Lakshadweep a tropical paradise? Not to its own Muslim-majority population
K.M Ragesh | 09 January 2023 | The Telegraph
The sudden national focus on Lakshadweep as India’s answer to the Maldives has unwittingly re-foregrounded the complaints the archipelago’s Muslim-majority population has been voicing for months about an attack on its way of life by the government.
Local politicians on the archipelago accuse the authorities of targeting residents’ food habits, livelihood, social mores, even the language of instruction.
The publicity over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Lakshadweep, the subsequent cyber war and the row over the derogatory comments by three Maldivian deputy ministers has led to many Indians cancelling their holiday bookings in the island nation.
Celebrities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Sachin Tendulkar, as well as some BJP leaders, have joined hundreds of Indian social media users in plugging domestic tourist destinations, some of them portraying Lakshadweep as an alternative to the Maldives….