Lakshadweep Connundrum

 

Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory in terms of population but is now in the news for perhaps wrong reasons. The islands are strategically important given their location. The island is predominantly Islamic with more than 97% of the population following the religion. The island was relatively free of COVID-19 cases till early this year before the explosion took place. This is primarily attributed to the dependency on Kerala from where most of the goods are procured of. To add, the increased tourists would have added to the number of cases. Historically, the territory has remained sort of isolated from the rest of the country. The tribals were generally Buddhist followers before they were sort of Arabized. Islam followed later as an outcome of Arabization. The influence could very well been an outcome of it being strategic maritime location. The linkage with Maldives too existed in some ways especially with the island of Minicoy. Minicoy during the British days came under the administration of Mangalore district whereas the other island groups in Laccadive and Amindivi came under the direct control of Madras. Post-independence, Pakistan had eyes on the territory but the alacrity with which Sardar Patel acted ensured the islands remained in the possession of India.

 

The islands have remained politically isolated in many ways. It has just one Lok Sabha seat, the smallest in fact. Therefore, in terms of political influence, its role is understandably much diminished. Yet the islands have become a battlefield in the recent days. At the heart of the conflict is the Administrator of the Territory Prafulla Khoda Patel. Generally, the Union Territories are administered by bureaucrats. But the Modi government sent in a political appointee in Patel. Patel has set off a hornet’s nest so as to speak with the series of actions he has undertaken. At heart would be a disruption of an equilibrium social and economic in existence since many years. The state has been dependent on Kerala for its needs with the ports in Kochi and Beypore being the transit hubs. The current administrator seems to be keen on ending this and shifting the locus to New Mangalore Port. As the business shifts towards Mangalore, this would impact Malabar and Central Kerala. Given the suspected drug trafficking, the administration has sought to bring in legislative changes in the criminal laws. These too have an impact on the socio-economy of Kerala. There have been vested interests who have much at stake in the status quo of Lakshadweep and are now anguished by the turn of events. To add, is the question of banning cow slaughter in the state. It is a different matter that that cattle have to be imported from Kerala primarily Beypore. Thus there seems to be no justification for beef to cheaper alternative in local terms as observed in the North-East for instance. Fish and coconut based products would perhaps be geographically feasible in terms of traditional food preferences. The issue now has snowballed into an alleged imposition of Hindu practices on the islands.

 

In Kerala, the political parties have jumped onto the protest bandwagon. There are demands for the recall of the administrator. Rahul Gandhi who represents Kerala in the Lok Sabha too has jumped into the bandwagon. To many, it seems puzzling as to why the protests are being amplified in Kerala. Lakshadweep being a single seat territory does not offer electoral benefits on its own. To many Hindu voices on social media, apparently, this represents the cohesion of the anti-BJP anti-Hindu ecosystem which would defend even in the absence of any electoral visible benefits. Yet, they are looking at a narrow perspective and committing the mistake. It is in fact, at the heart of the Islamic question, which practices strong Broken Windows theory. The smallest of the pieces threatened would result in counter action that would manifest in an extreme degree. This has been observed in many instances in the past across the country. Lakshadweep is the latest in the bandwagon.

 

It is debatable whether the acts of banning cow slaughter would be feasible in a region like Lakshadweep. This might actually boomerang and strengthen the Muslim resistance. Perhaps the trickle down, top down approaches might not be feasible. A better approach could be trickle up or capillary action approach. There must be a movement on the ground that would wean away the people from beef. In fact, it might be a long process but nevertheless good in reclaiming Lakshadweep from Islamic roots. Yet, away from this would lie the motivations behind the opposition action. The motivations lie in the Muslim votebank. Lakshadweep might be one small constituency, but the Muslims are dominant force in a number of constituencies. They are politically significant. The cohesion among the community whenever it is threatened has been robust for years. Therefore, it would be no surprise if the community rallies behind their counterparts in the island group. The resistance is usually vocal and not averse to violence. Therefore, one would expect the backlash to become stronger and more vocal beyond Kerala too. Given the economic linkages between the mainland and the islands, it is not surprising to see resistance being strong given the self-interest involved. The Muslim thought leadership and clergy would obviously raise even the smallest of the challenges or infractions as threatening the fabric of Islam and they are in the process of doing so in this context too. The rise of Muslim parties and leaders like Owaisi or Ajmal threaten the mainstream parties hold on the Muslim vote. They need to be demonstrating they are doing something else they would risk losing the Muslim vote. Therefore, given their own survival instinct and the desire to push back at Modi regime in whatever ways they can are compelling the opposition to raise their voice and queer the pitch for the Modi government. Kerala has been in forefront of being sort of anti-India vibes. There have been occasions when the past posts have talked about Kerala trying to create a pre-1861 position in the US in the Indian milieu. The Lakshadweep issue is the latest in this direction. The hornet’s nest has been stirred. It remains to be seen for good or bad how Modi government handles this and keeps the backlash localized. If it succeeds, it could mean the experiments could be scaled up elsewhere.