On Sunday (31st March), Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a post from his X handle to reveal how Congress callously gave away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka during Indira Gandhi’s regime. He also quoted a news report by the Times of India which says that an RTI reply shows the way Congress ceded this 1.9 square km of land about 20km from Indian shore to Sri Lanka.
PM Narendra Modi wrote in his post, “Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress! Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting.”
Eye opening and startling!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 31, 2024
New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away #Katchatheevu.
This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds- we can’t ever trust Congress!
Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for…
The Katchatheevu Island, nestled within the confines of the India-Sri Lanka border near Rameswaram, has evolved into a contentious focal point, giving rise to a burgeoning call for its repossession. Historically, this island has served as a shared enclave for Tamil fishermen hailing from both India and Sri Lanka. The year 1974 witnessed a pivotal juncture when the island transitioned hands, as the then-Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, relinquished its sovereignty to Sri Lanka as part of a bilateral accord.
According to the news report Modi embedded in his post, an RTI application in this regard was filed by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. According to this report, shocking information was unearthed by the reply to this RTI application. The report says that official documents and parliamentary records illustrate how India’s wavering stance led to its failure to assert control over the island in the Palk Strait. It shows that the reluctance of Congress towards claiming the Katchatheevu island dates back to the Nehruvian era.
As per this report, shortly after gaining independence, Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, asserted its sovereignty by stating that the Indian Navy, then known as the Royal Indian Navy, required its permission to conduct exercises on the island. In October 1955, the Sri Lankan Air Force conducted its exercise on the island, further emphasising its autonomy. The position taken by Sri Lanka was documented in a memorandum from the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on May 10, 1961, where he downplayed the matter as insignificant.
Nehru’s memorandum forms a section of a document drafted by the then Commonwealth Secretary, YD Gundevia, which the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) circulated as background material to the Informal Consultative Committee of Parliament in 1968. Nehru wrote, “I would’ve no hesitation in giving up claims to the island. I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claims to it. I do not like this pending indefinitely and being raised again in Parliament.”
The Ministry of External Affairs said, “The legal aspects of the question are highly complex. The question has been considered in some detail in this ministry. No clear conclusions can be drawn as to the strength of either India’s or Ceylon’s claim to sovereignty.”
Notably, the then attorney general M C Setalvad had opined in 1960 that India had a stronger claim on the island formed by a volcanic eruption. The documents reveal that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s Joint Secretary (Law and Treaties), K. Krishna Rao, expressed uncertainty initially but ultimately concluded that India possessed a strong legal argument that could be utilized to secure fishing rights. This legal contention remains relevant today as it underlies the ongoing plight of numerous Indian fishermen who are detained by the Sri Lankan Navy in waters surrounding the island. This is why the issue of the Katchatheevu island will be important in Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as well.
On 10th August 2023, a renewed discourse surfaced concerning the Katchatheevu island casting a spotlight on the historically enduring relationship between the two nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi accentuated this matter during his parliamentary address, as he responded to the opposition’s no-confidence motion. Now, the Prime Minister has posted about the new details about the Katchatheevu island obtained in an RTI filed by K Annamalai. A detailed history of this island and how it was given to Sri Lanka by Indira Gandhi can be read here.
