going back to their earlier faith.
In contrast, the regions of Indonesia and Malaysia were experiencing a wave of Islamic conversions. Islam had begun to spread through Southeast Asia as early as the 13th century, primarily through the efforts of Arab and Indian Muslim traders. By the time the Portuguese arrived in the Indian Ocean, Islam was taking root in places like Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. The spread of Islam in these regions contrasted sharply with the religious dynamics on the Indian subcontinent, where the Portuguese attempted to introduce Christianity. This juxtaposition of what is happening in that region of South Asia may open ways of accessing the Portuguese presence in the Arabian Sea impacted Indian society.
The presence of the Portuguese in the Arabian Sea heightened religious tensions between Christianity and Islam. Muslim traders and rulers in India resisted Portuguese attempts to control trade and religion, while local Hindu populations found themselves caught between these two powerful forces. The Portuguese push for Christianity, while not entirely successful, did provoke a reaction among Hindus, leading to a reinforcement of Hindu identity in the face of foreign pressures. This consolidation of Hindu identity will fully flower under British India in the 19th century. Hence, we cannot keep Goa out from the formation of a Hindu identity.
The Rise of Hindu Political Powers and the Decline of the Mughals
The Portuguese were not the only foreign power with ambitions in the region. Their presence may have indirectly facilitated the rise of indigenous Hindu political powers that sought to challenge both European colonizers and the Mughal Empire. The Marathas, a Hindu warrior confederacy based in western India, played a significant role in this shift. The Marathas, under the leadership of Shivaji Maharaj, established a powerful Hindu kingdom in the 17th century, challenging the Portuguese and Mughals alike. Portuguese being deadly against the Muslim seem to also have cordial relations with the Marathas. These complex relations cannot be sidelined.
The Maratha Empire, grounded in a strong sense of Hindu identity and sovereignty, grew as the Mughal Empire weakened. The Portuguese presence in the Arabian Sea and their frequent conflicts with Muslim powers such as the Mughals and the Ottoman Empire further destabilized the region, creating opportunities for the rise of regional Hindu powers like the Marathas. By the 18th century, the Marathas had emerged as one of the dominant forces in India, pushing back not only against Mughal influence but also against British encroachments.
The rise of the Marathas and other Hindu states can be seen as part of a broader trend in which Hindu identity was solidifying in the face of both Islamic and colonial pressures. The Portuguese, while not directly responsible for the creation of Hindu India, played a significant role in creating the geopolitical conditions that allowed for the resurgence of Hindu power in the subcontinent. By that logic Goa also can be seen as an important player.
Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Spread of Islam
While India was becoming increasingly defined by its Hindu identity, the archipelagic regions of Southeast Asia were experiencing a rapid spread of Islam. In places like Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula, Islam became the dominant religion, replacing earlier Hindu-Buddhist traditions. This transformation was largely the result of the activities of Muslim traders, scholars, and Sufi missionaries who arrived from India, Persia, and Arabia.
The rise of Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia occurred alongside the decline of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in the region. The Majapahit Empire, a Hindu-Buddhist state that once ruled much of Indonesia, collapsed in the late 15th century, paving the way for the rise of Islamic sultanates. Similarly, in Malaysia, the Malacca Sultanate became a center of Islamic learning and trade, attracting scholars and traders from across the Muslim world.
In contrast to India, where Hinduism remained resilient in the face of Portuguese and Mughal pressures, Southeast Asia embraced Islam, leading to the creation of predominantly Muslim societies in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Portuguese Legacy: A Hindu India
The Portuguese presence in the Arabian Sea, while often focused on economic gain and religious conversion, had unintended consequences for the formation of Hindu India. By disrupting Muslim trade networks and challenging the Mughal Empire, the Portuguese indirectly contributed to the rise of Hindu political powers like the Marathas. The religious conflicts that arose from Portuguese christening activities also helped to consolidate Hindu identity in regions like Goa and western India.
Furthermore, the Portuguese naval supremacy in the Arabian Sea prevented the Mughal Empire from fully controlling the western coast, which in turn weakened Mughal authority and allowed Hindu states to assert greater autonomy as well as British taker over of India . This weakening of the Mughal Empire, combined with the rise of regional Hindu powers, laid the foundation for the eventual formation of modern Hindu India.
Conclusion
The Portuguese presence in the Arabian Sea from the late 15th century onward was a transformative force in the Indian Ocean region. Their impact on India was profound, contributing to the weakening of the Mughal Empire, heightening religious tensions, and indirectly fostering the rise of Hindu political powers like the Marathas. While the Portuguese aimed to expand their empire and spread Christianity, their actions inadvertently helped shape the religious and political contours of modern Hindu India.
Simultaneously, in Southeast Asia, regions like Indonesia and Malaysia were becoming predominantly Muslim, showcasing the contrasting religious developments in the Indian Ocean world during the same period. The Portuguese, while not directly responsible for these shifts, played a crucial role in the geopolitical and religious transformations of both India and Southeast Asia.
