The latest outcome of the ‘cancel culture’ accompanying the ‘boycott Maldives’ deluge is the instinctive rebound of embracing India’s undeniably pristine Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. That our priceless destination sites with their rich heritage need to be supported is a given ~ but for the same to come through outraged shunning, ostracization or marginalizing the proverbial ‘other’, need not be the norm. History is instructive; ‘cancel culture’ or ‘bans’ are not only inelegant and tantamount to bullying, but unproductive and unsustainable in the long run.
Hindi filmdom, with all its attributed sleaze, unsavoury and cliquish narrative propounded by ‘othering’, often found to the disappointment of the banseekers (against certain actors, production houses etc.,) that the same is not efficacious, and sometimes karma bites the ‘cancel’ lobby. In short, promotion of one need not be accompanied by diminishment of the other.
There is an invariable difference in tourism approach between island nations like Maldives (or Mauritius, Seychelles etc.,) with limited geographical land mass, populace, and opportunities vis-à-vis nations with large ‘mainland’ mass, population and sovereign priorities such as India, China or the United States.
None of the top five countries with the maximum number of Islands (Sweden 267,570, Norway 239, 057, Finland 178, 947, Canada 52,455 or the United States with 18,617) would have the sort of dependence, focus or sophistication in developing Island-tourism, as compared to a Maldives or Fiji. Obviously, factors like climatic conditions, topography, beaches et al are critical in harnessing island potential ~ but natural constraints of island nations automatically lead to creative focus thereon, as opposed to say the civilisational riches that beset a diverse land like India with the likes of the Taj Mahal, Himalayas, vintage forts and palaces, wildlife reserves, civilisational towns like Varanasi, Madurai, Ayodhya, Dwarka or the embarrassment of riches in terms of culture.
Ironically, the unmatched diversity in India can become the cause of a lack of focus on any one specific realm e.g., developing island destinations. Unlike Maldives, which can knowingly partake a discriminatory approach towards its own citizenry in tourism (locals have restricted access to islands and dietary constraints), whilst allowing everything for foreigners, India cannot harbour such double standards.
Desperation to encourage tourism leads Maldivians to continue living in overcrowded and ghettoised inhabited islands without making the scarce land available on uninhabited islands for resettlement of locals, as the priority is on leasing those for foreign tourists. In the Indian narrative, all said and done, it is always Indians first. As an example, despite their low numbers, this equal dignity is afforded to the indigenous tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (with the creation of protective buffer-zones), without discrimination.
The particularly reclusive, vulnerable and still with rudimentary hunter-gatherer bearings Sentinelese tribe are afforded the protective cover of a tribal reserve on the North Sentinel Islands, including prohibited travel within three nautical miles that is ensured by constant patrolling to deny intrusion by outsiders. Such an approach of Indians-first honours the noble covenant of constitutional dignity and protection for all Indians, irrespective of their socio-economic status or other denominations.
Then, unlike smaller island nations, the world’s largest democracy (and amongst the fastest growing economies) with larger geopolitical considerations, asymmetric challenges and geostrategic imperatives, warrants certain usages and postures for its islands, beyond just tourism considerations. For example, countering China’s ‘string of pearls’ initiatives mandates certain militaristic infrastructure ~ as also, the fact that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are at the mouth or ‘choke point’ of the ultra-strategic Malacca Straits (accounting for 60 per cent of global maritime trade), warrants calculated and calibrated development of protective (both, defensive and offensive) infrastructure. That these Islands with an unprecedented forest cover of over 90 per cent also host some of the world’s greatest biodiversity lend themselves to environmental considerations.
The Lakshadweep Islands are at a similar vantage point, albeit, in the increasingly testy waters of the Arabian Sea (Nine Degree Channel located nearby is the direct route for ships to and from the Persian Gulf to East Asia). Large tracts of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) afforded by these island ‘forward posts’ bring their own potentialities that need robust harnessing. It is not to suggest that all tourism initiatives that could be done in our Islands have been done, but only to state that we have our own complexities and priorities that perhaps cannot be equated with others. Indeed, many path breaking initiatives like quality infrastructure, branded hospitality partners, connectivity, etc., have been done but it takes time, patience, and efforts.
The first seaplane service in India was actually operated in 2011 at Andaman and Nicobar Islands (though wrongly attributed to Ahmedabad with its opening with fanfare in 2020), but the unviability of the service led to closures at both places. More investments in terms of connectivity and services are still due, but they have to be undertaken with due rigour to ensure sustenance and suitability in terms of environmental, national, aspirational, and local concerns.
The fake announcement of supposed investments and sharing of some photo-shopped images pertaining to Lakshadweep recently, is in keeping with the dominant spirit of the day, where the primary issue is to galvanise and rouse mass hysteria towards an imagined Shangrila, as opposed to building practical, tangible and purposeful momentum towards serious investments and focus.
A couple of years back, Lakshadweep had hit the headlines for ham-handed administration by seemingly partisan considerations that led to a local uproar following a beef ban, anti-goonda regulation in a UT with amongst the lowest crime rates, land acquisition in designated ‘planning areas’ et al. Developing tourism infrastructure requires holistic understanding, sparing the partisan or jingoistic lens and walking the talk in terms of an inclusive, progressive and reassuring approach that is neither kneejerk or overpromised.
(The writer is Lt Gen PVSM, AVSM (Retd), and former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry)