Many celebrities have been tweeting for the past few days about boycotting the Maldives. The hashtag “#boycottMaldives” is trending nowadays. Let’s see in detail the reason for the hashtag Boycott Maldives. The Maldives is a famous beach destination, and during the COVID pandemic, lots of Indian celebrities went there, sharing pictures in bikinis or showing off their six-packs. They used to hype up the Maldives a lot. Now, these same celebrities are upset with the Maldives because politicians there spoke badly about India.
The issue started when our Prime Minister visited Lakshadweep. The politicians in the Maldives criticized India harshly. They said things like “In India, everyone goes to the toilet outside”. To be exact, the Maldives politicians said, “Indians shit in public.” The ministers of the ruling party in the Maldives spoke very poorly about India, asking if anyone would want to visit India.
These negative comments from the Maldives ministers have led to a lot of people being angry. Many Indian celebrities are now using the hashtag #BoycottMaldives to show their disapproval on social media.
Boycott Maldives Issue
Let’s look at the short history of this issue. If it’s causing trouble today, someone must have stirred things up a long time ago. Maldives is a very small country, only 298 sq. km in size – smaller than a big city in our country. It has 1190 small islands, with people living on 200 of them. Maldives gained independence in 1965.
Before independence, people from Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Kerala, and Karnataka settled in Maldives. This happened around 1000-2000 years ago. The Cholas once captured the Maldives, and later, the Maldives converted to Islam. The Dutch, Portuguese, and British came and controlled the Maldives. In 1965, Maldives gained independence from the British and became a Commonwealth country like India.
From the 1980s, India has been a big support to the Maldives. In the 1980s, there was a revolution, but it wasn’t the people fighting – it was the politicians. Mercenaries from Sri Lanka came to help overthrow the Maldivian government. Maldives’ rich people wanted a change, and India’s Para troopers went in to save the President. This incident strengthened the relationship between Maldives and India.
Over the years, India has helped Maldives during various crises, like providing water during a shortage and opening gates for Indian tourists during COVID-19. India also contributed to infrastructure projects in Maldives, including building the Indira Gandhi Hospital. India has been helping Maldives for the past 50 years, mainly because the location of Maldives in the Indian Ocean is strategically important.
However, recently, China has been investing a lot of money in the Maldives, building bridges and gaining influence. The previous pro-Indian president lost an election, and the current president, Mohamed Muizzu, is pro-Chinese. There used to be a policy called “India First” in the Maldives, but Mohamed Muizzu is now following a “Get Out India” policy. There are conflicts over agreements and expenses, creating tension between India and Maldives.
Boycott Maldives Trends on Twitter
At this time, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days back, went to Lakshadweep, which is in the middle of India and the Maldives. It is even more ecologically preserved. It is a particular set of islands with beautiful nature. In Lakshadweep, Malayalam is being spoken. Many of our Kerala, Islamic brothers are living there. So, the prime minister goes to this particular Lakshadweep island. He signs a lot of projects for Rs. 1150 crores. He made that agreement to improve Lakshadweep. In the Maldives, there are 1190 islands. 200 of them are inhabited by humans. In Lakshadweep, there are 36 islands. Only 10 of them are inhabited by humans. The size of the island is very small. So, instead of exploring Lakshadeep as a tourist attraction. India focused on Lakshadeep to preserve and keep that safe. Modi not only went there and inaugurated it, he stayed there for a day. He was snorkeling there, he was taking photos there, and Modi posted all these photos on Twitter.
Recently, I had the opportunity to be among the people of Lakshadweep. I am still in awe of the stunning beauty of its islands and the incredible warmth of its people. I had the opportunity to interact with people in Agatti, Bangaram and Kavaratti. I thank the people of the… pic.twitter.com/tYW5Cvgi8N
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 4, 2024
People who see these photos will ask, is this Maldives? But that is India, Lakshadweep. There are so many beautiful islands in India. “Explore them too”, is the main purpose of all the photos and videos of PM Modi. This is getting blasted on Twitter.
A person named Mr Sinha is tweeting on Twitter. What he is tweeting is, “What a great ove! It’s a big setback to the new Chinese puppet govt of Maldives. Also, it will boost tourism in #Lakshadweep” This is a random account. The person is not a big celebrity or a big-powered government officer. But there are a few followers, around 50,000 or so. After tweeting this, many people continue to tweet like this. People in India are starting to talk about how beautiful Lakshadweep is. These tweets have triggered many ministers of the Maldives. In between these, the president of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu was in China.
In this situation, a Minister from the Maldives, Marian Shrine, caused a big problem by posting insulting tweets about Modi. Even though Marian Shrine’s tweet has been deleted, it was reported that she criticized Modi, calling him a puppet of Israel.
Another minister, criticized Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep, saying that India is focusing on the Maldives and faces challenges in competing with the Maldives as a beach resort destination. Additionally, another minister, Malsha Shareef, is said to have made critical remarks. Because of this, many Indians are sharing photos of Lakshadweep on social media, claiming it’s a better tourist destination than the Maldives. They are using the hashtag #BoycottMaldives to express their displeasure, leading to a conflict between the two countries. Actors like Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut, and former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad have tweeted to condemn the Maldivian ministers.
After this incident, many people in India canceled their flights and hotel bookings for the Maldives. A travel company mentioned that they would exclude the Maldives from their packages altogether. The actions of Maldives politicians sparked significant discussions on Twitter. As the conversation gained momentum, the External Affairs Minister of the Maldives stated, “We did not make fun of India.” He clarified that it was the personal opinion of the politicians involved. In response to the controversy, three ministers in the Maldives were suspended.
