Lakshadweep administrator to arrive on island tomorrow amid row over orders

Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel’s impending arrival has led to security being tightened on the island.

Lakshadweep administrator Praful Patel will arrive in the Union territory on Monday amid a raging controversy over a set of orders, which, locals and critics argue, will destroy the unique culture and tradition of the 36-island archipelago.

People protesting during a 12-hour hunger strike against the regulations brought in by the Lakshadweep administration, in Lakshadweep on, June 7.

Patel, who was appointed as the 35th administrator of Lakshadweep last December after the death of his predecessor Dineshwar Sharma, is likely to face protests. Save Lakshadweep Forum, a body formed to mount protests against the “draconian” orders, has announced it will observe a “Black Day” on June 14. The protesters have also sought time to meet Praful Patel, who is also the first administrator of the joint UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDU).

With Patel set to arrive in Lakshadweep, security has been tightened on the island.

At the heart of the ongoing protests are norms like Goonda Act, Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) and two-child rule among others. The Goonda Act proposes to detain a person in jail for up to 12 months without any legal representation. Lakshadweep has the lowest crime rate in the country, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report in 2019. Locals, therefore, allege the new law would be misused to detain people without valid reasons, in order to create a “fear psychosis.”

LDAR, they say, would give the administrator sweeping powers to take over land forcefully, relocate people and propose harsh punishment to those who object to the regulation. The two-child norm, proposed under the draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation Act, 2021, proposes a ban on contesting elections on those with more than two children. Hence, this would take away from the islanders their right to contest an election as the birth rate is very high among the rural populace, critics argue.

Another bone of contention is the proposed ban on animal slaughter without a certificate from a competent authority, as well as the removal of beef from the menu of the mid-day meal scheme for students of Lakshadweep. Since the UT has a 95% Muslim population, critics see this as an attempt by the Centre’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to impose its political and ideological views on the islanders.

The orders have also faced protests from several members of the BJP’s Lakshadweep unit. Over a dozen members have quit in protest over a sedition case filed against filmmaker Aisha Sultana for allegedly calling the Lakshadweep administrator a “bio-weapon launched by the Centre.”