India Maldives relation: some important facts

India Maldives relation: some important facts

Why in news:

Three Ministers of the newly elected government of the Maldives posted disrespectful remarks on social media for India and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thus the war of words has erupted between these two Nations. The External Affair Ministry summoned the Maldivian envoy in the backdrop of this disrespectful event. Amid the diplomatic Dialogues, Israel has also come forward to support India by posting photos of mesmerizing beaches of Lakshadweep on social media.

These three deputy Ministers of the Maldives government posted disrespectful remarks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Lakshadweep where he had highlighted the potential of the Lakshadweep in world tourism. After that comment, the president of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu suspended the three Ministers of his ruling party. Israel’s step supporting India into this war of words showcases the diplomatic Spat.

Israel mentioned the Lakshadweep and the beauty of its beach by posting photographs and inviting people to witness the beauty of Lakshadweep around the world. Some experts in foreign Policy are concerned about this matter, because India and the Maldives are neighboring countries. Dramatic escalation in tension between these two countries is not all worthy.

India’s call to boycott the Maldives can create a serious issue for Maldives tourism. The development of Lakshadweep tourism can impact the Maldives tourism industry.

India topped the list of source markets of tourism in the Maldives followed by Russia and China. There were around 2,09,198 people from India visiting the Maldives in 2023.

Important Operations in Maldives:

In this segment we are going to understand some important facts about the major operations performed by India in the Maldives.

Operation cactus 1988:

Operation Cactus was performed by the Indian military in 1988 in an attempt to intervene in a coup against the interim government of the Maldives led by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

This coup attempt was led by Abdullah Luthufi, a businessman in Maldives. In this coup there was the assistance of a Tamil secessionist organization from Sri Lanka, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

Maldives demanded help from neighboring countries such as the UK, USA, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Singapore but some of them refused and others needed time to execute any operation. Meanwhile India came forward to help the Maldives to save the interim government of the Maldives and the Indian military successfully averted a severe political crisis in the Maldives.

Operation Neer 2014:

Operation Neer was initiated by India in 2014 in an attempt to provide fresh water to the Maldives as a severe fire broke out at the Male Water and Sewerage Company in Maldives,causing high destruction and damage to the distillation plants and thus Maldives faced fresh water scarcity.

Under the operation Neer, INS Sukanya reached the capital of the Maldives with 35 tonnes of fresh water and the INS Sukanya also has the power of producing 20 tonnes of fresh water daily.

INS Deepak also joined and reached Male with 1000 tonnes of fresh water. Indian Air Force also provided its assistance in this operation Neer.

Operation Sanjeevani:

Operation Sanjeevani was conducted by India to provide 6.2 tonnes of essential medicines to Maldives in covid period.

Hercules C-130J-30 aircraft of Indian Air Force was used in the operation Sanjeevani to provide medical assistance to Maldives. These medicines included influenza vaccines, antiviral drugs such as lopinavir and ritonavir  and other essential medicines to fight with covid cases.

Conclusion:

Indian tourists are one of the major sources for the Maldives. Regarding this scenario,  the impact of the controversy between these two countries could go more far and deeper.

India and Male need to reassess their responses in this matter,given the social media “boycott” of the Maldives protest or the rise of hyper nationalistic nature.

Important Questions:

1. Describe the major operations in Maldives performed by India.
2. Highlight the relationship of India and Maldives.

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