From SAGAR to MAHASAGAR: assess how India's maritime vision shapes its engagement with Bay of Bengal littoral states.

SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region, 2015) cast India as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean. In March 2025, in Mauritius, the Prime Minister announced that India would go "beyond SAGAR" to MAHASAGAR, i.e. Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions [2]. In the Bay of Bengal, this vision has made India's engagement more operational, though the change is uneven.

SAGAR to MAHASAGAR: the shift

• From security to holistic partnership: MAHASAGAR adds trade for development, capacity building and mutual security [2].
• "Mutual": the new vision speaks of shared ownership with littoral states, not just India acting as a provider.

How the vision shapes engagement

• First-responder diplomacy: after Typhoon Yagi (2024), the Eastern Naval Command sent relief ships to Yangon [4]. After the 28 March 2025 earthquake, Operation Brahma sent INS Satpura and Savitri, supported by the Army, IAF and NDRF [5]. The first ship sailed within 12 hours [6].
• Institutionalised interoperability: RAHAT MITRA (Chennai, Nov 2026) was the first India–Myanmar Tri-Services HADR exercise. More than 300 personnel took part, and it was explicitly anchored in Neighbourhood First and MAHASAGAR [1].
• Non-traditional security: coordinated naval patrols (IMCOR) have run since 2013, and an SOP was signed in 2016 [3]. They target trafficking, illegal fishing and poaching.

Assessment: gaps

• Friendly at sea, guarded on land: in 2024, the MHA decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime on the India–Myanmar border. It cited internal security and the demographic structure of the north-eastern states [7].
• A military-heavy template: RAHAT MITRA drilled only the armed services [1], but the real response in 2025 also relied on the civilian NDRF [5].
• Delivery stops at handover: relief handed over in Yangon is then distributed by the receiving government. Close ties with Myanmar's military also raise legitimacy concerns.
• "Growth" lags "Security": there is little evidence yet of growth-side delivery to match the military engagement.

Overall, MAHASAGAR has given India's Bay of Bengal engagement a clearer purpose and faster HADR reflexes. To make the vision truly "mutual and holistic", India should include NDRF/NDMA and civilian agencies in future exercises and match maritime trust with people-centric border management. The development pillar should also be delivered through BIMSTEC, so the Bay becomes a zone of shared growth, in line with SDG 14 and the founding spirit of SAGAR.