The TLDR: The BJP administrator of the islands, Praful Khoda Patel, took his post in December. But in the space of just six months, he has managed to enrage and alienate pretty much everyone—including members of his own party. We look at what is happening in Lakshadweep and why.

Researched by: Sara Varghese and Vagda Galhotra

Lakshadweep: Some quick background

• It is an archipelago of 36 islands off the coast of Kerala, and only 10 are inhabited. The total population: 64,473.
• Also this: “The biggest islands are no more than 4.5 km across. As coral atolls, their highest elevation is no more than 3 m above sea level. Most of them stand no more than 0.5 m higher.”
• 97% of the islands are under forest cover—the highest in the country.
• It is the smallest Union Territory in India, formed in 1956 when it was separated from the Malabar district in Kerala. 
• There is only one district which elects one member of Parliament. And it falls under the jurisdiction of the Kerala High Court in Kochi.
• There is no legislative assembly and the UT is ruled by an Administrator appointed by the President (i.e. the ruling party at the Centre).

Important demographic data: Patel’s actions have to be understood in the context of who lives on these islands: 94.8% belong to Scheduled Tribes, 96.5% are Muslim. Also this: 65% of the residents consume beef, but only 7% of the men drink alcohol. Lakshadweep also has the lowest crime rate in the country. 

Point to note: All the above facts have now gained great significance because of a spate of new rules and regulations—which “are perceived to be a threat to the cultural identity of the inhabitants and the sensitive ecology of the region.” Hence the hashtag #SaveLakshadweep.

Meet Praful Khoda Patel

Political career: Patel first became an MLA from Gujarat in 2007. His fortunes peaked in 2010 when he was made state Home minister under then CM Narendra Modi—with whom he has close ties: “Saheb (Modi) was very inspired by his decision-making, and meticulous and tough politician image.” 

Administrative career: But Patel lost his seat in 2012, and has since been sidelined within the party establishment. In 2016, he was appointed as administrator, and given joint charge of the UTs of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu—a post typically given to a senior IAS officer (i.e. bureaucrat). In December, he was given additional charge of Lakshadweep. Yeah, so we have one guy ruling over multiple Union Territories.

The big controversies: Patel’s stint as administrator has not exactly been low-key. He was named in a suicide letter written by Dadra and Nagar Haveli MP Mohan Delkar—whose family accused him of trying to frame him in a false criminal case. In March, he was charged with criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide by the Mumbai police. 

A tinpot personality: A lot of what’s happening in Lakshadweep has to do with Patel’s modus operandi—which kicks in on any job he takes. For starters, he is a big fan of total obedience. Patel famously sent a show cause notice to the Dadra & Nagar Haveli’s collector Kannan Gopinathan for “not complying” with his instructions—which eventually led to Gopinathan’s headline-making resignation. An IAS officer told The Wire:

“When Patel reached [Diu], he found himself surrounded by multiple power centres – the local MP, the municipality, panchayats. He took away powers from all of them – be it funds or functionaries… He doesn’t realise there are second, third and fourth level reactions to decisions. He thinks orders should just be obeyed.”

Demolition man: And most of those orders are driven by his biases and values. For example: He ordered the Diu anganwadis to stop serving eggs. But as a former road contractor, his biggest priority on any job is development: “The first thing he does on reaching a new place is ask: ‘What are the pending construction projects?'” In Diu, he mowed down homes of fishermen, Portugese-era buildings etc. When the fishing community protested, they were thrown into temporary prisons. Needless to say, he isn’t a big fan of any kind of dissent either. 

Patel’s raj over Lakshadweep

Since December 2020, Patel has run roughshod over the island’s residents and their daily lives. Here’s a quick roundup of the many sins of arrogance.

Draconian development: Patel is pushing for the creation of a Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA)—which has the right to develop any area having ‘bad layout or obsolete development,” all of which is very hazily defined. According to critics:

“...[T]he legislation vests such powers with the authority that it can prepare comprehensive development plans for any area and relocate people regardless of their will. It provides for forcible eviction, puts the onus on the owner to develop his holding as per the plan prepared by the authority as also to heavily penalise them in the event of non-compliance.”

More foolishly, the aim—to build national highways, railways, airports, theatres, stadia—is at odds with the geography of the islands:

“The islanders opposing the plan have pointed out that the ecologically fragile islands are tiny and thickly populated. The largest of the inhabited islands is Androth with a landmass of 4.9 square km area where the density of population is 2,312 per square km. ‘What sort of highway or tram-way you are planning to construct in that area?’ asks Koya Arafa Mirage, lawyer and leader of Nationalist Youth Congress.”

Demolition derby: As in Diu, Patel’s development agenda has targeted the fishing community—razing huts, sheds, boats, net-drying facilities and storage spaces from the shores, alleging they violate coastal zoning laws. Point to note: 80% of the population earns their livelihood from fishing. See a distraught fisherman describe his plight below:

Also a concern: Ecological destruction: “These are fragile islands already susceptible to climate change. If you start allowing all sorts of development activities, some people legitimately feel it could cause immeasurable damage.” 

Point to note: Patel’s ideas appear to be ‘imported’ from abroad. He told The Print:

“My only agenda is the development of Lakshadweep… Why is it that people are waiting to go to Maldives, but are not even willing to come to Lakshadweep? It is to develop tourism and for long term benefits that we are introducing the [LDA regulation].”

Anti-meat agenda: Another draft law bans the slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks—and prohibits the sale, storage and transportation of beef and beef products in any form. Violations carry up to a minimum 7-year prison sentence plus up to Rs 5 lakhs in fines. As we noted before, 65% of the population eats beef.

Beyond beef: The law is being framed as promoting “animal conservation”—and makes it very difficult to slaughter any kind of animal, as Scroll points out:

“For example, the regulation mandates that the fitness of the animal has to be certified for their slaughter. As per Section 5 (2) of the draft regulation, such certification will not be provided if the animal is a cow, a calf of a cow, a bull or a bullock. This apart, any animal other than the four whose slaughter has been explicitly barred will not be given certification if it is useful for agricultural operations, breeding or giving milk and bearing offspring.”

Point to note: Patel, however, is liberalising the sale of alcohol at hotels and resorts—no doubt, inspired by the Maldives model. In the Muslim-majority UT, only 7% of the men drink liquor—and until Patel came along its consumption was strictly restricted to the uninhabited island resort in Bangaram. Liquor was not allowed in other islands and travellers were not allowed to carry liquor.

The Goonda Act: Under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA), a person can be detained without legal representation for up to one year in order to “to prevent him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.” Patel says he is introducing what is standard practice in the rest of the country: “Only those who have committed a crime will be penalised, for the others it should not be an issue. In the rest of the country, under the Indian Penal Code there is Section 302 for a reason.”

But, but, but: He has no explanation as to why such a law is required in the least violent part of the country. As per 2019 national crime report, Lakshadweep had zero cases of murder, kidnapping, rape, robbery and dacoity. And the most serious cases of crime were “two cases of causing grievous hurt and one each of arson and attempt to commit culpable homicide.” Lakshadweep’s sole MP Mohammed Faizal says:

“Does Lakshadweep have history of such serious crime or terrorism? So, basically what they are intending to do is to scare the people. Other laws, which can cause public outrage, are being framed and they don’t want anyone to protest against them. If they make this draft regulation into a law, then they can easily use it to put people in prison.”

A superspreader administrator: Until January 2021, there were zero cases of Covid in Lakshadweep. As of May 17, it has reported 4,986 cases—which is 7% of its 70,000-strong population. The reason for the change: Patel removed the stringent safety protocols:

“Under the old standard operating procedure (SOP), passengers would be quarantined for seven days in guesthouses run by the UT administration in Kochi, and also in two hotels taken there for the purpose, before they took an RT-PCR test. After arriving in Agatti also, they had to undergo another 14-day quarantine.”

Since December, the quarantine requirement on the mainland and on the islands were removed. All you need to enter Lakshadweep is show a negative RT-PCR Covid test. Patel, however, blamed the rise in cases on the spread of the virus in Kerala.

A very unpopular man

Outside of Lakshadweep, Kerala has seen the biggest upswell in outrage—both among politicians, celebrities and citizens. The state’s Assembly is gearing up to pass a resolution opposing Patel’s new laws. Also pressing the union government over Patel: National opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi, MK Stalin and Sharad Pawar.

Patel’s actions have also divided his own party. Eight members of the BJP youth wing in Lakshadweep have resigned in protest against his “undemocratic actions.” The Lakshadweep unit General Secretary HK Mohammed Kasim is now in outright rebellion, telling Indian Express:

“Patel’s measures will lead to job losses and harassment of people. He is running Lakshadweep like a king. He has not discussed the measures with the leaders here nor taken anyone into confidence.”

And the central command is also taking notice. One senior leader said: “Patel should have taken people into confidence. His actions are damaging the party’s interests, and will affect the Central government’s image too.”

The bottomline: Patel’s actions are not doing the people, the islands or the BJP any good. So why is the union government allowing him to run amok?

Reading list

Scroll and Article 14 offer the best overview. The Hindu has excellent charts that lay out Lakshadweep’s demographics and other data. News18 looks at the rich history of the islands. NewsLaundry looks at Patel’s crackdown on free press. The Print looks at why the Covid cases surged in Lakshadweep. The Wire looks at the ecological impact of these “reforms”—but also has a good section on Patel’s personality.