Changes Brought in Lakshadeep Under New Administrator Sparks Outrage

Thiruvananthapuram:

Some of the alterations made by the Lakshadweep's newly-appointed Administrator Praful K Patel have angered or alarmed a broad portion of Kerala, including celebrities, politicians, social media users, and the general public. 

Many of those seeking his recall claim that the changes he has taken since taking office in December 2020 are detrimental and "target" the country's predominantly Muslim minority. The BJP, on the other hand, claims that they were solely intended to put an end to politicians' "corrupt practices." 

President Ram Nath Kovind and several Kerala politicians have written to the Centre, stressing the longstanding connection 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 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. 

Mr. Vijayan was referring to Mr Patel's administration's decision to limit boats and dhows from Lakshadweep to Mangalore, Karnataka, rather than the customary destination of Beypore harbour in Kerala's Kozhikode district. 

Even if only nominally, the Arrakal royal line of Kannur in Kerala has possessed Lakshadweep as part of their inheritance for centuries.

"Implementing the Goonda Act in a region where law and order and crime are non-existent, opening up alcohol trade among a people who do not consume it…they may seem like Tughlaqian changes, but, clearly, it is an anti-Muslim anger that is sweeping like a cyclonic storm," former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said in a Facebook post.

Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP, said Mr Patel's measures were "destroying a peaceful part of the country" in a tweet.

This series of tweets perfectly throw light on the crisis the archipelago of 36 islands is facing. 

Furthermore, before Patel took charge, the group of islands that make up Lakshadweep had been COVID-free for about a year. Until the 24th of May, the archipelago had had 6,847 COVID-19 cases and has been under extreme lockdown for the past two months.

The proposed Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (LDAR), which gives the administrator the ability to remove or relocate inhabitants from their property for town planning or any other developmental activity, has also sparked controversy on Twitter.

"According to the people of the island, the unplanned and unscientific altering of the standard operating procedure has led to the current surge in Covid cases in Lakshadweep, where not even a single case was reported in the year 2020," wrote CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem to President Ramnath Kovind, alleging that Mr Patel's authoritarian rule was "increasing unrest among the people" of Lakshadweep. 

"The undemocratic and anti-people regulation in the name of 'Animal Prevention' which intends to ban slaughter, transportation, selling or buying of beef products is one among such orders," he added. 

Hibi Eden, the Congress's Ernakulam MP, wrote to both the President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing alarm about employment losses and even the loss of representative governance. 

 According to the National Family Health Survey 2019-2020, Lakshadweep has a fertility rate of 1.4, which is one of the lowest among all Indian states and union territories. Yet, Eden alleges that one of the new proposal "makes any person with more than two children ineligible to contest Panchayat Elections." 

He went on to say that the decision to eliminate non-vegetarian food from the menus of anganwadi children was harsh and unwelcome. 

Prithviraj Sukumaran, Saleem Kumar, and Geetu Mohandas, among others, have expressed their displeasure.

Prithviraj Sukumaran claimed he has been getting frantic messages from people in Lakshadweep, "pleading" to call public attention to what is going on there in a Facebook post that was shared by numerous key politicians.

"What I do know for sure though, is that none of the islanders I know, or none of those who've spoken to me are happy with what's happening," he wrote.

 "My heart goes out to each and every one who reached out to me. Their cries were desperate, real," said Ms. Mohandas, whose critically acclaimed 2019 directorial debut "Moothon" was mostly shot on the islands. 

According to PTI, BJP national Vice President AP Abdullakutty, who is also the party's in-charge of Lakshadweep, said that the opposition MPs are protesting because Mr Patel has made steps to prevent "corrupt practises" among politicians.

On Twitter, the hashtag #SaveLakshadweep trended throughout the day. 

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