Over the past few days, the serene and peaceful Lakshadweep is amid increasing political unrest with administrator Praful Khoda Patel receiving severe outrage from the islanders. Due to certain rules and mandates brought forth by Patel, a severe state of unrest is witnessed in Lakshadweep.
The allegations against Praful Khoda Patel
Lakshadweep is an archipelago in the Arabian Sea which is one of the nation’s union territories which is governed by an acting administrator. The current serving administrator is Praful Khoda Patel, a veteran politician who served as Gujarat Home Minister during Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s regime.
Patel as an administrator is alleged by opposition to have brought about reforms that will destroy the culture of the archipelago and “saffronize” it.
According to the local citizens, the reforms introduced by Patel will completely destroy the culture of the island which is for the most part covered in forests and whose population is for the most part in the scheduled tribe category.
What is going on in Lakshadweep and why is it relevant?
To understand the unrest and all that’s going on, we must understand what Lakshadweep’s population, its culture, and what impact the new reforms brought by Patel will have on these aspects.
Draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation 2021
Currently, the region holds the lowest populous in the nation with just 65,000 people living in 10 of its 36 islands. The population growth rate is as low as 6.23% which is far lesser than the national growth rate of 17.70%. In a place with such figures, the locals are considering Administrator Patel’s move of introducing a reform called the Draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation 2021 which seeks to ban parents with more than 2 children contesting elections, quite appalling.
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Lakshadweep Development Authority and its consequences on the island
Patel has also introduced a regulatory body called the Lakshadweep Development Authority which will oversee the construction of highways and expansion of the current highways at Andrott Island, the largest one in Lakshadweep. This region has a maximum width of a tad more than 1 kilometer with the entire surface area being just 32 kilometers.
According to locals, the decision to form a development authority which will cut trees, forests and destroy natural habitat to build highways and other tourism attracting sites is unfair on the residents of the island and the island itself.
According to the locals, another issue with LDA is that it will empower the administration to take over lands without any prior consultations with the stakeholders and owners. This department is seen by the native islanders as a way of the governing body to seize the lands.
Anti-Social Activities Regulation Bill: Goonda Act on a Peaceful Island
Another reform for which Patel is getting a lot of flak is the creation of the Anti-Social Activities Regulation Bill 2021. According to this law, the State will have the authority to detail any person from the island for a maximum of 1 year without disclosing it to the public.
Patel’s way of dividing the territory over religion
These above laws and reforms aren’t the only ones for which Patel is considered someone who’s turning Lakshadweep into autocracy. Another rule, called the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation & Regulation 2021, mandates a license for killing animals and will most likely not be given to those who make use of cows for agriculture, breeding and meat consumption.
Further, the islanders, who are primarily Muslim, don’t consume alcohol and prior to Patel, alcohol was only consumed on Bangaram, a tourist friendly island. However, Patel announced that alcohol will be available in 3 other islands as well. When one adds the beef ban in a Muslim-dominated community and the availability of alcohol, one could clearly see that Patel is making an attempt to split the island over religion.
Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal on May 26 alleged that the Administrator was setting up anti-citizen regulations and asked PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to listen to the outrage of the local citizens of the island-union territory. Faizal was quoted by ANI saying-
“The Central government should recall this administrator. This is the demand of the people. We do not want to give the issue any communal colour. We are fighting for our people. Patel is trying to implement only anti-people laws and regulations.”
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