The Centre Must Intervene Urgently In Lakshadweep
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-06-06 14:05:31
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
93 retired top civil servants from across the country, emphasizing that they are not affiliated to any political party, have written to Prime Minister Modi about what they termed as "disturbing developments" in the tiny Union territory of Lakshadweep.
So why is Lakshadweep, having a population of under 65000, in the eye of a storm?
It is because the UT Administrator Praful Patel, handpicked for the job by the Prime Minister and seen to be close to both Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, has introduced several draft rules that have raised shackles in the archipelago. The islanders, led by MP Mohammed Faizal, have protested against these 'unilateral and undemocratic' measures some of which they say are not rooted in ground reality and others are against the cultural ethos of the UT or will disturb the ecological balance.
Introducing the draft prevention of anti-social activities regulation (or the so-called Goonda Act) in an area that, as per data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), has zero cases of murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery and dacoity, is incomprehensible. The said regulation would give sweeping powers to the administrator and the police to arrest anyone even on suspicion to prevent them 'from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order'. This is a draconian regulation that must not be made law.
Then, despite the fact that nearly 95% of the population of the UT comprises of Muslims, the administration has put in place a beef ban and has struck of non-vegetarian items off the menu of mid-day meals being provided in government schools.
The administration also proposes to enact a rule that will disqualify anyone having more than two children from being a member of any Panchayat committee. Population data shows that the growth of population in Lakshadweep is below the national average. Then what is the need to introduce this restrictive rule?
Then, in the name of development, a draconian regulation, the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021, is proposed that can take away the land of any islander if the administration wishes to carry out development work there, which includes mining or tourism. This does not give a thought to the property rights of the islanders or the ecology of the area.
The biggest charge against Patel is that he is carrying out all of this unilaterally without consulting with any representative body of the islanders, the local MP or even the panchayats. Patel says he wants to make Lakshadweep a global tourist attraction on the lines of Maldives. He also says he wants to improve the 'pitiful' state in which the islanders live. These are noble intentions but the manner in which he is trying to impose himself is not right. He should have a consultative process and follow democratic norms before introducing far-reaching changes. The Centre must intervene urgently to ensure that these draft regulations are junked.
