The issue of Kachchativu Island is once again in the news. The reason for this is an appeal made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to PM Modi and the retaliation by the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party on it. The CM of the coastal state has appealed to Prime Minister Modi to directly intervene to resolve the long-standing Kachchativu island dispute. This dispute can be resolved by his doing so. Apart from this, Stalin has also called upon PM Modi to release the Indian fishermen imprisoned in Sri Lanka and the seized boats.
Stalin appeals to the PM while taking a dig at the Center.
The Tamil Nadu CM has also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing politics on this issue. He alleged that the BJP-led central government has failed to protect the fishermen of Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years. Not only this, it is politicizing the Kachchativu issue without taking any concrete action. He stressed that the Center should take concrete action in this direction. Only the direct intervention of the Prime Minister can bring a permanent solution to the Tamil fishermen.
Why did Jaishankar not refute Sri Lanka's recent claims?
During this, Stalin also asked a big question. He asked why External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has not refuted Sri Lanka's recent claims on this issue. Recently, Sri Lanka's Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda had commented that Tamil Nadu fishermen often encroach. He also said that Colombo will not return Kachchativu island.
BJP retaliated
BJP has retaliated to his statement. BJP spokesperson Narayan Tirupati reminded him of old things and said that Kachchativu was handed over to Sri Lanka in 1974 when the Congress was in power at the Center and the DMK in Tamil Nadu. He taunted that the DMK shared power at the Center for 14 years, but did nothing on this issue then. On the contrary, we have ensured in our government that the Sri Lankan Navy does not open fire, while about 1,000 fishermen were killed during the Congress rule.
On the question of auctioning the Indian fishing boats seized by Sri Lanka and harming the livelihood of Indian fishermen, Narayana Tirupati said that talks are going on. We have held several rounds of talks between the affected Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen and Indian Tamil fishermen. But unless you talk to them and find a solution, this problem will not end.
In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi handed over Kachchativu Island to Sri Lanka.
Kachchativu is a small island in the Palk Strait, which connects the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. The 285-acre green area belonged to India till 1976. However, there is a disputed area between Sri Lanka and India, on which Sri Lanka claims rights today. In fact, in 1974, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed four maritime boundary agreements with her counterpart Sri Lankan President Srimavo Bandaranaike between 1974-76. Under these agreements, Kachchativu Island was handed over to Sri Lanka.
What is the importance of Kachchativu Island?
This island was of strategic importance and was used by fishermen. However, Sri Lanka continued to claim this island. This issue emerged when India-Sri Lanka signed the maritime boundary agreement. In 1974, talks were held between the two countries about this island on 26 June in Colombo and on 28 June in Delhi. In these two meetings, this island was handed over to Sri Lanka with some conditions.
Then the condition was kept that Indian fishermen would be able to use this island to dry their nets and people of India would be allowed to visit the church built on the island without visa. The agreements marked the international maritime border of India and Sri Lanka. However, this agreement was strongly opposed by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi.
During the active years of the separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan government had restricted the easy movement of Sri Lankan fishermen in the waters, raising issues of military operations. In 2009, Sri Lanka began to tighten the security of its maritime border in the Palk Strait. With the end of the conflict with the LTTE in 2010, Sri Lankan fishermen again started their movement in the Palk Bay and regained their lost territory.
What is the dispute over this island in India?
Several governments in Tamil Nadu have refused to accept the 1974 agreement and have been demanding to reclaim the island from Sri Lanka. In 1991, a resolution was brought against the agreement by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, through which the island was demanded to be reclaimed.
In 2008, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa moved the Supreme Court against the Center and appealed to cancel the Kachchativu agreements. He had said that the two treaties between the countries that gifted Kachchativu to Sri Lanka are unconstitutional. Apart from this, in the year 2011, Jayalalithaa once again got the resolution passed in the assembly.
In May 2022, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had demanded at a function in the presence of PM Modi that Kachchativu island should be reclaimed by India. He had said that the fishing rights of traditional Tamil fishermen should remain unaffected, so this is the right time to take action in this regard.
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