People in Lakshwadweep are protesting over a slew of controversial reforms announced by the new administration led by Bharatiya Janata Party’s Praful Patel. The BJP leader, appointed as the administrator of Lakshadweep in December 2020, is facing opposition over policies introduced by him from the people of the Union territory and politicians, both from within Lakshadweep and the neighbouring state of Kerala. Since taking over as Lakshadweep’s administrator, Patel has been making tweaks in the local administration. However, locals have termed the reforms as “anti-people” in Lakshwadeep, which largely has a Muslim population and is heavily dependent on fishing.
AMN / NEW DELHI
Communist Party of India has demanded the recall of ‘anti-people and authoritarian’ Lakshadweep administrator. Party general secretary D Raja in a statement said that his CPI noted with anguish and indignation the anti-people and authoritarian acts of Lakshadweep administrator Praful K Patel.
“The BJP government at the Centre has been misusing the constitutional authorities including the governors to implement its Hindutva agenda and topple democratically elected governments. It has been doing so in West Bengal, Puducherry, other states and UTs. The latest is its misuse of the administration in Lakshadweep”, he said.
Lakshadweep is an island and the majority of the population there is of Muslims. The administrator has started dictating what the people of the island should eat. The people are annoyed, angry and upset over the happenings.
The Party wants the President of India, who is the constitutional head and custodian of all statutes must take note of the misuse of official machinery by the BJP government. President must take steps to end anti-constitutional moves.
Several leaders from Kerala have written to the Centre and even President Ram Nath Kovind, citing the traditional ties between the island group and Kerala.
“The news from Lakshadweep is very serious. The situation there poses a challenge to the life and culture of the people inhabiting in the island. Such moves are unacceptable,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday during his daily press briefing.
“We know Lakshadweep and Kerala have a connection since long. All over Kerala, we can see students from Lakshadweep. As per news reports, now there is a deliberate, malicious attempt to distort this connection. This is part of narrow interest. It is condemnable,” he said.
Protest over controversial proposed reforms
After Praful Patel took charge as the Administrator of the island, he came out with drafts of several reforms such as the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation, Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation and amendment to the Lakshadweep Panchayat Staff Rules.
The Development Authority Regulation appears to be quite a contentious reform, and according to a report in The Hindu, hundreds of the islands’ residents have written to the Administration opposing it. This reform, which once in effect, would allow for “orderly and progressive development of land in both urban and rural areas and to preserve and improve the amenities thereof; for the grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land; to confer additional powers in respect of the acquisition and development of land for planning”. The regulation would also allow for building, engineering, mining, quarrying and other such operations on the ecologically rich and sensitive islands under its definition of “development”.
Further, under this proposed regulation, the regulation also allows for a ‘plan’ which will indicate land or zones that can be identified for parks, industries, residential or commercial use, national highways, arterial roads and so on. Under section 72, it also gives power to the Planning and Development Authority to evict anyone who is found to occupy land under a final scheme formulated under the proposed law. “If the Planning and Development Authority is opposed or impeded in evicting such person or taking possession of the land from such person, the District Magistrate shall, at the request of the Planning and Development Authority, enforce the eviction of such person or secure delivery of possession of the land to the Planning and Development Authority,” the draft says.
Patel has also allegedly given orders to widen the roads and raze houses, despite the fact that Lakshadweep has very few vehicles and mostly only two-wheelers.
“We are happy to have wider roads, but when they propose to widen existing small roads by destroying houses on either side, how can we agree?” questioned National Congress Party (NCP) Lakshadweep President, Bunyamin. “The islands already have space constraints. Many families will just have one house, what if they lose that? Some islands are just 500 meters wide, so if they acquire land to widen, these people will have to live by sea,” he told TNM.
Attempts to sever links with Kerala
Located around 150 to 200 nautical miles from Kochi, the ten inhabited islands comprising Lakshadweep have a population of over 60,000 people, of which the Muslim population is categorised as Scheduled Tribe. Almost all the islands speak Jeseri, a dialect of Malayalam (the only exception is Minicoy, where they speak Mahal), and from medical facilities to higher education, the islanders largely depend on Kerala.
However, according to some, the Administrator’s new decisions are also allegedly meant to cut Lakshadweep’s links with Kerala. In his letter to the President, Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, Elamaram Kareem wrote, “The administration has also decided that the islanders should no longer rely on the Beypore port for freight transit. Instead, they should depend on the Mangaluru port for this purpose. This decision will also adversely affect Beypore, which is closely associated with the island since decades. Is is alleged that the decision is aimed at severing Lakshadweep’s ties with Kerala.”
Proposed beef ban
The Administrator has also allegedly closed down all dairy farms operated by the Animal Husbandry Department, and the draft law in the name of ‘animal preservation’ intends to ban slaughter, transportation, and selling or buying of beef products. Islanders also say that Patel has also directed to cut the non-vegetarian menu from midday meals.
“It is not that we were self-sufficient, we were dependent on the mainland. But that doesn’t mean that we can be taken for granted. Things were all fine until December 2020. Now they say that our children won’t get non-veg dishes as their midday meals. Until now, over the years, kids were served with non-veg dishes. Unlike in the mainland, we don’t get good vegetables here. Non-vegetarian food and beef are a part of our culture,” Fathima, a resident of Minicoy, told TNM. “Every celebration we gather together in the village houses. We don’t have celebrations at home even during Eid. When these amendments are implemented, we will not be able to have a peaceful life.”
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also took cognizance of the issue on May 24. Calling the reports coming from Lakshadweep “serious”, he said that that situation is a threat to life and culture of the islands’ residents. “Lakshadweep and Kerala have a close relationship […]. Kerala and Lakshadweep are mutually dependent. Through education, employment, medical treatment and trade we are connected to each other. But now, there are attempts being made to destroy this connection. Such stands are taken on narrow thoughts. The authorities should withdraw from such attempts,” he said.
Other moves that have residents concerned
The administrator has also allegedly destroyed sheds where fisherfolk kept their nets and other equipment on the pretext that these violated the Coast Guard Act. These buildings had been constructed under an exemption provided to the fisherfolk, and are now being destroyed without warning, Elamaram Kareem said in his letter. About 38 anganwadis have been closed, and 190 people were terminated from the Tourism Department along with educational institution staff. Many were expelled from the Department of Animal Welfare and Department of Agriculture as well.
“Hundreds of contract labourers working under various departments of the union territory have lost their jobs, and every day there are orders to terminate casual and contractual staff from different government offices,” Syed Mohammed Anees, the Lakshadweep Student Association President, said.
While jails and police lock ups of the islands are empty due to the negligible crime rate, the administration also allegedly plans to implement the Goondas Act in Lakshadweep. “If this Act is brought, they can put anybody who protests in jail. Basically they want to silence us and bring all kinds of privatisation, which will totally harm the sanctity of the Islands,” Ali, a resident of Kavarati Island, said.
Another law that was proposed in Lakshadweep is panchayat regulations to make those with more than two children ineligible to contest panchayat elections. One Twitter user, who also tweeted #SaveLakshadweep questioned the need for such a law when the total fertility rate of Lakshadweep is 1.6, well below the upper limit of 2. Island residents have alleged that this law has been brought in to avoid many prominent leaders taking part in the elections.
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