Lakshadweep, fact behind current crisis

Nowadays, lots of news is coming about Lakshadweep on social media, the series of reforms happening there and against its administrator Mr. Praful Patel.  Social media is abuzz with Lakshadweep and its news.  As usual, social media is divided.  Series of reforms were initiated by the present administrator Praful Patel in a short period.  It's too much for a small island state of Lakshadweep considering its population of only 65,000 and a land width of only 35 square kilometers. Many consider the reforms as draconian laws especially when it makes many people jobless, destroys sheds and shelters used by fisherman new eligibility criteria in contesting panchayat election.  All these are happening when the island is facing a severe spread of covid second stage spread.

Those who support the reforms point out that Praful Patel doing is exactly the need of the hour.  Their tourism industry there needs to be improved. The islanders for a long time wanted administration better tourist facilities in the island and now the administrator is trying to invest more than their anticipation and Praful Wants to make it a world-class tourist destination.  So he is doing the developmental activities which none of the predecessors were even able to think of.  In this way, social media is divided in the middle.  Those who support and oppose are so vigorous and fierce that many social media readers were a little confused.  If we require to clear this confusion, we require proper analysis of the reforms and later come to an impartial conclusion. For that, we first need to evaluate the policies which are introduced for the sake of tourist promotion and infrastructure upgrade.  It envisages world-class infrastructure and tourist promotional activities more or equal to that of Maldives.  So first we need to look into the highlight of Lakshadweep, its long and beautiful beaches, its peculiarity and, later understand what Maldives beaches stand for in this subject.  After studying the pro’s we then evaluate the cons of the reforms so that readers would fully understand what’s happening in Lakshadweep.

Why we are putting the Maldives in between is because Lakshadweep and Maldives are better complements.  Both are similar in many ways and the differences are almost nil.  The only difference I could find out is the language they use and the number of islands both Lakshadweep and Maldives have.  The Maldives uses Dhivehi while the Lakshadweep speaks Malayalam.  As the language has little importance in the current topic, we can skip this difference and conclude that both islands are the same in a geographical and social framework.

It will be more ideal if we look into the similarity. 

Both have very beautiful coastal areas. The sand is pure white and looks like a sugar spread.  This is mainly because the sand here is made from coral reefs.  Also, the depth of the sea is very low.  I have a personal experience, even if you walk right into the sea, you will find the same depth, around your chest level.  No wave formation so the sea always will be calm, safe and water will be crystal clear.  You can even see sands lying under seawater. The climate is dry, sunny, and perfect.  It’s just like the climate conditions of Kerala which foreign travelers love to enjoy.

As you read before, I had said there is no other differences Lakshadweep and Maldives have other than Language.  For the person who knows Maldives well might already started scolding me in comparing the Maldives to Lakshadweep and saying that Maldives and Lakshadweep are similar in many aspects.  One difference is there which I intentionally had not mentioned before and took it as suspense because I want to talk more about it.  It is the level of infrastructure facilities and the level of tourist development and the level of economic activities happening in both island groups.

It’s a sin to compare the level of economic activities happening between the two island groups.  Since I do not want to speak negatively, I would only say what Maldives has achieved over the years and how much income it is earning in tourism with the same sandy beaches both island groups have.

Maldives is an island nation comprising of around 1190 islands.  Of them, only 185 are inhabited and the rest are uninhabited or working as resorts.  The capital city is Male.  The distance between one end of the city to the other end is only 4 kilometers.  So you can cross the capital city in around 20 minutes by walk-in at normal speed. Its density of population is very high. 

Their revenue comes from fishing and tourism.  They have tourists coming from all parts of Asia particularly China, India Russia, Middle East and other European countries.  Though the country has its own currency, they charge tourists in American dollars.  Unlike India, whose development activities are totalitarian, which means comprehensive development of all the sectors, Maldives follows sector development and they promote more and invest more in the tourism sector. Though I am not wise enough to say which policy is good, surely feel the sector development model which Maldives uses is yielding a good dividend. The whole island nation is built entirely on tourism and tourism related activities.  

I previously mentioned many Indians are visiting Maldives as tourists.  Just google it and find how many Indians visit Maldives in a year.  I am sure you will be astonished.  There are many resorts in Maldives like paradise resort whose marketing strategy is India-centric and their business is mainly focused on Indian tourists.  In average for a 3 or four star resorts, the average daily rent for a deluxe room will be around 450 usd rate increases if we opt for higher options. If we calculate the average stay as four days, it will be around 1800 usd.  If we calculate 1800 usd to Indian money, it will be around 1.5 lakhs for two people. Can Indians afford to pay this much payment for four-day visit?  The answer is yes particularly after liberalization and with the opening up of Indian economy together with the boom in information technology.  Lots of Indians whether its honeymoon or family outing or big corporate hosting company programs, Maldives is happy to see more and more Indians visiting and nourishing their economy.  I wonder why India which has one-third of its land shares its boundaries with the sea opts for Maldives and paying high for the visit?  The answer to it is the reform measures Lakshadweep trying to undertake.

Though India is blessed with the abundant seashore, most of them are deep with high waves which is not to the taste of travelers.  But Maldives is not like that.  As I said before, Maldives has a calm and quiet seashore, with very low waves and low depth.  As said before, you can walk right into the sea but the water level will still remain below your chest level. Lakshadweep has exactly the same environmental conditions.  The only reason why its not popular is because we are not trying to market it. Even Indians require prior permission to visit the island.  When Maldives asking Indians to come there without any visa.  (Visa can be obtained on their arrival), India is asking to obtain prior permission for their own citizens to visit a part of their own country.  Also, it commonly said “its easy to obtain a visa to America than a permit to visit Lakshadweep.

Can Lakshadweep become an alternative to Maldives? 

The answer is yes if it is developed into world-class tourist destinations.  Roads needed to be modernized, seashore should be long, wide and clean, and without any encroachments.  No peanut sellers or tourist guides to tell us the glory of Indian heritage, if all this happens, it will surely be an alternative for Maldives and can earn lakhs of foreign exchange.  Moreover, its impact on the development of the Indian tourism sector, foreign investment, investment in the aviation industry, its support on the job market, and its social impact on the social fabric of island residents are beyond comparison.  Other than the people of Lakshadweep, Keralites will get more advantage in opportunities as it is very near to the island and both people use the same language, both have the same judicial jurisdiction most of the government offices which is set up for Lakshadweep is situated in Kerala.  Now, most of the protests against this reform are coming from Kerala itself. Let’s look into the reforms and the reasons for the protest.  Though there may be political reasons, we are not touching it as it is not good for us to tag politics here.

The first protest is the posting of the Administrator itself. 

They Allege he is a political person with saffron ideologies and is trying to impose Hindutva agenda through the policies.  Though it was right that previously most of the administrators were IAS officers, but it is never mandatory to say administrator should be nonpolitical. 

The government is appointing the administrator.  Surely the posting should be according to their interest and taste.  All the states in India get their governors from the political entity.  We have seen many appointing their wives or sons to the post of governors or administrators. Then we had no complaints.  Praful Patel, a Gujarati by birth is a very professional administrator and had proved his competence as home minister in the state of Gujarat. Also, there is no other complaint against him other than these reform measures, on the contrary, he was hailed by the island administration itself on several occasions for his pro developmental activities.

Another thorn of content is the liquor policy, the island follows a tradition of no liquor policy in their jurisdiction but these draft reforms allow the resorts to serve liquor for their quests in the resort. 

This is the policy of most of the states in India.  Gujarat state has a total ban on liquor in the state but the policy allows star hotels and resorts to serve liquor to tourists.  Serving liquor is very important for a resort to their guests to stay alive in the tourism sector.  Tourists come to the resort for a few days spending a huge amount, they prefer complete joy and recreation.  If we insist we won’t serve liquor to you, next time they will prefer other tourist destinations.  Those who support the administrator put some politics into it saying that the protest is because 99 percent of the population here are Muslims and they want to impose sharia laws on the island.  That criticism holds no point as many states in India and even Kerala has more Muslim population and these states follow the same law.  In Kerala, the government itself is part of the liquor business, running liquor distribution centers throughout the state.  Its the major revenue source to the state.  Since the liquor policy on the island is very categorical that liquor will be served only inside the resorts, we should welcome the decision and agree to see the larger interest.  Here Maldives can be an ideal model of comparison,  Here, liquor is prohibited,  no liquor outlets in the country but the government allows plenty of liquor imports by resorts for their clients.

Another complaint was that the administrator eased covid restrictions which was the prime reason for the increase in covid cases on the island.  This may be correct but it's also correct that no states in India follow the same covid policy which was started when the pandemic started and is continuing the same. 

Taking Kerala for example,   We had undertaken a complete crackdown on all economic and social activities and imposed triple lockdowns.  If a covid case was identified, he will be immediately taken to the hospital, and the rest of the treatment was under the government expenditure.  The whole area of his residence will be in quarantine.  Two to three nurses will be posted to treat a single patient. We used to sketch a route map showing the possible contacts and used to quarantine that area as well.  All these were done when the corona spread was zero.  Still, we continued this costly affair.  Kerala model was recognized worldwide and even got appreciation from UN.  Even an Italian national who spent his covid days in Kerala hospital once said his stay in Kerala hospital was his second holiday time and he and his family even refused to go back to Italy and wanted to stay in the hospital for more treatment. 

Another covid story is that nurses used to sing a song to the old couple who got infected covid.  Will the same nurse sings for the new patients in her hospital and will the same Italian if he was infected covid would like to spend the covid days in Kerala Hospital again?  Absolutely no because the government has changed the policies due to finance and finance alone.  Cost is beyond our capacity and the administrator has done the same.  Like other states, this administrator also found it impossible to continue covid policy without amendments.

Another outrage was the demolition of illegal constructions in front of the sea.  The administration felt that this illegal construction of encroachment is destroying the beauty of the land and privacy of the tourists and this demolition drive was part of the administration’s effort to clean Lakshadweep policy. 

The administration also points out that no residential buildings were demolished and those demolished were only temporary arrangements for the fishermen to park their boats on the shore. Though the government has the power and legal support to demolish illegal constructions, many public feels this eviction drive should have more humane involvement particularly at the time of covid spreading throughout the island.  The administrator lost an opportunity to garner support from the public if he had given more time and alternatives to the public who are losing their constructions even though its illegal.

Another thorn of content was that he is abolishing two dairy farms on the island which is supplying milk to the island.   Instead, he is allowing Amul, another Gujarat dairy product company to supply milk and milk products.  Though the measure of the administrator seems partisan and aimed to kill the dairy industry on the island,  those who support the administrator point out the cost involved in the production,  the major requirement, the grass which the cattle eats is not available in the islands.  They cannot cultivate grass in the islands due to geographical reasons.  So they need to bring the grass from nearby land, that is Kerala.  Kerala itself is relying heavily on Tamil Nadu for dairy products, so the Lakshadweep administration has to bring grass from other states which are very far and so is the cost involved.  So dairy farming is a stupid idea here.  Estimates suggest that cost of production of a liter of milk is around 850 rupees here on the island whereas the cost of milk in the retail market is around 50.  This is economically not feasible and hence, the administration’s decision to stop dairy farms should be hailed for saving public money.

Another decision to use Mangalore port for transfer of goods and services is also widely criticized.  This will affect Bepur port in Kerala as many of the essentials were shipped from this port.  But the supporters of the administration site economic factor here as well.  They point out poor infrastructure and storage facilities in Kerala Port.  Hence their cost of transfer is increasing.  Most of the commodities shipped were not produced in Kerala but its bought from Karnataka or Tamil Nadu so there is a double cost involved.  Cost of transfer of essentials from Tamil Nadu to Kerala Port incurs additional cost and the first request to change port was done not by the administrator; the decision was taken even before he took charge and the administrator implemented that decision only.

The above mentioned reforms can be viewed in a positive light supporting the administrator.  But a series of other reforms which he followed has some drawbacks and seems without any proper homework.  The first thing is, though he is sincere, he is doing too many reforms in a very short period particularly at the time of pandemic which is killing people and many people are losing their income due to job loss.

Lakshadweep is a peace-loving island.  Low crime rates, People are educated and truthful. The administration should have taken their confidence as well in the reforms.  The result will be more evident if he is getting more people’s support. 

The islanders are always supportive of reforms because they are the direct beneficiary of the boom in tourism activities there and infrastructure development.  The only issue here is that the administration is releasing reforms day by day and also some of the reform activities directly affect the livelihood of its citizens during pandemics.

The first one is the decision not to allow those candidates who have more than two children in public panchayat elections. Most of the households on the island have more than two children and hence most of the eligible contestants are losing a chance to contest elections.  This sudden implementation will only help to create a vacuum in the political sector which seems very childish and no other state is following these rules till now.  This leads people to suspect that the administrator might be having some hidden political agenda.

His decision to ban meat from lunch meals served in schools also took more people away to the opposite block which is against development policies.  What people eat is according to their geographical peculiarity. We cannot impose or dictate what the citizens should eat.  Thought the supporters argue that what he is following is the policies of the country as there is cow slaughter is prohibited in India.  But the public feels is that this law is against public interest and even if he wants to impose it,  should have done it at another time.  The urgency he is showing in implementing this can be viewed or grouped as suspicious.

Another unpopular reform is dismissing all contract workers employed in the government sectors.  This sudden move was a big blow to many families and around two to three hundred people lost their job and income when the country is reeling under recession due to covid crisis.  It can be argued contract workers do not have the legal support to challenge government decisions, but here as well, the urgency shown by the administrator is very suspicious.  What the islanders require is income stimulation and not pay cuts.  This kind of reform will only help to increase resentment in the state and this can easily be carried out to opposition block who tries to destabilize the economy and good reforms initiated by the administration.

Last but the most unpopular reform initiated by Praful Patel is Gunda Act.  This law is very strict, powerful and gives unlimited powers to the administration to detain those based on suspicion.  Also, many clauses present in the act is vague and not well defined. It states that cruel people can be arrested by this law.  It does not elaborate what is the interpretation of the term cruel in law.  This will allow the administration to arrest anyone by saying they are cruel people.  This law can be very easily misused and this reform is happening to a state where the crime rate is lowest in India.  Only three murders were reported till today.  It seems this reform will be relooked.  Reforms can be made at any time if the condition worsens, we can impose very strict Gunda act here, and what the need of the hour is a diluted and mild Gunda act that can serve the present circumstances.

 The major point to note is that all these reforms were only in the draft stage and are published to the public to air their view and suggestions.  It's not in the final stage or is not any law by now.  Surely there will be major amendments and public views will be incorporated and in the coming days, we will get more pluralistic and progressive reforms that aim development, development, and development only leaving others aside as they can wait some more time.  Development activities should not wait for more.  Already we have lost many years of development.  So all the islanders and the administration should come to a common ground and undertake immediate reform measures and infrastructure development. 

Its high time administration should understand no development will be truthful without public participation and will collapse in the time of contingencies.Also we as a public should view development as development only.  It should not be mixed with or should not allow other forces which may try to dilute it or try to postpone the developmental activities, be it a political interest, corporate interest or any religious interest.  Also the ultimate beneficiary of the reforms is islanders only.