Lakshadweep

 Lakshadweep, formerly (1956–73) Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, union territory of India is a collection of 36 dweep or islands, with people residing only in 10 dweep, with major population only in 4 dweep. In total it would stretch to 32 kms. The Union Territory was formed in 1956 and it was named Lakshadweep in 1973 means "one lakh islands" in Malayalam. People from Malabar region  are mostly found here. Minicoy dweep has Mahi language, but other islanders speak Malayalam - Agathi island has airport, there are helipad in Kawarti. Lakshadweep has the lowest population ranking in India, with just about 65,000 people inhabiting 10 of its 36 islands. Lot of coconut, fishes and tourism is the main occupation here. Need prior approval to enter Lakshadweep. The most important person here is Administrator. There is one MP from Lakshadweep. It comes under Kerala High court's jurisdiction. Nine degree channel is through which Ship pass from Persia to south East Asia. 

Importing Gujarati politicians as administrators, who were always IAS officers had an agenda which is obvious. Protests are on in the island against the new law reforms introduced by administrator Praful Patel, including easing of COVID restrictions and implementation of the Goonda Act. Islanders allege that the goons’ act was undemocratic on an island where no crime was reported.  Under UT Administrator’s rule Lakshadweep went from COVID-free to 66% positivity rate by 13 May. Now Govt has proposed draconian law empowering it to take land of islanders. The Administrator has taken many unpopular steps since he took office. We should also not forget that he was named by late MP @MohanDelkar in his suicide note. The demand is to withdraw all the anti-islander laws from Lakshadweep & replace the Administrator.  Months of strife, misguided efforts, and the use of official muscle for policies of exclusion resulted in the present crisis.Many people have started protesting against this including film personalities. #SaveLakshadweep campaign has been trending on social media since May 23. Many prominent personalities and celebrities have come forward in extending their support to the campaign, Here is a tweet :

There has been lot written against Prithviraj about this, saying how he was caught fabricating stories to discredit Lakshadweep reform. It speaks about how Anarkali director faced difficulty to get permit for shooting saying the movie was un-Islamic. How did the people there know even before shooting that the movie to be shot is un-Islamic? To get permit, will the director tell that even if it was? And in Anarkali Prithvi was just an actor, he had the climax of his own film as director Lucifer, shot there. 

The residents of Lakshadweep and political parties have launched a #SaveLakshadweep campaign demanding the recall of administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

Praful Khoda Patel, who is the administrator of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, was given the additional charge of Lakshadweep in December following the death of then administrator Dineshwar Sharma. Praful is a BJP leader from Gujarat and had served as the Minister of State for Home in the Narendra Modiled state government in Gujarat for two years

1. Prohibition of slaughter without certificate from competent authority

Praful Patel has proposed the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, 2021, which bans slaughter of the cow, calf, bull and bullocks. Animals should be slaughtered only at places specified for the purpose. The sale and purchase of beef and beef products are banned under the proposed law. Persons who slaughter animals without a certificate are liable to be punished with imprisonment extending to one year and a fine of up to Rs 10,000. Besides, in February, mutton and chicken were removed from schools’ midday meal menus. Children had been provided nonvegetarian meals at Anganwadis till then

2. Land regulations

The draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation proposes changes in the existing land ownership and usage by giving sweeping, arbitrary and unchecked powers to the government to directly interfere with the islanders’ right to possess and retain their property. It empowers the government to pick any land for development activities Activities including building, engineering, mining, quarrying and other operations have been listed under development activities

3. Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2021

The proposed law gives powers to detain a person without any public disclosure for a period of up to one year. Locals fear that bill will pave the way for detention without a trial and say that such a harsh law is not required. The island has a negligible crime rate, all the more reason why the law is suspect

4. Bar on election contest

The draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation, 2021 says if a resident has more than two children, he/she cannot contest a panchayat election. “No person who has more than two children shall be a member of a gram panchayat or continue as such...” the draft text of the regulation says

5. Plan to allow sale of liquor

The administrator allowed sale of liquor at hotels and resorts in three islands in the name of tourism promotion. The Muslim majority island territory has remained a nonalcoholic zone for decades. Liquor sale was allowed only in Bangaram islands till now. Liquor was not allowed in other islands and travellers were not allowed to carry liquor

6. Winding up of dairy farms

Dairy farms operated by the Animal Husbandry department have been shut down. On May 21, dairy farms of the local government were also ordered shut; all animals are to be auctioned by May 31

7. Coastal regulation

The island administration has demolished huts erected by fishermen along the coastline alleging violation of Coastal Regulation Zone and Coast Guard Act. These sheds were built by fisherfolk to keep their nets and fishing gear. The sheds were constructed under an exemption provided to the fisherfolk

8.Cargo diverted to Mangaluru

The administration has diverted freight transit to Mangaluru, ending the trade ties between the islands and Kerala. The islanders depend on ports of Beypore and Kochi for logistics and medical facilities

9. Termination of services of employees

Services of hundreds of contract labourers working under various departments of the Union territory have been terminated. Casual and contractual workers of various government offices have been dismissed. The recruitment rules will be reviewed where the educational qualifications do not match the latest developments

10.Change in SOP for emergency evacuation

The administration has changed the standard operating procedure for emergency evacuation of patients. As per the order, all uncomplicated orthopaedic cases including hip fracture should be sent by ship. Medical officer should ensure that no cases other than emergency one are referred to for transfer by special sortie helicopter

11. Covid spread

Lakshadweep had remained a Covid-19 green zone during the first wave of the pandemic, with the first case being reported only on January 18, 2021. Protesters allege that the changes in quarantine and travel rules effected by the thennew administrator led to rapid spread of the coronavirus disease.

The islands have so far reported 7,111 cases, of which 2,320 are active. As many as 26 people have died due to the disease

WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW

The Lakshadweep administration has called an all-party meeting on May 27 to discuss the issues raised by residents. Representatives of the Congress, NCP and BJP will attend the meeting, which will be held online. The Congress has written to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention in recalling Patel. People of Lakshdweep have approached United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, as well as the United Nation’s Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, against the actions of the new administrator.

The draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) is a proposed regulation to provide for the development of towns in Lakshadweep. It is to be enacted by exercising powers conferred by Article 240 of the Constitution, under which the President has the power to make regulations for the peace, progress, and good government of the Union territory of Lakshadweep. The power of the President to legislate under Article 240 is so immense that, any regulation made thereunder may repeal or amend any Act made by Parliament which is for the time being applicable to the Union territory and, when promulgated by the President, shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament which applies to the territory. The Regulation provides several provisions for the development of townships, acquisition, alteration, and transfer of the landed properties owned by the residents of Lakshadweep. Further, it proposes to impose restrictions on the use of landed properties in Lakshadweep. As per Section 5 of the Reg the Government may, by notification declare any area in Lakshadweep to be a "Planning Area" for the purposes of the Regulation, and on such declaratiothe Regulation shall apply to such area. One may note that the "Government" here means the Administrator of Lakshadweep appointed by the Presidentunder Article 239 of the Constitution. After the declaration of the Planning Area as per Section 5, according to Section 7, the Government, in consultation with the Prescribed Authority, may, by notification, constitute in respect of that area an authority to be called the "Planning and Development Authority" of that area to perform the functions assigned to it under the Regulation. The "Prescribed Authority" here means the authority notified by the Government as the prescribed authority. The functions of the Planning and Development Authority, include framing and implementing "Development Plans" and "town planning schemes" for the Plan According to Section 26, within one month of the coming into operation of any Development Plan, any person aggrieved by any provisions contained there may make an application to the District Court questioning the validity of the Development Plan to the extent it is inconsistent with the provisions of the Regulation. It is also stated therein that, other than the aforesaid, the Development Plan shall not, either before or after it has been approved, be questioned in any manner, in any legal proceedings whatsoever.

The proposed new rules in Lakshadweep are aimed at the betterment of the islanders and a misinformation campaign is being unleashed by some vested interests to portray the administration in poor light, S Asker Ali, the Collector of the Union Territory said. In the first official response after the controversy over sweeping new rules in Lakshadweep emerged, Lakshadweep Collector S Asker Ali told a news conference in Kochi that though Maldives and Lakshadweep have similar features, the former was miles ahead in terms of tourism growth. "The idea is to propel tourism in Lakshadweep islands, helping the local economy and providing better jobs for the people," he said. "The things (protests) that are happening right now do not reflect the sentiment of the residents of the islands," he said. On the proposal to allow alcohol sales and consumption in the islands, Ali clarified that alcohol availability will be restricted only for the tourism industry. Explaining the initiatives by the administration, the collector said new hospitals are being set up at Kavaratti, Minicoy and Agatti while internet connectivity is boosted through the submarine optical fibre cable network. The Agatti airport is being modernised, he said. The removal of meat in the mid-day meal scheme is to include fish which is readily available on the island. "This will also help the local fishermen, who could find ready demand for their catch," Ali said. Instead of meat, egg and fish have been included in the mid-day meal scheme. On the Goonda Act, he said though the island is relatively peaceful, there has been a trend of growing crime rates. The aim is to nip such criminal tendencies in the bud. On the Covid front, he said the administration has vaccinated nearly all the people in six islands. Efforts are also on to establish oxygen plants in the island, the Collector said.

MP Subramanian Swamy reacted over the renaming of Motera stadium as Narendra Modi stadium. He wrote, ” PTs is there any leader of a nation allowing a stadium to be named after himself ? My research so far shows only two: Saddam Hussein and Gadafi. That is an ill omen. Did Nehru, Mao or Idi Amin? Modi must demand that his name be removed and Sardar Patel’s name restored”. Our PM by his (mis) deeds is time and again proving to be akin to Saddam Hussein and Gadafi, they were many who liked and followed them and Hitler too!  There are various ways in which things can be done, why always choose backbiting? Cancel all parliamentary dealings, and have the rubber stamp president pass all the bills! Any election loss, try and see how the state can be penalized.