Operation Azini: India's maritime reach, joint force capability and the return of the piracy challenge (UNI Analysis)

Col Guru Saday Batabyal(Retd) New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) The rescue of the Iranian fishing dhow 'Azini' by Indian forces in the Arabian Sea is significant, not merely as a successful hostage-recovery operation but as an illustration of the growing maturity of India's maritime security architecture. Conducted over 48 hours and more than 3,000 kilometres from Mumbai, the mission demonstrated the ability of Indian naval and air assets to locate, monitor, isolate and neutralise a maritime threat far from the country's coastline while ensuring the safe recovery of all hostages. At a time when global attention remains focused on conflicts…