Hindutva push behind making Lakshadweep the next Maldives?

Muslim women, who have on an average three children, could be possibly banned from contesting local elections in Lakshadweep

A string of decisions by Lakshadweep’s administrator and former BJP MLA from Gujarat, Praful Khoda Patel, has kicked up a veritable storm in a territory that barely ever features in mainstream discourse. Gujarat’s former home minister who is the central appointee to govern the atolls has banned the sale, transport and consumption of beef in Lakshwadeep. Anyone found to be killing, transporting or selling cattle can be imprisoned from anywhere between 10 years to life in jail. Under the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation (Regulation), authorities have been given unfettered powers to raid any premises where they think beef is being consumed or stored.

This could have a significant impact on Muslims in Lakshadweep who form 97 per cent of the population in the atolls. Beef is a commonly consumed meat of the islands with the meat being shipped from across the waters from Kerala where its sale and consumption is legal. The ban would hurt the trade of beef between Lakshadweep and Kerala. According to official statistics, half the population of the islands identified themselves as beef eaters with a per capita consumption of 1.2 kg of buffalo meat every month. The islands rank amongst the top beef eating areas in the country after states like Meghalaya where 80 per cent of the population are beef eaters.

In addition, reports suggest that the administrator is also looking at increasing the frequency of cargo ships between Mangaluru and Lakshadweep. At the moment, most of the cargo ships ply from Beypore in Kerala to the islands. Literally everything in the islands – from safety pins, tyres, bikes, food, FMCG etc is transported from Kerala. With a common language, traders in Kerala also act as an informal source of credit for buyers in the islands often providing loans on easy terms without paperwork. Many believe the move to divert cargo traffic from Kerala to Karnataka, where the BJP is in power is aimed at propping up a new set of traders. “Beypore is closer to Lakshadweep than Mangalore. Obviously, the cost of transport will go up. But more than that, Patel is trying to create new trade barriers which makes business difficult for traders in Kerala. Certainly the move is aimed at promoting vested interests in Mangalore,” said M A Mehaboob, secretary of the Malabar Chamber of Commerce.  

Patel’s move to use family size as a political weapon could effectively ban many Muslim families in Lakshadweep from contesting polls. Under the Draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulations, anyone who has more than two children would be disqualified from contesting local body elections.

Of the 64,000 people who call Lakshadweep home, Hindus number less than 2,000. Most of these are migrant workers. This is borne out by the fact that there are just 183 Hindu females on the islands. But there are almost 18,000 married Muslim women in Lakshadweep who an average have given birth to three children. Almost a third of all married Muslim women have more than four children. The new rule effectively shunts out many Muslim families in Lakshadweep from contesting local body elections. While their numbers are statistically insignificant, Hindu women have less than two children on an average in Lakshadweep.   

  

Amongst the most draconian of Patel’s moves is the proposed Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation. The bill seeks to ensure preventive detention of “bootleggers, dangerous persons, drug offenders, immoral traffic offenders, property grabbers, cruel persons, depredators of environment and sexual offenders for preventing their anti-social and dangerous activities.” The proposal gives the administration sweeping powers to detain anyone in a region where crime is virtually non-existent. Of the 36 islands in Lakshadweep, only 10 are inhabited with the largest island not being more than a few kilometers in area. Violent or organised crime is an aberration on any of the inhabited islands. It provides for any person to be detained for a year even if the detention orders are claimed to be “vague or invalid.” It gives Patel extraordinary powers to order for the detention of anyone on the islands for a year in addition to giving powers to the police to raid and search any place or ship, confiscate and seize property and other evidence that may be necessary to prosecute the detained person. It also provides blanket immunity to Patel and police officers from any kind of prosecution if the grounds of detention cannot be proved in the future. Any official ordering the preventive detention of anyone is assumed to be acting in “good faith” while being given complete immunity for wrongfully ordering someone’s arrest.

 

“These proposals are anti-constitutional and anti-people. They have been brought to subjugate a certain section of citizens in Lakshadweep. There is no intention to promote anyone’s welfare” said Hamadullah Sayeed, former Congress MP from Lakshadweep and son of late Lok Sabha speaker PM Sayeed.

These proposals have kicked up a storm in the mainland. The Kerala assembly has moved a resolution seeking removal of Patel as Lakshadweep’s administrator. Sensing widespread dissent against the draft proposals, home minister Amit Shah has reportedly sought to reassure people in the islands that any new laws would be finalised only after widespread public consultations.

Perhaps what has piqued the interest of many is Patel’s move to end prohibition in the islands. There has been a ban on sale of alcohol in inhabited islands of Lakshwadeep for decades now. There is only one resort in the uninhabited island of Bangaram where a liquor licence has been given to a private operator. Politicians have called out Patel’s double-standards on repealing prohibition when his own home state of Gujarat doesn’t allow the sale of liquor. Sayeed said, “The Congress had put prohibition in place in inhabited parts of Lakshadweep to prevent drunken law and order problems either by tourists and locals. In such small islands, alcohol can create massive health and social issues. We had allowed alcohol in uninhabited parts where tourists could enjoy a cold beer and the pristine beaches. This administrator is hell bent on disturbing peace in Lakshwadeep.”

Patel’s officers have defended his moves as a way to fully exploit Lakshwadeep’s tourist potential. Local collector S Asker Ali told the press, “After 75 years of Independence, development isn’t commensurate with its potential. Why didn't Lakshadweep become the Maldives of India? To start proper development in Lakshadweep, we want to do it holistically as these islands are exotic. Our plan is for the welfare of local residents and Lakshadweep's development. We want to develop Lakshadweep like Maldives if not better.”

Maldives like Lakshadweep is predominantly Islamic but the sale of alcohol is banned across the islands as per tenets of Islam. However, resorts and hotels are allowed to sell liquor to tourists who visit the island.