Maldives controversy with India: Understand the Maldives controversy with India in 10 Points, Read out these points and understand the entire controversy.
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Maldives is a South Asian Island nation, which used to be one of India’s closest allies in the region. Now, this small nation moving away from India and getting closer to China. This shift has been occurring since the Maldives’ presidential election. The current Maldivian president sparked anti-India sentiments among citizens to win elections. Now, those sentiments are going to hurt over 5.21 Lakh Maldivian citizens!
Many presume that the recent controversy between India and the small island nation occurred due to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. It is a misconception because things went wrong before the current Maldivian president was elected. Continue reading to reveal what is Maldives controversy with India?
The Presidential election occurred in September 2023 in Maldives. The coalition of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) won that election. Their entire campaign was based on anti-India sentiments and India-out chants were pretty loud at that time.
The Maldivian India-out campaign was a major attempt to reduce Indian influence in the region. Abdulla Yameen (former Maldivian president) started it and the current Maldivian president (Mohamed Muizzu) exploited it. This campaign was carried out to remove Indian troops from the island nation.
There are only 77 Indian military personnel in the South-Asian Island nation. Most of them are technicians for Dornier aircraft, patrol vessels, and ALH helicopters. That many military personnel can never control a nation of over 0.4 million.
The current Maldivian president has played a major role in the Maldives controversy with India. Every former president visited India first to strengthen ties between both nations. Muizzu chose China over India and it can have some serious repercussions for the nation in the upcoming years.
The strategic location of Maldives makes it important for China because important trade routes pass through this island nation’s maritime borders. China aims to take control of the region to control India’s moves in case of future conflict. Muizzu’s inclination towards China can be harmful to millions of Maldivians.
Prime Minister Modi visited Lakshadweep on 2nd January, enjoyed several seaside activities in the beautiful waters of the Arabian Sea, and stated that this Indian Union Territory is “Full of many possibilities”.
Mariyam Shiuna, who is a Maldivian MP, and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, who is a Maldivian tourism minister, made hurtful comments about India on X (Twitter). Shiuna made a tweet targeting PM Modi “What a clown. The Puppet of Israel Mr. Narendra diver with life jacket”.
Maldivian tourism minister wrote on X “While I wish success for India's tourism, targeting the Maldives so explicitly isn't diplomatic. India faces significant challenges competing in beach tourism, considering our resort infrastructure exceeds their total islands.”
The Indian prime minister shared his Lakshadweep experience on Twitter and encouraged people to visit the Indian Union territory. He did not mention Maldives at all and those disgraceful comments by Maldivian politicians reveal their hatred against India.
Over 24 million Indians are active on X and most of them support Indian interests. It hurt all the Indian social media users when Maldivian politicians made hurtful comments against the Indian Prime Minister. Maldives controversy statement by Island Nation’s MPs went viral on Twitter and people reacted to them by trending #bycottmaldives.
It is not just a trend because it can severely hurt Maldivian citizens. Actions of a few anti-India Maldivian MPs will hurt thousands of locals because people will switch to other holiday destinations for vacations. EaseMyTrip has already cancelled bookings to Maldives. More platforms will follow this approach to show their anger against the Maldivian anti-India stance.
The Maldives controversy with India came as good news for the Indian Union territory of Lakshadweep. The Indian government has shown commitment to developing Lakshadweep as the best eco-tourism destination in South Asia. Growing tourism in Lakshadweep will majorly hurt the Maldivian economy.
Conclusion
Maldives was a popular destination among Indian celebs to post catchy pictures on Insta and X. The recent India-Maldives controversy has encouraged thousands of Indian tourists to drop their plans of visiting the South-Asian Island nation. This controversy and the Maldivian president’s anti-India approach will eventually hurt Maldivian people, who majorly rely on tourism for livelihood.
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