A. Harikumar
Life in the picturesque Islands of Lakshadweep – a union territory located in the Arabian sea 200- 440 km off the western coast of Kerala – had mostly been peaceful and uneventful like the placid waters of the lagoon surrounding them once.
However, that has been changing over a decade. The strategic location of the archipelago and its tourism potential have drawn more government attention to there. Meanwhile terrorists, pirates and drug cartels who want to use Lakshadweep as a launchpad to attack and smuggle goods into India also set their eyes on the archipelago. Slowly life there began to resemble the choppy waters of the Arabian sea. The situation got further worsened recently when administrator Praful Khoda Patel proposed a new set of regulations to reform the governance and the society, sparking a storm of protest.
Economic and religious factors
The protest is led by natives, almost all of them Muslims, who term the draft laws incendiary and a deliberate effort to change the culture of the archipelago. The apprehensions of the islanders is based on two factors: the possibility for economic loss to them when the new proposals are implemented ,and the necessity to reform the ultra orthodox Islam practised there.
Though the islanders are widely acclaimed as progressive as they distance themselves from extremist groups and align with national parties like the Congress and the NCP, a section of political observers feels such arguments make a virtue out of necessity as in a union territory only the party that rules the centre can help natives and doesn’t reflect the progressive inclinations of the society. Attempts to introduce anything which could be interpreted as against the tenets of Islam has always been fiercely resisted by the orthodoxy in the island. The island where Samasta Kerala Jamiyat-ul Ulema ( the most influential Sunni-Shafi body in Kerala) wields considerable influence has no movie theatres or hotels selling liquor (except Bangaram).
While the BJP agrees that the islanders are peeved at the proposed reforms, the party feels such apprehensions are unwarranted. The BJP national vice president A.P. Abdullakutty says his party actually wants to bring in development in the archipelago where basic infrastructure continues to be pathetic till date.
Why new regulations?
Many are intrigued by the proposals which aim to bring in far-reaching changes there even at the cost of annoying the islanders. The reason is the strategic position of archipelago and the potential it offers for development. It straddles the nine degree channel, the passage for nearly all merchant shipping from Europe and Middle East to South East Asia and Far East, making it economically and militarily important. The second is the immense tourism potential. As the nearby regions like Maldives have recorded humongous development, and the global trade is growing, pioneering changes in Lakshadweep infrastructure is inevitable.
Progress will attract large numbers of new people and socio-economic changes are bound to come along with it. In the coming days Lakshadweep is going to be the vantage point from where Indian Navy will perform its role as a gatekeeper, keeping a watchful eye over international shipping lanes. No government in India can afford to backtrack from the effort to bring in phenomenal changes in the region considering China’s frantic efforts to play big brother in Indian Ocean., The proposed regulations by the administrator are likely to be a precursor to that.
Proposed regulations
The slew of draft laws which sparked unrest in the islands include the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation, Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA) Regulation and amendment to the Lakshadweep Panchayat Staff Rules
It has been widely reported by the media that animal preservation regulation aims a ban on transportation and slaughter of cattle or sale and purchase of beef. As per reports there is another proposal to remove all kind of meat from the mid-day meal supplied to children in schools. The islanders who oppose the proposals note that eschewing a non-vegetarian diet which they have been following for centuries is impossible. The new proposals allow sale of liquor in resorts in a few more inhabited islands apart from Bangaram, the only place where it is currently permitted. Islanders oppose the move as they feel it is against their Islamic way of life.
The new panchayat staff rules propose disqualification of panchayat poll aspirants with more than two children. Regarding the LDA regulations, the public fear that the clauses which allow acquisition of land make it mandatory for residents to develop their land only as per government’s plan will force them to migrate eventually.
One of the main provocations is reported to be a move to retrench around 4000 islanders who are employed as contract workers in central government controlled institutions there. The vast majority of Muslims (above 95%) residents there are listed as scheduled tribe and get huge benefits from the government apart from job reservations. The islanders fear that they will lose such preferential treatment in the days ahead.
Another contentious draft law is preventive detention law (Goonda Act). The island residents fear that the Goonda act when implemented will be misused to imprison anybody who protests against decisions of the government. Those who support the administrator say the fear of misuse of laws is unfounded but the islanders are not convinced.
Increasing threats
Lakshadweep seas have become a hotbed of terrorists, pirates and drug traffickers since early 2010. In 2011, a patrol vessel of the Indian Navy sank a pirate mother vessel and killed ten pirates and captured 15 in a battle known as Battle Off Minicoy Island. The same year 77 Somalia nationals who were spotted in two vessels near Lakshadweep were arrested. They were allegedly planning attack. Scores of terrorists and pirates were intercepted and arrested by Indian Navy and Coast Guard thereafter at regular intervals.
The fragile eco system of Lakshadweep is being threatened by illegal mining of coral wealth. Illegal catching of protected aquatic species like Sea cucumber is another grave issue there. In 2020 a kingpin of wild life trade was arrested from the islands. Uninhabited islands are sometimes found becoming haven for animal trafficking syndicate. Four such traffickers were arrested in 2020 from an unnamed island near Kavaratti. A newly formed special protection force involving police and forest officials are now on the vigil to help conservation efforts.
On March 18, this year the Indian Coast Guard seized 300 kg of heroin, five AK 47 rifles and 1000 live rounds worth Rs 3500 Cr from a Sri Lankan boat off Minicoy islands. Though a coast guard press release didn’t announce the destination there were unverified reports that it was heading towards Kerala. On April 20, 2021 The Indian Navy seized drugs worth Rs 3000 crore from a Sri Lankan fishing vessel cruising in the sea between Kerala coast and Sri Lanka. A press release of the Navy said the origin of drugs and weapons was Pakistan and the spoils of narcotic trade feed terrorism and radicalisation. On May 25, 2019, media reported that the Kerala coast was put on high alert following intelligence inputs that 15 ISIS terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka to Lakshadweep.
According to sources, presently, gold smugglers, narcotic syndicates and terrorists have established links with sections of fishermen from the island and are trying to use them to carry out their operations in different destinations including Kerala. This happened after security and checking were beefed up in airports along the western coast of India. As airports have become difficult to operate now, anti-national groups prefer harbours.
Conclusion
Changing geopolitics in Indian Ocean islands will have its impact on Lakshadweep too, whatever protest groups think. Life and governance in the islands are bound to change with the times. New institutions will come up in the island. If countries like UAE or Oman can have bar hotels and movie houses, why not Lakshadweep which is a part of India? However, the proposed ban on beef (if true) and only vegetarian mid day meal do seem out of sync with development. The government needs to ensure that islanders are well employed and a reasonable income should be ensured to them. As the islanders’ themselves agree that the tiny islands are ecologically fragile and thickly populated population control is justified.