A member of the Progressive Party of Maldives Senate Zahid Rameez stirred a major controversy on social media after he made fun of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent trip to Lakshadweep. Afterwards, many people including government ministers from the island nation were rattled by the latter’s visit to the tropical archipelago and made shockingly racist and disparaging remarks about Indians without any provocation.
Social media users, including well-known figures from Bollywood and sports, spoke against the blatant bigotry. Popular actress Kangana Ranaut in one such statement called out the stereotypical racism directed towards Indians. In reference to the faith practised by the majority of people in Laksdweep, she shared that Zahid Rameez has a “Muslim phobia” despite sharing the same religion as them. She pointed out, “Lakshadweep consists of 98 per cent of the Muslim population. This prominent public figure from the Maldives calling them smelly and lowly is rather racist and uninformed.”
The celebrity highlighted, “Lakshadweep’s entire population is hardly 60 thousand people which means it’s almost untouched, unexplored and unexploited natural island. For most people tourism is not just filthy luxury, it is rather an exploration of nature, alignment with the source and above all experiencing and enjoying the raw, untouched beauty of virgin beaches. Shame on you for being so crass and vulgarly racist.”
Smell?? Permanent smell?? What!!! Suffering from massive Muslim phobia, even though belonging to the same community. Lakshadweep consists of 98 percent of Muslim population, this prominent public figure from Maldives calling them smelly and lowly is rather racist and uninformed.… pic.twitter.com/hLbQvD5RYD
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 7, 2024
Zahid Rameez termed the concept of Laskdweep tourism as “delusional” while drawing an unflattering comparison with the Maldives. He asked, “How can they provide the service we offer? How can they be so clean? The permanent smell in the rooms will be the biggest downfall.” The statement triggered a lot of angry reactions from the netizens.
Meanwhile, the Maldives government suspended three of its ministers Mariyam Shiuna, Malsha Shareef and Mahzoom Majid for their insulting remarks on India’s Prime Minister. “All government officials responsible for the comments have been suspended from their post effective immediately,” informed Maldives government spokesperson Ibrahim Khaleel.
The Maldivian government clarified its position over Mariyam Shiuna’s words regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lakshwadeep visit in a statement released earlier on 7th January. Following an unexpected spike in cancellations of Indian tourists, the government declared that it would not hold back from taking legal action against anybody who expresses such “derogatory remarks.” Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts Mariyam Shiuna recently labelled PM Modi as a “clown” and a “puppet of Israel” after he uploaded images from his trip to the Lakshadweep Islands. However, she deleted it after a massive uproar.
Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives also denounced the demeaning comments made about Prime Minister Narendra Modi by certain leaders in his nation. He further requested that the administration of Mohamed Muizzu, the current president disassociate itself from these assertions and assure India that they do not represent government policy.
Notably, On 4th January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Lakshadweep and posted photos of himself snorkelling and exploring the archipelago. After the photos went viral, many people commented that the location was better than the Maldives for tourists and made comparisons between them. Political figures in the Maldives responded by ridiculing the visit and uttering disrespectful statements about him, the country and Indians. Indian internet users responded strongly to this and the hashtag “#BoycottMaldives” started trending on social media.
