INDIA:MALDIVES REALTIONS

India and the Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial, and multi-dimensional relations. India was among the first to recognize the Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. India established its mission at the level of the CDA in 1972 and the resident High Commissioner in 1980. The Maldives opened a full-fledged High Commission in New Delhi in November 2004, at that time one of its only four diplomatic missions worldwide. Last year, when the Maldives went through presidential elections, Mohammad Moizu of the People's National Congress came out with the "India Out Campaign" as his prime election campaigning idea and went on to become the President of the island nation. Since then, he has been demanding to expel Indian soldiers in the Maldives, and now PM Modi has responded with a photoshoot at a beach in Lakshdweep, which has resulted in #MaldivesOut outrage in India.

At first, India launched its campaign in the Maldives....

President Moizu says India wants a permanent presence in the Maldives, maybe like a base or an outpost. New Delhi has rejected this allegation, but in the Maldives, it's a lightning rod. Moizu and his party campaigned on this issue; they made India the villain. In that context, his latest announcement of expelling Indian soldiers (who ate just 75 in numbers according to Indian reports) was not surprising.

The silent killer move by PM Modi...

During his PM trip to Lakshdweep on January 2, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the untapped potential of Lakshadweep, describing it as "full of many possibilities." He went snorkling in Lakshdweep and went on to post his experience on social media platform X and present it as an option for Indian tourists visiting the Maldives without mentioning the Maldives anywhere in the story.

Finally, the full story... credits to social media experts

After the move by PM, Indians began exploring Lakshdweep, and sooner it became a trending search on Google. #ExploreIndianIslands started trending, but soon it changed to #BoycottMaldives when three Maldivian ministers offically insulted PM Modi. They used words like clown, terrorist, and puppet of Israel. All three ministers have been suspended. The Maldivian government was quick to act, trying to distance itself from their statements, but it's struggling to manage the fallout. Muhammad Moizu, the president of the Maldives, is under fire from the opposition; they want strong action from him. The suspension of the ministers is not enough. Here in India, a boycott campaign is on. A campaign against the Maldives. It's a tourist destination, but now Indians are canceling their vacation plans. Travel agents are no longer taking bookings. It's a full-blown diplomatic crisis for Mali, and it comes at the worst possible time when their president, Muhammad Moizu, is in China on a much-publicized 5-day visit. This controversy has completely overshadowed his trip. India has launched a formal protest against the three Maldivian ministers, Malsha Shareef, Mariam Shiuna, and Abdullah Mazoom Majid; all three are deputy ministers in the youth ministry. They insulted not just the prime minister of India but also the country. They insulted India. After the controversy, they deleted their posts, and when the Maldivian Foreign Ministry tried to repair the situation, it released a statement saying the minister spoke in their personal capacity and their posts do not reflect the government's position.

Why is "India Out" hurting the Maldives?

Males can't afford to antagonize India. Let's look at some numbers. The India-Maldives trade is worth $500 million. It was just 173 million in 2014, so there is a major improvement. India is the males's third biggest trading partner. In terms of tourism, India ranks number one. More than 200,000 Indians visited the Maldives last year; that's almost 12% of all the tourists. Another factor is proximity. India is the males's closest neighbor. The mainland is around 600 kilometers north of Male. So New Delhi is also the first responder, like in 1988, during the coup, India repelled mercenaries who tried to out the president; in 2004, when the tsunami struck; or in 2014, during the Water Crisis, when a fire broke out at the Malay water and sewage company, so Malay had no drinking water. They sent an SOS to New Delhi, and within 12 hours, Indian planes landed with water. Two Indian ships arrived later. Put together, India delivered some 2.300 tons of water to the Maldives. So, can President Moizu afford to antagonize India? The short answer is no. If Mozu wants Indian troops to leave, that's his call; that's a sovereign decision, but spewing anti-India propaganda is not strategy. It is not foreign policy; it exposes true intentions, and who suffers for it is not Moizu in his presidential palace; only the people of the Maldives will be hurt. Whether it's jobs, investments, or tourism, they need India's participation, and Moizu should realize that. It's one thing to campaign for India; it's quite another to actually do it. He can look at two of his fellow South Asian politicians, Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and KP Sharma Oli of Nepal, both of whom went to China. They also tried to limit their relations with India, but how did it get them out of office and out of favor? President Mozu needs to realize that. The social media outrage has been scary, especially the boycott calls, but I could say that none of that is targeted. It's a message to the leadership of the country—only the leaders, not the people. Indians and Malians have a lot in common, whether it's religion, language, or ethnicity, and we're proud of that. These social media storms may not last, but that shared history will. It's something the leaders of the Maldives need to think about.







TEAM YUVA AAVEG-

Akhileshwar 

To keep yourself updated!!

Join our channels

Telegram    Whats App