by CEDRIC PRAKASH
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Aisha Sultana, a native of Lakshadweep’s Chetlat island, is today one of India’s visible faces in the cry for justice! She is a well-known actor and director and an activist. Lakshadweep, a Union Territory, is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian Sea: a paradise with pristine beauty. Its 70,000-strong population is predominantly Muslim (with smaller percentages of Hindus and Christians); although the people of Lakshadweep have strong ties with Kerala (the nearest place to the Indian mainland), they have a distinct social and cultural identity.
Recently, the current administrator, Praful Khoda Patel, a politician of the ruling party, introduced a slew of draft legislation, which has sparked widespread protests not only in Lakshadweep but all over the country. The proposed policies are clearly anti-people and unjust, bound to have a wide-ranging impact on the islands: on the lives and livelihoods of Lakshadweep’s residents. A land development plan gives the administrator vast powers to take over land and relocate people, and provides for stringent penalties for those who resist. The plan allows for mining and exploitation of mineral resources in the islands. Under the new rules, the slaughter of cows and transport of beef products has been made an offense. The Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Regulation provides for detention of a person without any public disclosure for a period of up to a year. The legislations are clearly designed to help the crony capitalist friends of the ruling regime!
Indian Currents for more