RAS question
The Chola navy was one of the strongest in the ancient world and controlled:
Correct answer: (B) The Bay of Bengal, parts of the Indian Ocean, and trade routes to Southeast Asia.
The Chola navy controlled the Bay of Bengal, parts of the Indian Ocean, and trade routes linking India with Southeast Asia.
Explanation
Under Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, Chola power was not confined to the Tamil coast. Chola conquests in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the 1025 CE expedition against Srivijaya, and control over Bay of Bengal sea lanes show this wider maritime reach. Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Cholas section supports the same maritime pattern: Chola control over the Maldives, the Malabar Coast and northern Sri Lanka helped dominate trade with Southeast Asia, Arabia and eastern Africa, and Rajendra’s campaign against Srivijaya was launched because that kingdom obstructed Indian shipping and Chola trade with China. So the best answer is the wide maritime network in option B, not a narrow riverine or coastal sphere.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Arabian Sea alone is too narrow: Chola control extended across the Bay of Bengal and included a Srivijaya expedition tied to Southeast Asian sea routes.
- (C) Only coastal waters understates Chola reach, since Chola expansion included Sri Lanka, the Maldives and sea lanes across the Bay of Bengal.
- (D) Only rivers is incompatible with a naval power whose noted campaigns and trade control concerned islands, open sea lanes and Southeast Asian maritime routes.
Concept
This tests medieval South Indian polity and maritime trade under the imperial Cholas. RAS repeats this area because it links dynastic expansion, naval power, overseas trade and India’s connections with Southeast Asia.