Sanatan Prabhat > Location > Asia > India > Delhi > Indira Gandhi gifted the Indian island Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka : PM Modi’s serious allegation

Indira Gandhi gifted the Indian island Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka : PM Modi’s serious allegation

This island is between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

Current PM Modi and former PM India Gandhi

New Delhi – On 31st March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again attacked the Congress for its decision to ‘callously give away’ the island of Katchatheevu. Such acts have weakened the unity and integrity of India in the last 75 years. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave this island to Sri Lanka in 1974. PM Modi made this claim citing the Right to Information report on Katchatheevu. The PM’s post comes after documents obtained by BJP Tamil Nadu Chief K Annamalai seemed to indicate that Congress never attached much importance to the tiny, uninhabited island. Earlier on 10th August 2023, PM Modi had raised the issue of Katchatheevu in the Parliament in response to the no-confidence motion.

Information in the Right to Information Report

This report states,

1. In 1974, an agreement was signed between the former PM of India Indira Gandhi and the former President of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Under this, Katchatheevu Island was formally handed over to Sri Lanka. Indira Gandhi made this agreement while looking ahead to the Lok Sabha campaign in Tamil Nadu.
2. In 1974, two meetings were held between India and Sri Lanka. The first meeting was held on 26th June 1974 in Colombo, while the second meeting was held in Delhi on 28th June 1974. In both the meetings it was agreed to give this island to Sri Lanka.
3. Certain conditions were laid down in the agreement. One of them being that Indian fishermen could go to the island to dry their nets. Along with this, Indians will have visa-free access to the churches built on the island.

Prime Minister’s baseless statement : Congress

On this claim, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said, the problem with the PM is he makes statements without any references. What PM was doing for nine years then ? These are selective pieces of propaganda that they fake out. It is all because elections are going on in Tamil Nadu and all the polls show that BJP will be badly smashed in Tamil Nadu.

Congress has no regrets : Union Home Minister

On this, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Congress abandoned Katchatheevu and has no regrets about it. Sometimes Congress MPs talk about dividing the country, sometimes they malign Indian culture and tradition. This shows that the Congress is against the unity and integrity of India.

Where is Katchatheevu Island ?

Katchatheevu is a 285-acre uninhabited speck in the Palk Strait, between India and Sri Lanka. It is no more than 1.6 km in length and slightly over 300 m wide at its broadest point. It lies northeast of Rameswaram, about 33 km from the Indian coast. It is about 62 km southwest of Jaffna, at the northern tip of Sri Lanka and 24 km away from the inhabited Delft Island, belonging to Sri Lanka. The island connects the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The island was formed after a volcanic eruption in the 14th century.

History of Katchatheevu Island

Spread over 285 acres, this island was under the jurisdiction of King Ramnad of Madurai in the 17th century. Later, during the British rule, this island came under the name of ‘Madras Presidency’. When India became independent in 1947, it was declared as part of India in government documents; but Sri Lanka has always claimed it.

Editorial Perspectives

  • Anti-national Congress gifts such a strategically important island to a neighbouring country ! Rahul Gandhi, who has objected to the Union Government’s policy on China, should be asked about this mistake made by his grandmother.
  • The Maldives is being swallowed up by China. Be it Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port or Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, China has a cunning plan to encircle India. India needs to prevent Maldives from becoming a puppet of China.

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