'Authoritarian' laws in India's Arabian Sea Islands anger local Muslims

Tourists and residents on a boat in Arabian Sea near Lakshadweep Islands. Photo by Biju Ibrahim.

DELHI — Local Muslims in Lakshadweep, an archipelago of 36 islands and islets some 200 miles off the southwestern coast of India, are pushing back against new controversial Hindu-first regulations supported by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Over the last few months, ever since the appointment of the administrator Praful Khoda Patel—  considered a close aide to Modi— authorities in the territory have proposed controversial orders that include a ban on eating beef and opening liquor shops and bars. Locals allege the new proposed regulations threaten the culture of the Muslim-majority territory and are aimed at furthering the Hindu nationalist agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has governed the country since 2014.

The central government has also introduced a new regulation that changes the land ownership and usage laws in the territory and gives unchecked powers to the authorities to remove and relocate the natives for “developmental” purposes. It provides sweeping and arbitrary powers to the government to acquire the land of the natives to build roads, railway lines and other infrastructure projects. The laws resemble the sweeping changes the Modi government enacted for the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, which included downgrading its status as a state with semi-autonomous rule to a Union Territory.

Patel proposed the laws without consulting elected representatives from the territory, local elected bodies or stakeholders, Syed Md. Muad, a resident of the Lakshadweep Islands, told ReligionUnplugged.

“It is aimed at capturing the land resources of the local people, while violating all existing land revenue regulations of Lakshadweep,” Muad said. "As per the new laws the land and house owners have to apply for land possession and ownership every three years and any failure to do this will lead to the imposition of taxes of very high magnitude. This is the style of functioning of the Administrator Praful Patel as he wants to create a fear factor in the minds of the people.”

Elected Representatives of a local village council of Amini Island in Lakshadweep protesting after passing a resolution against the new policies introduced by a BJP administrator. Photo by Dweepdairy.

The Patel administration also plans to introduce the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation, more commonly known as the “Goonda Act” in India, which allows the government to detain anyone in prison without a trial for up to one year. As per the draft of the new Act, the order will be valid even if one or some grounds of detention are “vague, non-existent, non-relevant, non-connected or not proximately connected with such a person or invalid for any other reason whatsoever.”

Lakshadweep interestingly has some the lowest crime rates in India. Locals from the picturesque islands claim the “draconian” laws are aimed at targeting Muslims of the region who form 97% of the total population.

Residents believe they are being punished for participating in protests last year against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Modi government in 2019. The controversial Act expedites the process of attaining citizenship for religious minorities from three neighboring countries but excludes Muslims and led to widespread protests particularly by Muslims across the country before the COVID-19 lockdown began.

A senior government official from the Islands wishing not to be named for fear of repercussions told ReligionUnplugged that the new regulations are “communally motivated” and are also designed to help corporations who want to capture the tourism dollars spent in the Islands.

"It is some sort of a political game which seems to be backed by the centre (federal government)," the official said.

"In the last five years we had political representatives from the BJP, appointed by the central government, but those administrators didn’t interfere with the issues of the locals, and also they carried out the developmental works with the consultations of the local representatives,” he added. “They never have these kind of controversial reforms on their mind. But this time the motives seem to be different.”

The controversial regulations have not gone well even with the region's local BJP unit. Eight members of the party’s youth-wing resigned following the government's plan to introduce the new regulations.

With a population of close to 70,000 people, Lakshadweep, which joined India in 1956 after the reorganization of several states in the country, is India’s smallest Union Territory.

Mohammed Kasim, General Secretary of the BJP's Lakshadweep unit, confirmed that the party members oppose the new laws and are a part of “Save Lakshadweep Forum”, an amalgamation of various political parties in the territory, which aim to launch a joint agitation against the “draconian” policy changes.

"Yes, we [local BJP members] are also part of ‘Save Lakshaweep Forum’,” Kasim said. “It is time to stand with the people. We want development but without consequences.”

Locals fishing at the coast.The main occupation of the people in Lakshadweep is fishing, coconut cultivation and coir twisting. Photo by Biju Ibrahim.

He added that he hasn’t heard from any central BJP members about the local BJP representatives opposing the proposed law.

The village-level elected representatives of the Union Territory have declared that they won't work with the central administration as they believe the new regulations threaten their existence.

"All the local bodies are boycotting all the meetings called by bureaucrats installed by the administrator," Dr. Muneer Manikfan, Vice-Chairman of the Minicoy local council, told the Religion Unplugged.

Although the government says that the new regulations are aimed at promoting the islands as a tourist destination on par with the Maldives, Manikfan believes it would destroy the ecologically and environmentally sensitive Lakshadweep islands.

"We have different geography and population (than Maldives),” Manikfan said. “The proposed laws are not talking about a sustainable development model. We can't just blindly replicate what is being done in the Maldives.”

The authorities in the archipelago also aim to bar people with more than two children from becoming part of local governing councils called Gram Panchayats, a move aimed at disqualifying Muslims, who are often stereotyped in India as having large families. Hundreds of employees have already lost their jobs ever since the new administration led by Patel took over. Two hundred marine watchers employed under the Forest and Wildlife Department were recently terminated by the government.

The opposition parties have slammed the BJP for failing to address concerns of the locals.

Ali Akbar, state president of the youth wing of the opposition Congress Party told ReligionUnplugged that 24 workers of his party were arrested for protesting against the government.

"All the parties in Lakshadweep are united to fight against the government till there is a reconsideration of these laws," he said.

Hanan Zaffar is a journalist covering India and Indian administered Kashmir. He has reported extensively on South Asian politics, Kashmir conflict and Indian minorities for organisations like VICE, Al Jazeera, DW News, Newsweek, Middle East Eye, TRT World, The New Arab, The Diplomat, Caravan Magazine and other national and international organisations. He can be found mostly roaming in the alleys of Delhi and Kashmir.