India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

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chetak
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by chetak »

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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

From: Hindustantimescom: .Experts fear biodiversity loss in Andaman, Nicobar Islands
Information uploaded on the Union environment ministry’s Parivesh website suggests that multiple infrastructure projects are being considered by an expert appraisal committee (EAC) and a coastal regulation zone (CRZ) committee.

A slew of infrastructure projects have been proposed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to give a major boost to tourism and business there, according to information released by the central government. While these will transform the islands substantially, experts are worried that this would cause loss of biodiversity and have a negative impact on the indigenous people in the ecologically sensitive islands.

Information uploaded on the Union environment ministry’s Parivesh website suggests that multiple infrastructure projects are being considered by an expert appraisal committee (EAC) and a coastal regulation zone (CRZ) committee. Some of these projects include luxury tents and resorts on some islands; two water aerodrome projects in Shaheed and Swaraj islands (formerly Neil and Havelock islands, respectively); two major township and area development projects on the Great Nicobar Island and Little Andaman, one of which is also likely to involve denotification of a tribal reserve.
All of this will involve massive land use change in the islands. On May 28, the CRZ committee considered an application by Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) to waive off a condition under the CRZ clearance granted to them for developing luxury tents in Aves Island on a public-private partnership mode. One of the CRZ conditions was that all large, medium, and small trees will be counted and geo-referenced and not felled. But now ANIIDCO is seeking an amendment to this clause so that trees may be felled if required.


“As a chairman of the committee, I cannot comment on what was discussed or what amendments are being made to the conditions,” said Deepak Apte, chairman of EAC on CRZ.

Documents show that the Andaman and Nicobar Coastal Zone Management Authority (ANCZMA) has recommended that the condition be waived off. “ANCZMA is retracting its mandatory precaution by claiming that environment impact assessments do not include ‘tree canopy issues’. Review of proposals under CRZ notification requires scientific rigour and legal basis. They cannot be turned into regulatory convenience resulting in the abdication of responsibility, as has happened in the present case,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal researcher, Centre for Policy Research, a think tank.

On Friday, the EAC on infrastructure projects also considered the development of a water aerodrome at Shaheed Island by the Airports Authority of India. Documents available on Parivesh say that a mangrove patch is present 0.9 km to the west of the project site. Only last month, the EAC had raised several concerns about the ecological impact of constructing a water aerodrome at Swaraj Island that would have resulted in the loss of 3,500 square metres of forest land transferred to ANIIDCO. The environment impact assessment report says that the site for the construction of the terminal building (1,568.9 sqm) and associated infrastructure (453.3 sqm) falls partly in mangroves.

Two township projects on the Little Andaman Island and the Great Nicobar region conceptualised by Niti Aayog will also be constructed by ANIIDCO.

Niti Aayog’s vision document on sustainable development of Little Andaman, seen by HT, says that a certain portion of the 442.5 square kilometre area reserved for the Onge tribe will be de-notified for the Little Andaman township, and another area earmarked for the tribe. “The de-notification of the tribal reserve is being considered by the tribal welfare department,” said a senior ANIIDCO official, refusing to be identified.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands chief secretary Jitendra Narain did not respond to HT’s queries.
HT reported on May 12 that EAC recommended the Great Nicobar township proposal for grant of terms of reference. Documents revealed that the project was likely to impact turtle and megapode nesting sites and coral reefs. EAC also said that the environmental aspects of the site having many endangered species weren’t given much weightage while selecting it.

Kartik Shanker, professor at the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Ecological Sciences and a specialist in community ecology and macroecology, and turtle biology, said the islands host tremendous marine biodiversity. “Development is definitely needed in the islands, but it needs to be ecologically sensitive and culturally conscious. These are some of the most important repositories of our biodiversity and ecological heritage and any development must minimise ecological impacts and benefit local communities,” said Shanker.

Great Nicobar is home to several endemic species such as the Nicobar megapode and the Nicobar tree shrew.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by RajaRudra »

For Islands and Border regions, the only thing that should be considered and reasoned is only the security. If that requires implementing the existing law or enacting a new law, so be it.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Philip »

From a former administrator of LDW.

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a ... 684315.ece
LEAD
A ‘reform wave’ Lakshadweep could do without
Wajahat HabibullahMAY 31, 2021

Though there is room for improvement, the archipelago does not need the measures announced by its administrator
Praful Khoda Patel, a former Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister who took additional charge as Administrator, Lakshadweep, in December last year, is in the news for having introduced a slew of draft legislation that will have a wide-ranging impact on the islands: the Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation, 2021; the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation (PASA); the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation, 2021 and Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021. Addressing the media in the face of widespread criticism of these measures, Mr. Patel says he intends to develop Lakshadweep like neighbouring Maldives, “a renowned international tourist destination”.

Adding to this, the Collector of Lakshadweep, S. Asker Ali (a young IAS officer from Manipur) says, “It was only in 2017 that the Centre constituted the Island Development Agency under the Home Minister for the development of the islands. Since then, we have been working on developing town and country planning norms.”

ALSO READ;
Lakshadweep | Between the sea and a hard place

The IDA framework
Mr. Ali should be aware that a specially constituted Island Development Authority (IDA) for the island territories of India, chaired by no less than the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, had, in Kavaratti in 1988, approved a framework for the development of India’s island territories. It held the view that “an environmentally sound strategy for both island groups hinges on better exploitation of marine resources coupled with much greater care in the use of land resources”. Published in 1989, the report carried six recommendations for Lakshadweep (Cecil J. Saldanha, Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep: An Environmental Impact Assessment) . At this point, I must highlight that Lakshadweep was an assignment that I consider to be the most enriching in my career — I was Administrator, Lakshadweep, 1987-90.

Talking Politics With Nistula Hebbar | Resentment in Lakshadweep over new law proposals
Upon the conclusion of my term, the Union Territory had its own decentralised political entity from the adoption of panchayati raj much before the constitutional amendments of 1993, in which the Island Development Council, at the apex of the local government, was mandated to advise the Administrator on development; its own airport, and a flourishing tourist industry, with an international tourist resort in Bangaram. According to its first franchisee, Jose Dominic, this facilitated ecotourism in Kerala.

A paradise set in the Arabian Sea, the archipelago of Lakshadweep also gives India a vast and exclusive economic zone with three distinct ecosystems: land, lagoon and ocean. Fishery is a primary occupation here. The language, except in Minicoy, is Malayalam; in Minicoy, Mahl is spoken, a language akin to the 17th century Divehi of the Maldives.


ALSO READ
Bitter turf war unfolding in Lakshadweep

The society in all islands is matriarchal. The religion is Islam of the pristine Shafi school of law. When Islam came to the islands is debated. According to Prof. Lotika Varadarajan, “The thesis... that Islam was introduced not from Malabar but from Yemen and Hadramaut may be accepted in relation to the Maldives but not Lakshadweep... On the other hand, social conventions, dress and the position accorded to Thangals within the community all point to the Mappilas of Malabar as progenitors of present-day Islam in Lakshadweep.”

Vatteluttu was the earliest script used with its heavy Sanskrit component and this system of autography is in evidence in the sailing manuals of local pilots (malmis), on inscriptions on tombstones and those in some mosques/pallis. With the introduction of Islam, Arabi-Malayalam, with Malayalam in Arabic script and associated with the literature of the Mappilas that developed on the mainland, also came into use on the islands.

Editorial | Imperious missteps: On Lakshadweep restrictions

I was a part of the team accompanying Rajiv Gandhi while on his first visit to Lakshadweep in 1985. Together with his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar islands, Rajiv Gandhi was concerned about the development agenda for these ecologically fragile territories — an agenda hitherto dictated by a faraway government to a design set by the Union Planning Commission, and without so much as a reference to the people most concerned, the residents of the islands.

A ‘no’ to the Maldives model
Deliberations of the IDA wanted that Lakshadweep, with its land ownership constitutionally protected, be opened to international tourism not as a means of generating wealth for investors from the mainland but to bring prosperity to the islanders. Specifically rejecting the Maldives model, the plan for Lakshadweep required that the industry had to be people-centric and enrich the fragile coral ecology. Lakshadweep today has rainwater harvesting facilities, first introduced in government buildings on every island and now accessible in every home. Solar power, which covers 10% of lighting needs, makes Lakshadweep a pioneer in India’s present flagship initiative. All islands have been connected by helicopter service since 1986, and high-speed passenger boats were purchased in the 1990s by an international tender. A study by the National Institute of Oceanography found practical applications, helping a redesign of the tripods reinforcing the beaches against sea erosion, and ensuring piped water supply especially designed to draw from the fresh water lens that, in every coral island, floats on the saline underground seawater at the core of every coral island, so as not to disturb the slim lens.

‘Corporate mindset’ driving administrator’s action, says Lakshadweep MP

The islands boast total literacy. Minicoy had among the country’s first Navodaya Vidyalayas. Kadmat has a degree college that was designed by K.T. Ravindran, an authority on vernacular building traditions, who was to become dean and professor and head of the department of urban design at New Delhi’s School of Planning and Architecture. Vernacular building traditions are the theme of all government housing projects undertaken in the islands in the 1980s, with leading architects providing the designs. Kavaratti has a desalination wind-powered plant gifted by the Danish government. And although the poverty line in terms of GDP is only slightly higher than the World Bank’s poverty threshold, Lakshadweep today has no poor people; they have a high calorific consumption from plentiful foods harvested from the lagoons and islands.

The office of the Administrator, Lakshadweep was also among the first in India to be computerised with a mainframe and fax machine; every island in Lakshadweep had a computer by 1990. Endorsed with outlays by the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Finance Commissions (1984-2005), this established, in the words of the last of these Commissions “speedy and accurate generation of accounting information that might be needed for purposes of better planning, budgeting and monitoring”.

ALSO READ
Hibi Eden, MP, and T.N. Prathapan, MP, protesting in front of Lakshaddweep administrative office in Kochi on Wednesday.
Data | Beef ban, liquor sales, 'goonda act': a storm over Lakshadweep islands

Admittedly, there is much room for improvement. Today, long lines and refrigeration have aided the expansion of the fishing sector but income disparities have grown. Indiscriminate trawling endangers the coral, as experienced in the Maldives and now banned there. The Government recognises the need to develop policies for enhancing employment opportunities, environment-friendly management of fisheries, sanitation, waste disposal and widening access to drinking water, with the youth, having acquired a modern education, preferring salaried jobs over pursuing traditional occupations. None of this requires any of the measures announced by Administrator Patel.

Revenue from tourism has declined with the closure of resorts (including at Bangaram) from litigation. A clear policy must include conservation and natural resource management arrived at after wide consultation, eminently possible within the existing infrastructure of the Union Territory, and also taking into account climatic compulsions. Maldives is hardly a suitable model. Water bungalows — an expensive concept and also hazardous to the coral — favoured by the NITI Aayog, would collapse in Lakshadweep’s turbulent monsoon. It should be noted that a wooden jetty installed at the diving school in Kadmat needs to be dismantled every monsoon.

Obtuse plans
But, ostensibly, in the pursuit of ‘holistic development’, using the ‘claim’ that there has been no development in Lakshadweep for the past 70 years, Mr. Praful Patel has proposed a cow slaughter ban in a territory where there are no cows (except in government-owned dairy farms) :rotfl: , a preventive detention law where there is no crime, and also steps to undermine tribal land ownership, with judicial remedy denied, with also plans for road widening on the islands where the maximum road length is 11 km. More insidious is the provision to allow the mining and exploitation of mineral resources which could convert the islands into a hub for cement manufacture.

Also read | Lakshadweep’s proposed two-child norm for panchayat polls ‘flawed’

Other initiatives by Mr. Praful Patel include panchayat rules designed to restrict the population growth in a territory where, according to the National Health and Family Survey-5 (2019-20), the total fertility rate is 1.4 (which is far behind the national average of 2.2) and relaxing prohibition, extant in the Union Territory because of public demand. Worse still is the relaxation of quarantine restrictions for travel which have introduced the novel coronavirus into a pandemic-free archipelago. The developments only lead one to suspect that there is something sinister being planned. Is the game plan to altogether supplant Lakshadweep’s human habitation with cement factories?

Wajahat Habibullah, a former IAS officer, was India’s first Chief Information Commissioner, and thereafter Chair, National Commission for Minorities

PS:Is Pol Pot Patel wanting to emulate the late Sanjay Gandhi with his population reduction drive just because the local population is overwhelmingly Muslim? How racist can this joker get?
Last edited by ramana on 02 Jun 2021 10:02, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Struck off offending rhetoric Ramana
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Arima »

cement manufacturing? is that the conspiracy theory doing round now?
Mainland has lot more limestone quarry to satiate even China. cement from coral island is last thing Center would do.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by arshyam »

Right, so Phillip sir, we are supposed go by a 30 year old perspective, eh? That too from the stables of a paragon of objectivity like the Chindu?

Btw, what about the perspective of the current collector? Is he also racist?
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

Philip wrote:Mr. Praful Patel has proposed a cow slaughter ban in a territory where there are no cows (except in government-owned dairy farms) :rotfl: , a preventive detention law where there is no crime
Praful Patel is just ensuring that laws which are existing in main land are applicable in Lakshadweep as well. If there are no cows to be slaughtered, that act would just remain on papers. Why is the residents protesting over a law which will have no impact in the islands? Most likely under the directions of their co-religionists from Kerala. The collector if the islands have also given the case breakup and the need for more stringent laws. Again if there are no criminals, why should people worry about a preventive detention law? There should not be any one who will need to be detained. The protests only mean one thing; shady activities are happening on the island and the perpetrators are worried that their Shariah compliant island is under the watchful eyes of the GoI. Cow Slaughter, Goonda Act all are excuses trying to cover up the true reasons for the protests. No one mentions about the Shariah kangaroo courts in islands and how POCSO cases and crimes against women are never even reported.

Also check on the protests against Amul - a legitamate business enterprise, only because its origins are in Gujarath. The drama happening in Lakshwadeep is purely religion based, and perhaps a miniature version of Anti-CAA protests. No wonder, Kerala HC chucked out a petition asking for the new plan to be quashed.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by mody »

As a compromise the Cow slaughter ban can be done away with. I think some of the North eastern states and maybe also also Kerala do not have a cow slaughter ban.
As it is there are hardly any cows available on the Islands. Just make it even more expensive to import cows and other livestock and the associated feed etc. very expensive. Packaged meat would then be much cheaper to import and consume. Packaged meat in India is overwhelmingly chicken and goat/sheep. So the question of imposing a cow slaughter ban does not arise.

Also, co-operative prawn/shrimp farming should be started on the Islands and other co-operative movements for coconut processing units etc. would also help the locals. If the locals are making money, then the chances of them creating trouble reduces.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

mody wrote:Also, co-operative prawn/shrimp farming should be started on the Islands and other co-operative movements for coconut processing units etc. would also help the locals. If the locals are making money, then the chances of them creating trouble reduces.
The actual issues are not about beef or cow slaughter etc. It is religion 8). Take for example liquor. The plan is to only supply liquor at tourist centric establishments (like hotels & resorts) and not to general public through wine shops. That is opposed, mainly because Islam does not allow drinking. The district collector did say that people out there now focus more on other drugs. The number of cows and other milch animals any way are miniscule in the island, so the beef available for consumption would also be very less. The staple diet of islanders would be more of fish & coconut based items; because that is what is readily available. Beef if available would be brought in from the main land. So the beef bogey-man is raised again to give a 'religious colour'.

These islands are becoming more and more Islam dominated, with even Shariah kangaroo courts. More stringent laws (not only Goonda Act, even POCSO Act and NDPS Acts can be effectively used), and more stronger enforcement means that a lot of this would change. Tourism is also being opposed because it is a very 'liberal' activity which would cause problems in the Shariah centric life style now running on the islands.

Think about it; Andaman & Nicobar Islands are also islands but it is much more liberal and there are no such whines out there. Crime rates are low in Andamans too. The protest in Lakshadweep is mainly over the fear that governenance of the islands based on Islamist concepts would be changed. Till now generally no body bothered about that.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by hnair »

Philip, stop BS-ing without even a cursory research of the underlying issues, please! You are calling an administrator who has zero chance to defend or explain himself as Pol Pot? How many skull piles did you see in Lakshwadeep? Nonsense!

Here is a press conference given by the Collector (his name kind of silenced quite a few), which succinctly tells us what is the fundamental reason: fear that the old Shariat Panchayat types will lose their importance in their own backyard, if well -developed resorts come up.



Here are a few points and timelines:
- This claimed Persecution of Lakshwadeep NEVER was a part of regular discourse, not even by fringe in Kerala. This was propped up first by VT Balaram, a recently failed ex- MLA, who posts overtly pro-RoP stuff due to the nature of his constituency (RoP provides the winning margins). He was defeated by MB Rajesh, who out-RoPed him with his beef-fests etc. Both are low-class individuals, who wont dare to do or speak BS like beef fest in places that matter and which has beef bans, the northern parts of India.

- The Kerala picture: Curiously, Balram's post popped up a day after Gaza ceasefire and it was spread around with help of bots in a day. The Kerala RoP was resigned to pulling down the "Shave Gashaa" (as it is derisively referred to by Kerala RoL and yindoos) social media banners etc, when this popped up. The ShaveGasha had an issue: It divided Rol and RoP in Kerala, because Kerala RoL backs Israelis and the RoP backs Hamas&co. This ShaveLakshwadeep has no such issues and Rol and RoP happily hugged each other and went back to hurling abuse at Modi. If you havent still got the implications of this BS, let me say it more clearly - it is a way to keep RoP polarized and also to keep Rol-RoP baichara intact. This came under tremendous stress since December 2020 election.

- The beef ban in schools: I was asking a fundamental question to my schoolmates who got angry etc at the ban. When did we ever get any protien in schools? Forget beef, we NEVER got any eggs during our time. Only recently I heard some schools provide eggs now. If Lakshwadeep kids are getting fish or chicken, that is much more than what govt schools provide to BPL folks and certainly more than regular middle-class kids gets in private schools, who have to carry their own lunch

- New Liquor policy. First it was claimed the new liquor policy was allowed, when most the islanders were believers. Then someone asked on TV about why left holds beef fests in Kerala as protest, when other places in India that dont eat beef due to their belief, implements a beef ban? Later it came out that the old liquor policy was altered, so only resorts with bar license are allowed to serve liquor. The claim that all locals now swim in cheap liquor landed by Modi's administrator was apparently bogus.

- Claims of Low crime rates, so why draconian policing: This low crime rate is because of same reason that Kerala Left trots out to claim UP having lower crime than Kerala is because Kerala records more complaints than UP and not because Kerala has more criminal acts. Back when my old man used to go to the islands as part of his tour/duty, the islanders used to claim they "handle" criminals and provide justice immediately. It ain't soft justice. So when the first police station came, they claimed the first "robbery" happened. The fact, as my old man used to say in early 80s (during Mrs G's time as PM) was that Lakshwadeep had its own version of crime, enforcement and justice and since they are divided into small communities, they just dealt with it themselves. Over the years, there must have been outrageous travesty of justice there. The islanders have an elite, who rule with an ironhand. The newly constituted police stations since 80s of the administration made sure that anyone who got victimized by the local elites can challenge that under Indian constitution. The oldies of the islands dont like it one bit and hence the spin around idyllic, zero-crime paradise etc

- New Developments: The resorts being planned are apparently same mode as Maldives (where most of investors seen to be Indians routing money via Singapore). Take an un-inhabited island, lease it for 30 years to a high end operator that follows stringent environmental regulations. It is a win-win for the youngsters of the islands, since they can jump on to a ferry, ride to the resorts, work there and come back to the main islands where their culture can be retained.

Summary: This is purely a old guard vs new ideas fight. The youth in the islands want development, but the oldies are trying to brainwash them into a RoP vs Modi fight. The Kerala politicians latched on because the Kerala RoP is nowadays deeply invested in Social media battles.

Tailpiece: The Kerala CM claimed yesterday that Modi govt painted coconut tree trunks with saffron, not knowing that it is a form of anti-fungal paint used even in Kerala. This is the level of knowledge of those who bat for the islanders!

BRF point of interest: There is the issue of THREE THOUSAND crores worth of heroin that got caught around the islands and the mega-arms smuggling that USN confiscated. The first is being dealt with in courts, but USN has rather mysteriously let go of the boat-crew (an unregistered Dhow, a non-state actor is the claim). Add to that, the bomb attack on Nasheed as well as the Sri Lankan shenanigans.

It means only one thing: Xitler is using Gwadar as base for gun-running around IOR and USN has allowed to let them off because they are ISI personnel. Lakshwadweep SM campaign seem to be an asymmetric probing attack on India, to find out how robust is the GoI riposte is. Turns out it was not that great :-o

Later added:
CNN artile
After the dhow stopped last week was deemed seaworthy and its crew was questioned, they were provided with food and water and released :shock: :shock: :shock: , according to the statement.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by ramana »

Philip, Am surprised you got taken by Chindu and others rhetoric.
Facts are India needs to fortify and urbanize Lakshadweep.
Part of Southern Indian Ocean strategy. So there will be a base.
Next Lakshadweep has become a center for drugs and arms smuggling by ISI to Maharashtra and Kashmir and Kerala.
And recall the FONOPS patrol recently.
And Lakshadweep is Union Territory.

Kerala or TN have no say.

So all kinds of attack dogs are being released even retired officials.

Atleast on BRF we need to keep nationalist perspective.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by arshyam »

hnair saar, thanks for that tour-de-force. Too much one-sided whining on this thread so far, hope that becomes more balanced going forward.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Manish_P »

Detailed posts from Sachin, HNair have given good info about the back ground as well as the current on-ground situation in the islands and more crucially the behind-the-scene machinations of the internal players who have vested interests for their own gain, but also are being strung along by the external puppet masters.

Please consider making the 2-3 posts by the above mentioned gentlemen as a sticky first 'background' post for the thread.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

New army commander takes over Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC)

By: Colonel Ajai Shukla (Retired)
He is an alumnus of The Lawrence School, Sanawar, the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned in Dec 1983, into 81 Armoured Regiment, a regiment raised by his late father. A fifth-generation cavalry officer, his family has served in the military for a combined 162 years since 13 September 1858.

General Ajai Singh has been an instructor of tank gunnery and tactics at the Armoured Corps Centre & School. He has also served in important assignments at the Army HQ, HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and as a Military Observer with the UN Peacekeeping mission in Angola.

He has served in counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley and in North East, where he was posted in a Mountain Division on the border. As a major with over 16 years of service, the general volunteered for a tenure on the Siachen Glacier. He was posted to a Maratha Light Infantry battalion, where he commanded a rifle company in Operations VIJAY (Kargil) and MEGHDOOT (Siachen Glacier). He was awarded the Army Chief’s Commendation for gallantry.

The General has tenanted sensitive posts in Army HQ in the Military Operations Directorate, the Directorate General (DG) of Financial Planning and the Directorate General of Military Training. He has also commanded an armoured regiment, a brigade, a division and a corps deployed on the border in Punjab & Rajasthan.

He has attended a mountaineering course at the High-Altitude Warfare School and tank gunnery and technology courses. He was selected to attend a UN Senior Mission Leader Course at Indonesia. He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) course in the UK.

The officer’s civil educational qualifications include a BSc, an MBA with ORSA specialisation, an MSc in Defence Studies, an MPhil in Defence & Management Studies and an MA in International Security and Strategy from Kings College, London. He is currently pursuing a PhD on “Emerging Trends in China-Pak Relations with reference to CPEC and its implications for India”.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

Was observing the social media groups and main stream media for the last 48 hours. The "Shave Lakshadweep" campaign seems to have completely died down. Nothing is seen or heard on that topic now. And there are no news about the Administrator rescinding his earlier orders. Looks like another 'major blow to secularism'.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by mody »

The only new news item is that the administrator has issued new guidelines about monitoring all finishing boats. Government personnel will be deployed on board fishing vessels and all boats carrying passengers will be checked.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ind ... 251369.cms
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by chetak »

Lakshadweep belongs to us : P.P. Mohammed Faizal

yes indeed, abbaajaan ne viraasat mein chhodee thee. baap ka maal hai

sharia starts with democracy and ends with head chopping caliphates in full blown dictatorship

they had an unlimited health plan, forcibly funded by the GoI, emergency helo evacuation to the mainland by helo based on a scribbled note by some beardo doctor.

such facilities do not exist in any other state of UT and was simply usurped, slyly extended and gradually normalized over the years by using salami slicing tactics just because of khattarpanthi jehadis claiming entitlements and free loading as usual when almost nil taxes were generated by the residents or their businesses



Lakshadweep belongs to us: P.P. Mohammed Faizal


Lakshadweep belongs to us: P.P. Mohammed Faizal


S. Anandan
JUNE 04,

The fragile and unique ecosystem of the archipelago will collapse if steps are not taken to reverse the new draft law, says Lakshadweep’s sole MP, P.P. Mohammed Faizal

Forever thought to be a tranquil abode of corals, lagoons and a peaceful people, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, in the Arabian Sea to the west of Kerala, made sudden headlines a few weeks ago. Widespread protests had erupted over a slew of new development regulations that were announced seemingly unilaterally by Lakshadweep’s new administrator, Praful Khoda Patel.

A campaign for the recall of the ‘insensitive’ administrator has now gained national momentum, with the island chain’s elected representatives, including its Panchayat members, and the sole Member of Parliament, P.P. Mohammed Faizal, seeking a restoration of democracy. Excerpts from an interview with Faizal:

Why did the new ‘development proposals’ rattle the calm political environs of Lakshadweep?

There were ongoing development projects in Lakshadweep well before Mr. Patel arrived. For example, when we needed specialist doctors during my first term as MP, we sought the help of the National Health Mission to contract doctors for a specified period in Lakshadweep. Agatti island had the service of some specialists but we wanted to extend it across Kavaratti, Androth, Amini and Minicoy islands. A monthly grant of ₹2 lakh was offered and the experience criterion was relaxed, but the response was tepid.


So we changed tack and called for tenders from hospitals to delegate doctors for one year. It worked and we got 35 specialists available round-the-clock. Hospital infrastructure and facilities were upgraded in tandem.

These contracts were set to expire when Mr. Patel arrived and without bothering to consult anyone, he ordered a return to the old, unviable system, which has reduced the number of specialists and their 24x7 availability. And how many days has Mr. Patel spent on the islands in the past six months to understand the ground realities? Hardly 15 days!

Secondly, all islanders evacuated to Kochi on medical grounds used to be covered under a comprehensive medical insurance scheme specific to Lakshadweep. Mr. Patel replaced it with Ayushman Bharat, which restricts the benefit to just BPL families. Worse, very few hospitals in Kochi are empanelled under Ayushman Bharat. The result is that treatment expenses are on the islanders now.

Work on a 100-bed hospital in Kavaratti, whose foundation was laid by President Ramnath Kovind, was 30% complete when the district collector halted it, citing the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) and claimed at a press conference in Kochi that the administration would build a new hospital. Hundreds of workers have been retrenched. The people are put to untold hardship amidst a raging pandemic.

All draft notifications were in English and published on the Internet with just 20 days for people to respond. What was the tearing hurry? The people’s representatives learnt about the proposals just like the commoner. While they speak volumes about federalism, where’s the federal system here?

So, there were no consultations while these reforms were drafted?

We have a two-tier panchayat system and a district planning committee in which chairpersons of village panchayats, the MP, the district panchayat president, members and officers are members. The drafts weren’t discussed anywhere. Mr. Patel will go back when his tenure ends, but the island belongs to us and we live here. Democracy demands that reforms are discussed with us.

But the argument is that the legislations are still in draft form…

The draft notification for the Goonda Act (Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation) came in December and I’m not sure if it incorporated comments by the people before it was forwarded to the ministry. The Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation [that bans beef on the Muslim-majority islands]; the Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation [which clips the wings of democratically elected representatives] have all been sent. Only the LDAR is probably left.

But hasn’t it been in the works for some time now? The contention is that the Island Development Agency was formed for ‘holistic development’ in keeping with the Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP).

I am a member of the advisory committee chaired by the Union Home Minister, which evaluates the overall development of the islands and of Centre-sponsored schemes. The committee hasn’t discussed any of these regulations.

As for the IIMP, it has been accepted and notified by the government, on the basis of which local entrepreneurs submitted several proposals that have been pending with the department of tourism for several years now. Why is the District Collector, who heads the tourism department, not granting permission to local entrepreneurs?

Lakshadweep is a place where VVIPs roam about without any security. The Collector has maligned the island, saying AK-47s have been seized, drug running has been unearthed. The archipelago is surrounded by international waters, where these seizures were made. Till date, not a single islander has been connected with these incidents.

Are you suggesting an ulterior motive behind the moves?

When the people of Kiltan protested the District Collector’s irresponsible statement, they were arrested for violating curfew. There was also an attempt to foist sedition charges on them. There’s a concerted move to justify the Goonda Act. Their intent is to implement LDAR, but see how the discussion was diverted to banning beef and introducing liquor on the islands. If LDAR, which has several downright foolish sections, is discussed, one would ask why Lakshadweep, whose largest island has a surface area of just 4.9 sq. km., needs a highway or a quarry.

Do you suspect that someone is eyeing the land on the uninhabited islands?

That’s the crux of the matter — land. The islanders have for decades cultivated on Pandaram land, and there was an effort to notify and regularise all transactions in relation to Pandaram land till December 2019. It was notified in the gazette and the framing of the rules for awarding occupancy was in the final stages when Mr. Patel came and questioned why people should have land on uninhabited islands. The creation of LDAR is targeted at the agricultural land, low-lying and underdeveloped, held by the islanders on uninhabited islands. These areas can be easily taken over in the name of tourism development. This is a way to grab land officially, and then lease it out. This is legalised land grab.

Are the islanders ecologically aware?

The islands are made of coral, which takes centuries to grow. The comparison with the Maldives is faulty because it has numerous uninhabited islands. Lakshadweep is tiny and densely populated and any development should be in tune with the IIMP. If you do it mindlessly, the island ecosystem will collapse and it’s our home, not Patel’s. A vast number of islanders have over time become aware of the fragility of its ecology. Sea cucumber is abundantly seen off these islands and their excretion feeds the corals. The islanders now know that if exploited extensively, this food chain breaks, threatening the existence of the corals.

With legislations still in draft form, it is alleged that panchayats are being denuded of powers.

They have thrust a dagger into democracy by divesting the panchayats of control over five major departments like agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry, which directly contribute to people’s lives and welfare. We have written to the President and the Prime Minister. We are going to fight in the court too. We are now awaiting the Centre’s response. We will not succumb to any pressure and are ready to face the consequences.

anandan.s@thehindu.co.in
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

India News | CINCAN Visits Landfall Island to Review Operational Preparedness
Lieutenant General Ajai Singh, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN), visited the military units and formations in the Landfall Island, the northernmost island of the Andaman group and reviewed operational preparedness, an official release said.


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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

More major blows to secularism.
Lakshadweep order to deploy govt staff on boats to gather intel
Looks like GoI is really worried on the happenings in and around the Lakshadweep islands. But I don't know how practical it will be to deploy a government official on every fishing vessel. Which department can spare the man power for these duties? Perhaps other means like GPS trackers also can be used to track the movement of these fishing vessels.

As per the report there would also be scanning of luggages etc at Beypore & Mangaluru; which means that GoI knows that smuggling was happening big time. Dump all the contraband goods on some remote Island and then using fishing vessels or other vessels, pick them up and get it into Kerala through the unchecked ports like Beypore (near Kozhikode).

New reforms enforced in Lakshadweep: Entry, renewal of pass to be decided by ADM.
From a local Malayalam news paper, I understand that all non-Islanders have been asked to get out of the island. They can then reapply for passes from the main land and then come back if permission has been given. I would not be surprised that local SB CID and IB by now has prepared a list of non-islanders instigating the island's people. And such people may not be getting their entry permit again. We can expect more whining from "seculars" in Kerala.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Philip »

=== deleted content user warned ===
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by arshyam »

Here we go again. Facepalm.

Philip sir, I have reported your post to admins for further action. This kind of hyperventilating with zero reference to those who try to reason with you is the reason why people keep calling you names and asking for mod action. Anyway, you also seem to be asking for it, going by the above post, despite hnair saar specifically asking you not to use such adjectives like "pol pot".

Mods, kindly do the needful. This is getting too much.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by chetak »

Philip wrote:Urbanise LDW? Are you crazy? It is one of the most fragile eco-systems in the world! Can you "Urbanise" our equiv. of the Maldives? Skyscrapers like Mumbai in LDW? Destroying the ecology? For whose benefit? Crony capitalists and vested interests? Sheer ingorance and madness.

What is paramount is security. For that appoint a military administrator not a nincompoop of a bigoted admin like Pol Pot Patel who wants to saffronise a terrritory that's almost 100% Muslim where we have had NO trouble at all. The drug trade from Pak through the Arabian Sea to Sri Lanka has been going on for 40+ years!
Leave the islanders to their lifestyle of centuries.Don't create another Khalistan or Kashmir in LDW.I am surprised that a few cannot see the truth and reality in LDW.

Please carefully study the new diktats by the admin. Your property can be taken over at the whims and fancies of the admin. Would anyone allow that to happen with their own homes and property elswewhere in the country?? It's a dry territory.If promoting tourism is the reason,then why is Gujarat dry? Open up bars,etc. in Gujarat as in Kerala,Mumbai.If the people of part of our nation who've been living their for centuries have no say in their future because of a diktat from a govt. flunkey, it will lead to trouble. As I've said,make security paramount,LIMITED tourist spots as in the ANC and build a comprehensive network of naval and air facilities from which to dominate the Arabian Sea off peninsula India.

Perhaps the best decision that the GOI can do as some are saying is to make all UTs states. That way the citizens of those territories will be able to decide for themselves through the ballot box what future they want.THAT is democracy,not UTs run by a latter-day "viceroy" from Delhi.
I made my first visit here decades ago.

There was a cashmere type attitude among the local populace even then.

All "services" like schools, banks, management of power generation, and dist, admin work and other essentials like medical services, emergency helo medavac 24x7 to the mainland (for more freeloading tender loving care), et all were provided by the mai baap central govt paid predominantly Hindu staff while the buggerall locals just laid back like beached whales, habituated by civilization and culturally entitled by sharia, they were emboldened by pampering votebank politics and chose to see all the govt provided infrastructure as a form of jizya that was due to them by divine right.

the most common attitude was why have you come here, this is not your place.

Two further visits thereafter and the same thing was seen but there were more of them asking the same thing.

Nothing has changed in the attitude but the jehadis, the cheeni, the pak ISI, and the BIF have a free run of the islands including the criminal spillover from SL and the maldives and the locals are extremely active in human trafficking into India.

if things are not stopped now, another cashmere will be set alight and this time with much greater international and jehadi repercussions.

change of port from beypore to mangalore, govt officials on fishing boats, ban on carrying passengers, and a clampdown leading to new security procedures to restrict outsiders from fishing in troubled waters. This tells the sordid tale and matters are best understood when read between the lines.

the time for velvet gloves is over. The iron fist has emerged.

The time has come for hard measures to secure the Indian state as well as sanitize India's offshore properties so very close to the mainland.

woke statements from jehadis and their liberandu supporters are not to be taken as the gospel.

No one is going to make things any clearer as to what is happening there. But matters have taken a very serious turn.

no one is now trying to create another Khalistan or Kashmir on the islands.

the jehadis in lakshadweep have already done this more than two decades ago and the price is being paid now. The Goi is simply going to dismantle this "trade" and many eggs will be broken during the making of this omelet if no cooperation is forthcoming

no more Indians are going to die here, like in cashmere, trying to win jehadi hearts and minds.

Someone else will be made to take on this onerous burden and sacrifice

The "leave the islanders to their lifestyle of centuries" sentiment be damned. The security of the state comes first.

And, if some jehadi coconut monkeys' "rights" are going to be trampled on, then so be it.

BTW, the drug trade from pak to SL runs right through India starting out in Rajasthan, Gujarat, cashmere and Panjab borders, and exiting mostly via TN and KER has become another route for drugs, human trafficking as well as vast quantities of weapons being moved.

and for general information, patel's primary advisors are sitting in dilli.

It is after all a UT and dilli has the hard hold, not some stoopide congi MP from the islands or some spaced out commie assembly in KER

IB and R&AW are fully synced in, as is the IA, and IN.

Don't have any doubts on this score. Patel is not acting independently. There are some very big boys backing him up.

Someday soon an ex cop or military type may come in as the UT administrator and then the jehadis may well have reason to remember patel very fondly indeed

a territory that's almost 100% muslim has no special privileges in India but over the years we have made the major mistake of allowing them to think that they indeed have special rights and that is how that $h!th0le of djinah's homeland was illegally birthed by a pork eating, whiskey swilling jehadi midwife who literally abandoned his creation as soon as he realized what a monstrosity he had created.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Philip »

That's a sad comment Chetak,and such attitudes will only divide the country further. If we view every Muslim as an enemy,he or she will become one! Ask why the BJP has been dumped in the recent elections in the south. because it still is seen and smacks of a Hindi chauvinist upper-caste Hindu party, still not acceptable to the south as a national party that looks after the interests of all citizens ,linguistic and ethnic groups of the country. And the fact remains that LDW has been one of the most peaceful areas of the country. So you want Dilli to deport them en masse like Hitler sent the Jews and untermenschen off to the camps or dumped into the sea,? Absurd!

I want no return of the "Roman" empire (dynasty),British empire or the Chin empire to rule over India!
I want a strong India from within where the diversity of India and its peoples are properly recognised and looked after, not a "one shoe fits all" diktat from "DillI" by any govt. of any colour. That's a disastrous policy which will further lead to civil strife and could even fragment India. Already in TN a pro-Tamil resurgence is taking place whose ideology is close to that of the LTTE ,saying even Dravidianism is not enough against the "Hindi marauders". Perceived favouritism in vax allocation favouring Gujarat %wise, has been resented too,as with some other states.Not too long ago a separate TN flag was unfurled and the national anthem has been sung in some parts in Tamil too.These are disturbing signs.

As to LDWs security, I've said appoint a mil. admin. as replacement of the admin. No chance whatsoever of any Islamic fundoo behaviour after that. What is shocking about the admin's diktat is that the islands are to be destroyed by handing them over to chosen developers just as is being planned for the ANC. From an ecological and environmental standpointit it is unacceptable.From an economic too. I've said earlier,with the Colombo Port City coming up so fast to be run as a Chin colony while our great peacocks of the MEA pottered about doing bugger all to stop XI. They instead fawned over him during his imperious visits to India,resul;ting in the Ladakh backstab, the worst foreign policy debacle since '62.PCity will be infinitely more attractive to international investors including Indians! With billions of Chin money pouring in to turn it into another Hong Kong/Dubai, with cheap SL and imported Chin labour to make products, our enterprises in LDW and the ANC will come to nothing as they have no hinterland for the industries and back-up services to sustain such a venture.
Hong Kong has the huge Chin mainland where all goods are manufactured for its trading expertise to export,The UAE has enough hinterland too for its manufacturing,wharehousing,airports, pots,etc.too,Qatar has its gas,for another 500 years and SL has the whole large island for the same. What does LDW or the ANC have? Zero. Instead the GOI should've selected two locations on each seaboard ,on the peninsula as intl. SEZs. to attract firang investors. The time is still not too late for it.

As to tourism,the Maldives are decades ahead of us in island tourism,with far greater island assets than LDW. LDW cannot compete with the hospitality infra that the Maldives have. In fact the Maldives have over 50 seaplanes while a vast sub-continent like India has I think just one that gave the PM a joyride on the Sabarmati! A Sri Lankan hotel chain is the largest operator in the Maldives too.

Let the ANC and LDW remain as the last pristine outposts of our priceless natural tropical heritage ,but secure them with whatever military infra is reqd. sensitively, which will not be as devastating as the concrete jungle of the builders' lobby which we can see in our cities.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

Rretired Navy / Army / Air force personal should be given land to build and settle in the islands. With one condition that if they want o sell the property it can be sole to another service person or the Island administration.

The permit granting authority to visit any restricted islands (AN or LKD) should be moved to Delhi, and all visitors should be asked to register their activities / visits with the Indian immigration staff stationed on the islands (covers Indian & non-Indian visitors)

As for preserving nature let me state some facts; if the land is gone how does preserving the ecology come into picture? Example:
POK- Gilgit, Baltistan
Kashmir ares seeded to China by Pakistan (Shaksgam Vally)
China- Aksai Chin
Mansarovar area
India- giving away Coco Islands to Burma and them giving it China
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Philip »

The ANC used to have restrictions,still do regarding certain islands off limits to visitors. Like Bhutan, visits have a high fee attached,numbers limited. The Maldives is not cheap because everything has to be brought from the mainland. Same case with LDW.Let the locals continue their fishing, slow pace of life while all security aspects are enhanced and any loopholes plugged. There's not that much land for resettlement of veterans.Serving military personnel on the islands are sufficient. If we station a few amphibs there, then it will further boost our capability to intercept,monitor the drug,smuggling and potential terror traffic from Pak to SL and the Maldives. If we emulate what the PRC has done in the ICS,we could link up a few islands with causeways, or even extend their footprint through reclamation, which will give us extra longer airstrips to operate P-8Is IL-38s, even fighter aircraft , larger anchorages,etc. Fortunately the mainland is close where all ship repair and major maintenance of military hardware can be done. That's the problem with DG,not available.Ships have to go to S'pore or the Gulf.
All structures can be sensitively built. Eco-friendly environmentally sound and aesthetic ( one report had the name of a well-known prof.of the Delhi school of planning and arch. who had built several buildings in LDW) ,that blend in with the surroundings as in the Maldives. Some areas for limited tourism, off limits for all military facilities ,the remaining territory for govt. infra and the locals.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by arshyam »

I know I am wasting my time, especially during the beginning of a new week, but here goes...
Philip wrote:As to LDWs security, I've said appoint a mil. admin. as replacement of the admin. No chance whatsoever of any Islamic fundoo behaviour after that.
Really? How? How exactly would a military governor take care of security that a civil admin cannot? At least the latter would give the option for judicial recourse for impacted parties, what would be system for a mil administration? Please don't say court martial or JAG!

The Indian constitution does not allow for a full military administration anywhere - ANC is too subject to the same. At best, a military administration can restrict movement to some areas/islands, but the rest of the population will be administered by a civil component only. Unless, of course, you are saying Port Blair, to take an example, is under martial law. And please don't say cantonments - they are, for all intents and purposes, military facilities. Unlike Port Blair or Kavaratti.

Second, let's say the military administration is imposed on LDW somehow, why do you think the locals would be happy and welcome them with open arms? Good luck with that train of thought.
Philip wrote:What is shocking about the admin's diktat is that the islands are to be destroyed by handing them over to chosen developers just as is being planned for the ANC
Since you keep referring to China, see how they push their civilian populations into places that are far flung or less developed. That's a better way to ensure longer term security since the military cannot be at all places at all time. Even Kargil came to light from a civilian who raised the alarm. This is especially true in an island chain like LDW - there are just way too many of them to secure, and periodic patrols would still leave a lot of gaps. My point is, yes, LDW is pristine, but what's wrong in developing a few islands for tourists that would ensure a steady stream of transport links, making it harder for someone to sneak in easily?

As long as the tourist facilities are done with ecological factors taken into account, it's fine. This is not exactly an unknown principle or technology that does not exist anywhere. Maldives right next door itself has shown the way. No reason why we cannot replicate the same. If someone does not like the way it is done, they can still take the govt to the court and try to get a recourse. How will that happen under a military administration?

By the way, since you say civil development is bad and military development is okay, kindly explain how the latter would take ecological sensitivities into account? If an island is home to some rare species and is strategically overlooking a shipping line, can the Navy simply go ahead and build an air field and small base to monitor the area? Won't that also run afoul of whatever you are saying w.r.t. ecology and etcetera?
Philip wrote:Let the locals continue their fishing, slow pace of life while all security aspects are enhanced and any loopholes plugged.
How do you propose to do this without applying the law? And what's wrong in using the same sets of laws operational everywhere else in the country (you and me live under these very laws like the Goondas Act or Land Acquisition Act) to this area? Or is LDW not part of the country and requires a special Art 370-like treatment? If so, why?
Philip wrote:...our capability to intercept,monitor the drug,smuggling and potential terror traffic from Pak to SL and the Maldives.
Who exactly is involved in this smuggling? Only pakis/Lankans, or is there some local involvement? Or are Lakshadweepans such paragons of virtue that, unlike in the rest of the country, not even a single person from the general population is involved in a life of crime? (Note that I am not painting with a broad brush, rather acknowledging the fact that a tiny proportion of our population countrywide is engaged in a life of crime, and that Lakshadweepans cannot be a sole exception, nor are there any statistics to indicate that).
Philip wrote:If we emulate what the PRC has done in the ICS,we could link up a few islands with causeways, or even extend their footprint through reclamation, which will give us extra longer airstrips to operate P-8Is IL-38s, even fighter aircraft , larger anchorages,etc.
On the one hand, you are saying the LDW islands are pristine and should not be developed, and here you are suggesting extensive military infra which would also cause way more damage the same environment. How do you reconcile both?

Causeways and runways are built out of concrete and become heat reflectors, which is okay, but a few small cottages built with coconut leaves/branches are an ecological disaster... what an argument!
Philip wrote:All structures can be sensitively built. Eco-friendly environmentally sound and aesthetic
Ah, a sensitive runway, for example? Wonder what that looks like - maybe built on bamboo stilts or coconut trunks? Where would these trees come from - aren't they damaging the ecology as well?
Philip wrote:So you want Dilli to deport them en masse like Hitler sent the Jews and untermenschen off to the camps or dumped into the sea,? Absurd!
Another absurd formulation from you that has no basis in fact. Can you point to the law/statement made by a govt official that said anything close to the above?

Net net, if you want security, you send in the military and dispense with ecological considerations, since the enemy is not going to respect it either. If you want to preserve ecology, then it's better to send in civilians and build ecologically-sensitive accommodations and recruit enough of these civvies (like resort employees) to act as the military's eyes and ears, so the latter can focus on the patrolling the larger area based on threat perceptions. This would leave the military to focus on neutralizing threats as they arise, instead of peanut-buttering and spreading assets thin all over the place. But hey, this makes too much sense, so let's carry on with hyperventilation!

Of course, as per usual, I don't expect you to reply, rather go off on another tangent about south-east Asian dictators. But someone (basically, every poster except you) needs to try and maintain sanity on this thread.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

Philip wrote: And the fact remains that LDW has been one of the most peaceful areas of the country. So you want Dilli to deport them en masse like Hitler sent the Jews and untermenschen off to the camps or dumped into the sea,? Absurd!
Sir, no island dweller is getting deported. The people who have been asked to get out (and come back with a new pass, given based on a new process) are folks from the main land. But all said and done we cannot have Shariah compliant islands any where in India. One Kashmir itself was enough. The 'peace' offered by the Jehadis is 'peace' on their own terms. The Islanders also seems to be under the impression that things can be run based on the diktats of one religion. And in my humble opinion, that need correction.
The ANC used to have restrictions,still do regarding certain islands off limits to visitors.
My understanding is that it is only South Andamans which require special permits. And that movement across the Jarava tribe territory should be done via a government/police managed convoy system. Apart from that the islands are very liberal. No Shariah stuff there. The hue and cry of "Shave Lakshwadeep" is mainly because of the religious stuff. Fat chance other wise 'seculars' from Kerala would support all this.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

More Lakshadweep news..
Lakshadweep locals to go on hunger strike on June 7; workers from other parts fear job loss
The hunger strike was real unique - people it seems fasted sitting in their homes :lol:. This idea can be shared with their best pals, Kerala as well. Kerala had this concept of relay hunger strike. One individual sits on hunger strike, and when he feels hungry he goes out to have food while another one replaces him.

The Tuesday Interview | Why this sudden urge to turn Lakshadweep into Maldives, asks MP
The key take away is that certain rules are now only in the draft form (example Goonda Act roll out etc.). But the executive decisions like chucking out non Islanders etc. have been done with immediate effect. As per the MP, tourism plans from local should be given preference. Against the Goonda Act roll out, the MP is doing what aboutery and weaseling out using IPC, Cr.PC etc. The Goonda Act was rolled out because IPC and Cr.PC had gaps. And next he says all communication was in English, where as Islanders (and their elected leaders) only knew Malayalam. At this rate how are the MPs going to explain their concerns in the Parliament?

And the religious aspects are downplayed - "He tried to introduce the draft Goonda Act, Animal Preservation Regulation – trying to dictate the eating habits of the island-dwellers – and liquor permission.."
They don't want beef ban (and such a law exists in the main land, and it is not against the constituition) but they want liquor ban. No one is forcing the islanders to drink liquor. The religious stuff are now getting suger coated as people's concerns.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by hnair »

Philip, do you have a justification for repeatedly referring to Lakshadweep Administrator as Pol Pot? Whatever you have posted does not justify the allegation that the Administrator has committed anything close to what Pol Pot has done

Please do respond ASAP
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by rsingh »

Philip Saar is always emotional about affairs south of Kanyakumari. I think he knows more than what is said in his posts.JMT
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by ramana »

Philip, Both ANC and LDW are like two hands of India and will be retained no matter what.
No point in getting hyper. I have been my following LDW since 2018.
LDW has become entrepot for smuggling, trafficking and terrorism.
Current system of security is wholly inadequate.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Philip »

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/s ... 764522.ece

The archipelago’s integration into the mainstream should not lead to emotional alienation and physical damage

Unfortunately the piece is available only to subscribers but the author, who knows the territory, advises a sensible way in which to integrate the islands into the mainstream without upsetting local sensitivities .However,as I've pointed out earlier, the Maldives method will result in an eco. disaster.I am familiar with the Maldives tourism model, some time ago was trying to assist in roping in big-wig investors from the hospitality industry in India to invest in the Maldives. Not many takesrs as that time the ruler was the despot Solih now thrown out. In the Maldives individual atolls have been turned into eco-friendly resorts,with water bungalows,etc. One of the great joys is seeing fish under your glass floor and watch them swim through your legs in the protected waters within the reef. Almost all atolls have a protective coral reef and the archipelago is far greater in spread and number than LDW. Most accessed by seaplane.The resorts too have been carefully designed and built with limited numbers of guests, not to overstretch the infra that is possible,as all day-to-day necessities except seafood are brought from the mainland, including all drinking water and even coconuts in some cases! The atolls/islands of LDW are too fragile to absorb mainland style development, concrete jungles, etc. There is only monsoon water that is collected and exists in shallow wells for the locals. In Male, building have to have flat roofs which act as water collectors with large basement sumps. LDW can only have limited tourism,that too which must be most carefully designed and in keeping with the local style of buildings, etc. No concrete monstrosities that have ruined much of Goa.

One possibility that could work out in LDW is using smaller cruise ships and yachts which will not affect the islands at all with construction. Srinagar has its houseboats, Kerala its backwater boats,why not LDW its dhows and mini-cruise ships? Some years ago there was a superb cruise ship,French if I remember right,a new v.beautiful sailing ship built out of wood with all mod-cons within limited passengers. Perfect for our HNI crowd,their pvt. yachts too! Expensive of course such a vessel,but giving you a different experience instead of the hideous floating cities
that the Venetians do not want destroying their fragile city. We have perhaps the best builders of wooden craft at Beypore in Kerala where traditional dhows are in demand from UAE sheikhs. Not too long ago I was contacted from Qatar about the capabilities of a Beypore boatbuilder. Such vessels with onboard sanitation,water,victuals etc. will not stress the local infra. Booze can remain aboard the vessels too! Marine tourism like scuba diving, deep sea fishing,beach bumming,surfing, underwater walks as in Mauritius,etc, would be in order. LIke the Maldives and elsewhere a tourist sub showing visitors the underwater world,coral,etc. would be an attraction.

But fundamentally, all across the country,one must respect the locals.In LDW the locals are designated as an ST. 95% of the population are as such.The highest % after Mizoram . I used the term "Pol Pot" because when he took over Cambodia,he said now begins the "year zero".Like PP,Patel is doing the same with his own version of the "year zero". Also abolishing private property like PP. His diktat of "only 2 children",
(The draft regulation – unveiled on 25 February earlier this year – proposes to disqualify any person with more than two children from contesting panchayat elections. Neither can a person with more than two children be a member of a gram panchayat or continue as such.) is frankly racist and harks back to the era of the Nazis! Will anyone on the mainland accept such a diktat? Is the GOI going to send someone to Mizoram also telling them that they too must have only 2 kids to contest elections?

Another ridiculous order is that "responsible" (who evaluates those who are "responsible"?) govt. servants must serve aboard fishing vessels and act as intel agents!
Who dreamt up this bizarre joke? Can you imagine a govt. babu serving aboard a cramped and smelly fishing bumboat? What can he do? Will he agree to climb the crows nest armed with a pair of binoculars ready to shout "ship ahoy!"? :rotfl:
There is total resentment from govt. employees about this. Why on earth then is there a need for the CG,IN, surveillance aircraft,drones,etc.?

The GOI should recall him and instead appoint a military adviser/commander for LDW which will resolve any attempts at sedition,terrorism,drugs,smuggling,etc. There can be similarities with the ANC and LDW administrations.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by hnair »

Philip, do use your own profile for spewing communalized anti-India propaganda

Good bye
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

Philip wrote:Unfortunately the piece is available only to subscribers but the author, who knows the territory, advises a sensible way in which to integrate the islands into the mainstream without upsetting local sensitivities
What if those local sensitives are all based on religious beliefs which also at times is against the established framework in the country? The Kashmir problem was also of this 'local sensitives' basis only and it was the very same religious beliefs which played a role there as well. We cannot have pockets in India which runs on a different legal frame work. That will only lead to more "You give an inch, they ask for a mile" situations.
The atolls/islands of LDW are too fragile to absorb mainland style development, concrete jungles, etc.
It is only three uninhabited islands which are now being planned to be open for tourism. I am sure the agencies which thought of it, would also have the done the eco study for the same. Because other wise no investor would be willing to set shop in these islands. It is assumed that development means it is main style development and concrete jungles. The Islamists also are hanging on to this assumption and trying cover their religious bigotry with this excuse. It could also be a case where the plan of development is done after studying the ecological peculiarities.
There is only monsoon water that is collected and exists in shallow wells for the locals.
Which means that drinking water has to be brought from main land. I don't know if the wells in Lakshadweep even today can provide water for the island dwellers. So when planning for tourism the plan should include arrangement of water. And the locals have every right to demand that their meagre water resources are not provided for tourism related activities. But the current protests are going in a different direction.
LDW can only have limited tourism,that too which must be most carefully designed and in keeping with the local style of buildings, etc.
I agree with you 100%. But tourism in Lakshadweep cannot be based on the religious whims & fancies of the islanders. That thought process have to be firmly suppressed.
But fundamentally, all across the country,one must respect the locals.
A line has to be drawn some where. Respect is also often earned, and not gotten through force or threats. The current stance of tagging issues with a religious colour is only going to make more people turn against the islanders. As Islamism and problems are now globally recognized.
Will anyone on the mainland accept such a diktat?
Such a rule/'diktat' is already in place in many parts of the country. Lakshadweep needs no special privilege here. 2-child norm valid even if 3rd given for adoption: SC. And Supreme Court also have upheld that such a rule has legal/constituitional validity.
The GOI should recall him and instead appoint a military adviser/commander for LDW which will resolve any attempts at sedition,terrorism,drugs,smuggling,etc.
I prefer that the current administrator continues if it helps in controlling the potential Jehadis and the Islamists in Lakshadweep in control. Because we cannot have any more 'Kashmirs' in any other part in India. Pulling back the administrator now is only going arm the Islamsists more, and then start even more ridiculous demands.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Sachin »

Mean while another incident from Kerala, which shows the attitude of Lakshadweep people. Their narrative is clearly becoming anti-India.
Lakshadweep Actor Ayisha Sultana Claims Centre Used COVID As Bioweapon On UT {Lakshadweep}; Faces Flak
'Covid used as bio-weapon in Lakshadweep'; Yuva Morcha accuses Aisha Sultana of making seditious remarks, files complaint

For a change, multiple organisations (including BJP's Yuva Morcha) have filed complaints to the state police and the Home Ministry of GoI. I don't expect K.P to take any meaningful action, considering that GoKL is in connivance the Islamists gang of Lakshadweep (and KL as well). The Media One channel is also a pro-Islamist channel, and there were complaints against them earlier as well.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by Arima »

95% of Lakshadweep is ST (scheduled Tribe)? wow!!!
based on what criteria this was decided?
there way of life has nothing to do with Tribal life. standard of living, education, economic indicators are all much better.
tagging them as ST is real insult to real tribal communities of India.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

Satellite Imagery Shows India Is Expanding Runway At INS Baaz, Southernmost Air Station Located In Nicobar Close To Malacca Strait

From: Swarajya
India could be extending the 3,000-feet strip at INS Baaz, the Naval Air Station located at Campbell Bay on the Great Nicobar Island, satellite images show.

Commissioned in 2012 by the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma, INS Baaz is the southernmost air station of the Indian armed forces.

The base, overlooking the six-degree channel, one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world, is only around 130 nautical miles (240 km) away from the mouth of the Malacca Straits, the maritime chokepoint that links the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Almost 80 percent of China’s oil imports pass through the South China Sea via the Strait of Malacca.

The base is located at a distance of about 300 nautical miles (556 km) from Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Posted on Twitter by open-source intelligence handle @detrasfa_, satellite imagery shows that India could have extended the runway at the Naval Air Station by around 900 feet, taking the total length to around 4,300 feet.

When it was opened in 2012 with a runway of 3,500 feet (1,060 metres), the Indian Navy said that the runway will be “progressively lengthened to enable unrestricted operation of all categories of aircraft including heavy aircraft”.

“The base [INS Baaz] will also be bolstered with modern airfield instruments and navigation aids,” the Indian Navy said back then.

The plan was to extend the runway to 6,000 feet over the next year, and then to 10,000 feet. However, in the years after the base was commissioned, the runway was not extended. As a result, the Naval Air Station was only equipped to operate light aircraft capable of short field operations.

The expansion of the runway was reportedly delayed due to issues related to land acquisition issues and environmental clearances.

In 2019, over six years after it was commissioned, reports said work was on to extend the length of the runway at the Naval Air Station by around 1,000-feet, and that another 6,000-feet were to be added to the runway at a later stage.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh visited INS Baaz in October 2019 and again in November 2020. The Indian Navy did not mention any plan to extend the runway at the Naval Air Station in statements released after these visits.

Once the runway at INS Baaz is expanded to 6,000 feet, the Indian Navy will be able to operate its P-8I maritime surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft from the Naval Air Station. Flying from INS Baaz, these submarine-hunting aircraft of the Indian Navy can keep an eye over the multiple maritime chokepoints in the region that Chinese submarines could use to enter the Indian Ocean.

“The Navy plans to locate at least some of its P-8I surveillance planes at the Campbell Bay once the runway extension work is over,” a report said in 2017.

Indian fighters, if deployed at the base, can reach the Malacca Strait in minutes.

The expansion of the runway at INS Baaz comes at a time when the Narendra Modi government is working on a plan to develop the Greater Nicobar Island as a regional hub with a transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, township and area development and a 450 megavolt amperes gas and solar based power plant.

The plan for a transshipment terminal and other infrastructure projects on the island cleared the first major hurdle in its way earlier this year as the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change “recommended” it “for grant of terms of reference”.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by VinodTK »

ramana wrote:Philip, Both ANC and LDW are like two hands of India and will be retained no matter what.
No point in getting hyper. I have been my following LDW since 2018.
LDW has become entrepot for smuggling, trafficking and terrorism.
Current system of security is wholly inadequate.
I have always viewed (imagine) ANC and LDW as two stationary aircraft carrier groups (unsinkable). ANC can be viewed as a large carrier group and LDW as a smaller carrier group, positioned is strategic locations by nature. Hope the powers to be will leverage them accordingly.
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by kit »

VinodTK wrote: I have always viewed (imagine) ANC and LDW as two stationary aircraft carrier groups (unsinkable). ANC can be viewed as a large carrier group and LDW as a smaller carrier group, positioned is strategic locations by nature. Hope the powers to be will leverage them accordingly.
Indeed, with the chinese making inroads to as far as Sri lanka the island chains should become fortresses protecting the mainland against any enemy by land /air/sea/ especially underwater. There should be enough capability for force projection into the South China Sea and to the middle east and Africa

I would advocate for separate aircraft carrier groups to be based in ANC and another in LDW ., in addition to three for the mainland.
Future would be offensive defensive for India , not a purely defensive maritime power
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Re: India’s Ocean Territories (Andaman Nicobar & Lakshadweep)

Post by chetak »

kit wrote:
VinodTK wrote: I have always viewed (imagine) ANC and LDW as two stationary aircraft carrier groups (unsinkable). ANC can be viewed as a large carrier group and LDW as a smaller carrier group, positioned is strategic locations by nature. Hope the powers to be will leverage them accordingly.
Indeed, with the chinese making inroads to as far as Sri lanka the island chains should become fortresses protecting the mainland against any enemy by land /air/sea/ especially underwater. There should be enough capability for force projection into the South China Sea and to the middle east and Africa

I would advocate for separate aircraft carrier groups to be based in ANC and another in LDW ., in addition to three for the mainland.
Future would be offensive defensive for India , not a purely defensive maritime power

So, kit ji,

I guess that you will soon be breaking some of your FDs for the deposit on the carriers, then

these carriers could easily take some decades to build

plenty of guys on the forum demanding nonexisting aircraft engines, squadrons of unobtainable aircraft, nuke subs, and what have you.

we simply do not have the wherewithal for that kind of defence expenditure and that too certainly not on a 2% tax base.

we have hordes to feed, educate, uplift and give jobs to before we go in for such humongous defence expenditure.
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