Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India’s island cluster simmers with tension over new regulations

India’s island cluster simmers with tension over new regulations

LAKSHADWEEP, a normally tranquil group of islands off the southwest coast of India, has been simmering with tension over a slew of rules proposed by its administrator Praful Patel.

Critics said the proposals are "anti-people" and threaten the livelihoods of the islanders. The opposition to the rule that started as a social media campaign by students gained traction last week, with #SaveLakshadweep being backed by prominent politicians including opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.


Gandhi wrote to prime minister Narendra Modi asking him to ensure that the proposals are withdrawn. "Lakshadweep is India's jewel in the ocean. The ignorant bigots in power are destroying it. I stand with the people of Lakshadweep," he tweeted.

One of the draft legislations which prompted vocal resentment is the Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, which empowers the administrator to constitute authorities to plan the development of any area identified as having “bad layout or obsolete development”.

Some suspect this might have been issued at the behest of ‘real estate interests’ seeking to usurp small holdings of property owned by the islanders.

Other proposals involve a ban on cow slaughter and allowing some businesses to sell alcohol, seen as offending religious sentiments. Currently, the sale and consumption of alcohol is largely banned in the islands.

Patel, who has also been criticised for relaxing quarantine guidelines which led to a spike in Covid-19 cases this year, told media his proposals will boost tourism in Lakshadweep and there are no plans to roll them back.

The cluster of 36 islands with a population of about 65,000 - predominantly Muslims - is located in the Arabian Sea nearly 500 km (300 miles) off of Kerala.

Developments in Lakshadweep impact Kerala as the islands are commercially and logistically connected to it.

The Lakshadweep Students Association (LSA) began a campaign on Twitter and Instagram, which gained momentum after Elamaram Kareem, a Kerala MP, wrote to India's president urging a change of guard in the archipelago.

On Monday (31), the legislative assembly of Kerala adopted a motion demanding protection for people's livelihoods and the removal of Patel as the administrator of Lakshadweep.

The Kerala high court on Monday (31) said it is up to the federal government to decide whether to accept the objections to the draft Lakshadweep town and country planning regulation.

Mohammed Faizal, an MP from Lakshadweep, alleged that Patel “cared little” to understand the islanders' culture and ecology. The Congress MP, who has been demanding a recall of Patel, said the draft legislation was in blatant violation of the country’s supreme court guidelines for carrying out developmental works on the ecologically sensitive islands.

Meanwhile, the Lakshadweep administration announced the extension of the complete shutdown till June 6 considering the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the islands.

India's home minister Amit Shah, however, said no measures will be carried out without taking the people in the islands into confidence, media reports said on Tuesday (1), indicating that Patel is likely to be asked to go slow on the sweeping changes.

More For You

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less
Piyush Goyal

Piyush Goyal recalled that in February, Narendra Modi and Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Trade talks with US moving forward positively, says Indian minister Goyal

INDIA’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that negotiations on the proposed trade agreement between India and the United States, which began in March, are progressing in a positive atmosphere and both sides are satisfied with the discussions.

He recalled that in February, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump had instructed their trade ministers to conclude the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement (BTA) by November 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. (Representational image: iStock)

Woman raped in racially aggravated attack in Oldbury

A WOMAN in her 20s was raped in Oldbury in what police are treating as a racially aggravated attack.

West Midlands Police said they were called just before 08:30 BST on Tuesday, September 9, after the woman reported being attacked by two men near Tame Road. Officers said the men made a racist remark during the incident.

Keep ReadingShow less