Author(s): Akshit Rana, Dr Lehar Isarani

Abstract: The Indian Ocean has consistently played a crucial role in shaping India's strategic outlook since independence. For a long time India's strategic thinking and security approach overlooked the full significance of the Indian Ocean, largely because New Delhi was more concerned about the land based continental threats and security challenges. The situation begins to change after 1991, when India shifted towards an outward looking economy policy and Indian Ocean started gaining strategic importance. This paper examines India's Maritine Doctrine and Naval Diplomacy in the contemporary and future strategic environment with elements of continuity and change. The study uses qualitative dominant mixed approach, combining doctoral analysis, case studies, secondary data and follows the Eclectic theoretical framework drawing on Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. The paper help us to know how India uses Naval diplomacy as a measure to radiate soft power and as well as how India's Maritime Doctrine help India to assert its hard power based upon the military strategy. Paper argues that India's role of net security provider in Indian Ocean Region IOR is still evolving from SAGAR initiatives to MAHASAGAR, and the Maritime Doctrine formalizes the No War No Peace framework as a response to grey zone tactics and hybrid warfare. It also identifies a gap in the literature on the reception of India's Naval Diplomacy by smaller Indian Ocean States and on the integration of Emerging Disruptive Technology EDT into maritime strategy

Keywords: Naval Diplomacy, Maritime Doctrine, Maritime Domain Awareness, SAGAR, MAHASAGAR.

Article Info: Received: 07 Oct 2026; Received in revised form: 25 Oct 2026; Accepted: 01 Nov 2026; Available online: 07 Nov 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.116.7