Maldives, in full Republic of Maldives, also called Maldive Islands, is an independent island country in the north-central Indian Ocean. It consists of a chain of about 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks (some 200 of which are inhabited), grouped in clusters, or atolls.
The archipelago was inhabited as early as the 5th century BCE by Buddhist people, probably from Sri Lanka and southern India. According to tradition, Islam was adopted in 1153 CE. Ibn Baṭṭūṭah, a notable North African traveller, resided there during the mid-1340s and described conditions at that time, remarking disapprovingly on the freedom of the women—a feature that has been noticeable throughout Maldivian history.
The Portuguese forcibly established themselves in Male from 1558 until their expulsion in 1573. In the 17th century the islands were a sultanate under the protection of the Dutch rulers of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and, after the British took possession of Ceylon in 1796, the islands became a British protectorate, a status formalised in 1887. In 1932, before which time most of the administrative powers rested with Sultans or Sultanas, the first democratic constitution was proclaimed, the country remaining a Sultanate. A republic was proclaimed in 1953, but later that year, the country reverted to a Sultanate.
The Constitution of the Maldives was adopted in 2008. The head of state and Government is the President, assisted by a VicePresident and a Cabinet. The President and the Vice-President are directly elected by universal suffrage to a maximum of two five-year terms. The Cabinet consists of the VicePresident, Government ministers, and the Attorney General. With the exception of the Vice-president, the members of the Cabinet are appointed by the president.
India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multidimensional relations. India was among the first to recognise Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with the country.
India established its mission at the level of CDA in 1972 and Resident High Commissioner in 1980. Maldives opened a full-fledged High Commission in New Delhi in November 2004, at that time one of its only four diplomatic missions worldwide.
The Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in particular, has walked the extra mile, as part of the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, through India-funded development projects on the one hand and intelligencegathering and sharing, on the other. At the height of the Covid-19 first wave, India launched a direct cargo ferry service between Kulhudhuffushi and south Indian ports of Thoothukudy and Kochi, to save time and add-on freight charges for goods and services for local Maldivians.
In the overall context, not necessarily specific to any region in the country, the Indian security assistance has covered both the ocean front and domestic concerns of Maldives, where selective Islamic orthodoxy has now acquired terrorist tendencies.
The May 6 targeted bomb-attack on Speaker Nasheed, the nation’s first democratically-elected President, is only the latest, but may not be the last. India and the Maldives have had bilateral relations for centuries. Technology has made connectivity
easier for everyday contact and exchanges. Maldivian students attend educational institutions in India and patients fly here for super-speciality healthcare, aided by a liberal visa-free regime extended by India.
The country is now a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others. Given the geographical limitations imposed on the Maldives, India has exempted the nation from export curbs on essential commodities.
Through the decades, India has rushed emergency assistance to the Maldives, whenever sought. In 1988, when armed mercenaries attempted a coup against President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, India sent paratroopers and Navy vessels and restored the legitimate leadership under Operation Cactus.
The 2004 tsunami and the drinking water crisis in Male a decade later were other occasions when India rushed assistance. At the peak of the continuing Covid-19 disruption, India rushed $250-million aid in quick time.
New Delhi also rushed medical supplies to the Maldives, started a new cargo ferry and also opened an air travel bubble, the first such in South Asia. It has promised more, as and when required.
However, recent protests in Maldives against India’s influence in the country calling for “Indian military out” have led the Maldives Government to respond by reiterating its ‘India First’ policy.
This has highlighted the difficulties that both countries face in building a stable strategic partnership while also addressing popular sensitivities. It’s not something that India has been good at elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
Maldives is a small island state located right in the centre of the Indian Ocean. Despite a population of only 500,000, its location, astride the main sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, gives it considerable strategic significance. For centuries big powers have sought to build influence there and deny its use to rivals.
Maldives has come to international attention in recent years as part of growing rivalry between India and China. The former President Abdulla Yameen, who was seen by many as dangerously close to China, was ousted in an electoral landslide in 2018.
The new government under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih proclaimed an ‘India First’ policy, which is now being tested as he seeks to reconcile India’s growing presence against a tradition of fierce independence in Maldives.
Trouble in Paradise: Rise of extremism
On 21 June 2022, an angry extremist bob disrupted the Yoga Day celebrations in Male, Maldives. The Maldivian police suspected the involvement of local Islamic scholars and the opposition party, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in this violence. This unpleasant episode indicates the extremist challenges and threats that the Maldives continues to endorse.
The violence on Yoga Day is a mere example of this thriving and sustaining extremist ecosystem. It is no secret that several extremist organisations had opposed the Yoga Day celebrations by deeming them un-Islamic. But a strong political dimension emerged with former President Abdulla Yameen;s sharpened religious rhetoric against India.
On June 11, Maldives witnessed a mega bike rally with thousands of participants protesting against the anti-Prophet remarks made by some BJP officials. The popularity of this rally might have motivated Yameen to use religion to mobilise Maldivians against India.
Following the event, he has begun to extensively address India’s domestic problems and communal disturbances in his rallies. This tactical change was necessary for him, as his ‘India Out’ movement is criminalised and has failed to have a wide appeal.
It is no coincidence that Mohammed Ismail—a PPM official and a crucial propagator of the ‘India Out’ moment—was detained with other local Islamist leaders for allegedly being involved in the Yoga Day violence.
With this nexus and mutual interests, the ‘India Out’ moment has perhaps reached a more critical juncture or has even started taking a more extremist leap.
As Yameen uses religion to seek legitimacy for his anti-India rhetoric, the extremists see this as an opportunity to ‘Islamicise’ and ‘radicalise’ the society against the alleged Indian threat to Islam and the Maldives; or even worse, to influence Yameen’s policies show that if he wins the next elections, the prevalent extremist ecosystem will continue to thrive and sustain in the island nation in the near future.
This is not to say that the subsequent Maldivian governments have not acknowledged or acted against the prevalent extremist challenges. But, to even start with the basics of the success, the elites will have to dismantle their extremist supply chains and ecosystems.
