Is it a necessity to militarize the Lakshadweep Islands?

(siddharth01.roy@gmail.com)

15 years ago, our maritime security wasn’t that robust. And as a result, the November 2008 Taj Mahal attack took place. An investigation was done, and it was found out that the terrorists had used the Arabian Sea route to get into Mumbai. This terror attack exposed significant gaps in India’s maritime security. What if these terrorists had gotten into the islands of Lakshadweep and planned an attack to capture them instead of Mumbai? It would have been a disaster. After the Mumbai attacks, the government of India understood the sensitivity and importance of the coastal region of India. The Indian coastline is very long and measures around 7516.6 km. Thus, they took the decision to secure the coastal areas that lead to the mainland of India. The Government of India has also placed its focus on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as the Lakshadweep Islands.

If we look at the history of the Lakshadweep Islands, there aren’t any written sources as such. There are a lot of local folk tales that attribute the first settlement on Lakshadweep to the period of Cheraman Perumal of Kerala. Lakshadweep also finds mention in the accounts of the famous Arab traveller Ibn Battuta. In the 16th century, the Portuguese captured the Lakshadweep area and settled there. And by the 18th century, parts of the Lakshadweep Islands came under Tipu Sultan, the great ruler of Mysore, and eventually these groups of islands came under the control of the British after the Third Anglo-Mysore War, where Tipu Sultan lost. Lakshadweep islands didn’t have any identity of their own initially and were considered a part of the Madras presidency and the Malabar coast. After India’s independence on August 15, 1947, these islands were organised into a separate Union Territory during the reorganisation of Indian states by the State Reorganisation Commission in 1956. According to the 2011 census, these islands are inhabited by around 64,429 people. Since it is a Muslim-dominated region with an almost 93% Muslim population, Pakistan wanted Lakshadweep to join them, but the people voted to stay with the Union of India. If we look at the geography of Lakshadweep, it is made up of 36 islands that form an archipelago in the Arabian Sea. It is considered to be a part of the Chagos Archipelago and consists of twelve atolls, three reefs, and five submerged banks. Lakshadweep is around 400 km from the state of Kerala, and around 4 lakh square kilometres of exclusive economic zone are in and around it. To keep an eye on enemy ships and to keep a check on piracy, the Lakshadweep Islands play a very important role. Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa, is around 2992 km from Lakshadweep, and there was a time when Somalian pirates used to terrorise the Arabian Sea. Piracy activities in the surrounding areas can be easily monitored using Lakshadweep, and this is necessary because the principal trade route passes through Lakshadweep, forming a critical chokepoint. Through this trade route, Europe, the Middle East, West Asia, and the South East perform crucial trade. Moreover, it also connects the Gulf of Oman and Gulf of Aden with Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia, forming a global shipping lifeline for world trade.

India can and needs to take steps to develop intelligence-gathering capacity in the Lakshadweep Islands. Lakshadweep is as important as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the Indian Navy. With the rising influence of China in the Indian Ocean and nearby water bodies, the Indian Government is taking multiple steps to build military bases in Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. China has significantly expanded its engagements in the Indian Ocean region and the South China Sea over the last few years. Moreover, China is also making significant political and diplomatic investments in several strategic island nations like Sri Lanka and the Maldives. China recently made investments in the Maldives with the motive of expanding their military presence there, as accessing the mainland of India is easier due to its close proximity, and they can also create obstacles in India’s supply lines, especially oil supplies. China is also trying to strangle India from all sides with its “String of Pearls’’ policy, which refers to a geopolitical theory of the network of Chinese intentions in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Chinese investments in ports in neighbouring countries are being seen as a threat to India. Lakshadweep can also prove to be a strategic asset to tackle the threat posed by Pakistan in the Arabian Sea, and the only way to achieve this is by creating a military base in the region. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India already has a military presence with the Army, Navy, and Air Force stationed there who participate regularly in war exercises with other countries. But if India increases its military presence in the Lakshadweep Islands as well, it will bolster India’s defence capabilities and, in the process, be able to tackle the evil intentions of China and Pakistan.

India increased its coastal security regime after the 26/11 attacks, and the government of India also focused on securing the Lakshadweep Islands. In 2010, the then Defence Minister AK Antony commissioned a Coast Guard station in the capital Kavaratti and Minicoy Island, which boosted the presence of the Coast Guards in the region. In 2012, INS Dweeprakshak was commissioned at Kavaratti, along with a third coast guard station on Androth Island. On this island, in 2016, a naval detachment was set up for surveillance and to monitor the activities in the region. These activities are to be reported to the apex government institutions. To focus on the recent developments and steps taken by the Government of India, a 2,500-metre-long airstrip at Minicoy Island is being planned, which has close proximity to the Maldives and also India’s largest naval base, i.e., Kochi Base. A close watch can be kept on the Lakshadweep Islands and the surrounding waters from this Kochi naval base. India is also developing a dedicated military base at Agalega, near Mauritius. The Government of India, on the other hand, is also trying to develop Lakshadweep from a tourism perspective. But there are many defence experts who want Lakshadweep to become a dedicated strategic defence island like the Snake Island of Ukraine. It is high time that India understands the importance of these islands in forming stringent maritime strategies, as these islands can be a theatre of India’s power performance in the oceans.