[
New Delhi, India – Fifty years after India and Sri Lanka resolved a long-standing dispute over a small island, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is presently accusing the previous authorities of the opposition Congress Social gathering of gifting Indian territory to its southern neighbor. have put.
The allegations by Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) on the eve of nationwide elections have sparked a heated debate over a key diplomatic relationship in India.
On the heart of the dispute is Katchatheevu island, lengthy an emotive difficulty within the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the place voting takes place within the first section of India's seven-phase election on April 19.
What’s the controversy about?
Earlier than voting in Tamil Nadu, on March 31, Modi shared a information report on social media titled, “RTI solutions reveal how Indira Gandhi handed over the island to Sri Lanka”. Modi confused that Congress “insensitively” handed over Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.
The problem arose from a Proper to Data (RTI) request by Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai, who urged that within the Seventies, the Congress social gathering, below the management of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in session with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam of Tamil Nadu (DMK) Possession of Katchatheevu Island was transferred to Sri Lanka.The DMK was ruling Tamil Nadu at the moment and continues to be in energy there.
“Eye opening and stunning! New details present how Congress has ruthlessly deserted #Katchatheevu. Each Indian is offended with this and the thought has as soon as once more settled within the minds of those who we will by no means belief Congress! (sic),” Modi posted on X whereas sharing the report. He stated, “Undermining the unity, integrity and pursuits of India has been the modus operandi of the Congress for 75 years.”
Quickly after, Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar re-shared Modi's tweet with this caption: “It will be significant that individuals know the entire fact about our previous. The details which have emerged… must be a matter of concern for each citizen.'' The Exterior Affairs Minister later repeated Modi's allegations throughout two press conferences.
Modi has since repeated the allegations, together with in a marketing campaign speech in West Bengal on April 7, the place he alleged that Katchatheevu and the area of Kashmir, that are disputed by India and Pakistan, don’t matter to the Congress social gathering. Preserve.
Many analysts imagine that the BJP's determination to herald Katchatheevu is just aimed toward serving to it in Tamil Nadu throughout the elections. It is a state the place the BJP has little or no presence and didn’t win any seats within the 2019 elections. Tamil Nadu has 39 nationwide constituencies, every with a mean of 1.51 million voters.
Former BJP chief Sudheendra Kulkarni stated, “The truth that this difficulty has been raised in the midst of elections clearly reveals that this has been performed within the hope of garnering some help in Tamil Nadu, the place the BJP has no foothold thus far. The instances have failed.” Politician and present columnist, who served as Director of Operations within the Prime Minister's Workplace below earlier BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1999 and 2004.
Kulkarni stated the BJP's transfer was “neither good politics, nor good diplomacy and definitely not good neighborhood coverage”.
He questioned how Modi and Jaishankar may declare to have uncovered the “full fact” about Katathivu in 2024 once they had been in energy for the final decade and had entry to all papers on the topic.
He stated, “No matter details have come to mild have gone in opposition to the ruling social gathering. Modi has been Prime Minister for the final 10 years and for him to tweet that these are some new details have come to mild – how can the federal government be blind to the details when it has all of the sources at its disposal? Kulkarni requested.
What and the place is Katchatheevu?
Katchatheevu is a small, barren island protecting 115 hectares (285 acres) inside Sri Lankan territorial waters, situated 33 km (20 mi) off the northeast coast of Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. It’s situated southwest of Delft Island, Sri Lanka.
Throughout British rule, Katchatheevu was dominated by Ramnad Raja from 1795 to 1803. The island can be dwelling to the 120-year-old St. Anthony's Church, which hosts an annual pageant that pulls devotees from India and Sri Lanka.
Management over Katchatheevu has been a major level of dispute between India and Sri Lanka, significantly over fishing rights within the surrounding waters. At a press convention final week, Indian Exterior Affairs Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar stated Sri Lanka has detained greater than 6,000 Indian fishermen and 1,175 fishing boats over the previous 20 years.
Pradeep Chatterjee, convenor of India's Nationwide Discussion board for Small-Scale Fish Employees, advised Al Jazeera that fishermen have to keep away from taking a nationalistic stance in the direction of India and Sri Lanka and as an alternative “resolve this matter amicably”.
Late final month, the Sri Lankan Navy confirmed in an announcement that that they had detained 23 Indian trawlers and 178 Indian fishermen for allegedly fishing within the island nation's waters in 2024. On 4 April, 19 Indian fishermen had been launched by the Sri Lankan Navy and despatched again to India.
When did Katchatheevu grow to be part of Sri Lanka?
The dispute between India and Sri Lanka dates again to not less than 1921 and one survey positioned it throughout the maritime space then referred to as Ceylon, now Sri Lanka – a standing which British India held throughout the reign of the then Ramanad Empire. Protested citing the federal government. , The dispute continued even after the independence of each the international locations.
In 1974, India acknowledged Katchatheevu as a part of Sri Lankan territory in a maritime boundary settlement signed by Indian Prime Minister Gandhi and his counterpart Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
In keeping with a duplicate of the settlement obtained by Al Jazeera, the settlement allowed Indian fishermen and pilgrims to go to Katchatheevu with out the necessity for journey paperwork or visas. Nonetheless, the settlement didn’t specify the fishing rights of Indian fishermen within the waters round Katchatheevu.
Ashok Kantha, former ambassador of India to Sri Lanka, stated that the 1974 settlement led to additional agreements clarifying the maritime boundary with Sri Lanka. One such settlement in March 1976 acknowledged India's sovereign rights over the Wedge Financial institution – a ten,300 sq. km (4,000 sq mi) trawl fishing web site – and its wealthy sources.
In comparison with Katchatheevu Island, Wadge Financial institution is taken into account one of many richest fishing grounds on this planet, being situated in a strategically extra necessary a part of the ocean. The settlement additionally gave India the precise to discover the Wadaj Financial institution for petroleum and different mineral sources.
Kantha stated, “The 1974 settlement positioned Katchatheevu on the Sri Lankan aspect of the IMBL (Worldwide Maritime Boundary Line), however it additionally paved the way in which for the 1976 understanding, which acknowledged India's sovereign rights over the Wadaj Financial institution and its wealthy sources. Gave.”
Nonetheless, the 1976 settlement prohibited fishermen from each international locations from fishing in one another's territorial waters.
What do Tamil Nadu events say on Katchatheevu?
Tamil Nadu's two largest events, the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), have lengthy been advocating reclaiming the Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka.
In 1974, when India ceded Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka, M Karunanidhi, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, wrote to Gandhi explaining how the land was traditionally a part of the territory of the Ramnad Empire.
Nonetheless, the BJP right now accuses the DMK authorities of colluding with the Congress in handing over the island to Sri Lanka.
In 1991, the Tamil Nadu Meeting adopted a decision demanding the reclaiming of Katchatheevu Island. In 2008, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, from the AIADMK, approached the Supreme Courtroom to annul the 1974 and 1976 agreements.
However amid the present controversy, each AIADMK and DMK have criticized the BJP for elevating the Katchatheevu difficulty forward of the overall elections.
What have Modi and BJP stated earlier than?
Within the wake of the controversy, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi accused Katchatheevu of inconsistencies within the Modi authorities's place, citing a 2015 RTI reply from the Ministry of Exterior Affairs. Jaishankar, now the exterior affairs minister, was the highest profession diplomat within the International Workplace at the moment.
Jaishankar's ministry stated in 2015, “It (the 1974 settlement) didn’t contain the acquisition or cession of territory belonging to India because the territory in query was by no means demarcated.” Below the settlement, Katchatheevu Islands “Positioned on the Sri Lankan aspect of the India-Sri Lanka Worldwide Maritime Boundary Line.”
In 2014, after Modi got here to energy, Lawyer Normal Mukul Rohatgi advised the Supreme Courtroom that Katchatheevu was given to Sri Lanka on the premise of a bilateral settlement in 1974 and “now to reclaim it, we have now to go to conflict.” can be”.
What would be the impression on India's relations with Sri Lanka?
Harsh V Pant, vp of research and international coverage on the Observer Analysis Basis, stated the dispute wouldn’t hurt India-Sri Lanka relations, however revisiting settled points like Katchatheevu wouldn’t be within the curiosity of both aspect.
“Tamil Nadu is a crucial state the place BJP is contesting elections now. Subsequently, it is vitally pure for the BJP to make use of all of the out there points that come its solution to attempt to discover a place in a state the place it has no presence and this difficulty is one in every of them.
“The BJP management appears to be highlighting the opposition's previous mismanagement on this difficulty, however I don't assume there’s any intention to alter the way in which the dispute was settled many years in the past. So, I believe it’s unlikely to proceed even after the elections,” Pant stated.
He stated, different governments perceive the compulsion of electoral democracy and lots of issues are stated throughout elections that are forgotten later. So I believe we have now seen that the Sri Lankan authorities shouldn’t be actually intervening on this matter.”
On 4 April, Sri Lankan International Minister Ali Sabri advised an area tv channel that Colombo noticed no want to debate the matter additional, calling it a settled matter.
Former Indian diplomat Kalarikal Pranchu Fabian stated that except India tries to renegotiate the Katchatheevu settlement with Sri Lanka, home politics across the island is not going to have an effect on bilateral relations.