By Girish Linganna
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called out the DMK party for not being consistent about the Katchatheevu island issue. He said new information has shown the party's true colors. Before this, he had also pointed out that the Congress party gave away the island to Sri Lanka in the 1970s.
The Prime Minister shared a message on social media platform X saying, “Putting talk aside, the DMK hasn't taken any real steps to protect the interests of Tamil Nadu. Fresh information about #Katchatheevu has completely revealed the DMK's inconsistent actions.”
He went on to slam the Congress and DMK, calling them “family-based groups” that only look out for themselves and ignore everyone else's well-being. He stressed that their lack of action on the Katchatheevu matter has especially hurt the fishermen and fisherwomen of Tamil Nadu.
Fishermen from Tamil Nadu use Katchatheevu island for fishing, but they sometimes get caught by the Sri Lankan Navy when they cross the maritime border to reach the island.
The Prime Minister made his remarks in response to an RTI report that exposed the Congress government's choice, led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to transfer control of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka in 1974. Modi claimed that this decision has had a negative impact on India's unity and interests.
The narrative surrounding India's ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka during Indira Gandhi's tenure as prime minister in 1974 is widely known. Nonetheless, the issue has recently gained prominence in Tamil Nadu's political discourse, thanks to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) campaigning efforts in the state, transforming it into a highly contentious topic.
Katchatheevu is a small, unoccupied island spanning 285 acres within the Palk Strait that lies between India and Sri Lanka. The island's maximum length reaches approximately 1.6 kilometres, and its widest section measures just over 300 meters.
The island is situated to the northeast of Rameswaram, roughly 33 kilometres off the coast of India. It's located 62 kilometres southwest of Jaffna, which is at the northernmost point of Sri Lanka, and is about 24 kilometres from the populated Delft Island, which is part of Sri Lanka.
Katchatheevu Island is home to a single building, St Anthony's church, which dates back to the early 1900s. Each year, there's a festival where Christian priests from India and Sri Lanka come together to hold services. Devotees from both countries travel to the island for this event. In 2023, for instance, 2,500 Indian pilgrims went to Katchatheevu from Rameswaram to participate in the festival.
Katchatheevu is inhospitable for long-term habitation due to the absence of fresh water sources. Katchatheevu was formed by a volcanic eruption in the 14th century, making it quite young in terms of Earth's history.
In the distant past, during the early medieval times, the Sri Lankan Jaffna kingdom ruled over it. Then, in the 1600s, authority shifted to the Ramnadzamindari, a feudal domain also called as a territory located in Ramanathapuram, which is around 55 kilometers to the northwest of Rameswaram.
During the British rule, Katchatheevu became a part of the Madras Presidency. However, in 1921, when both India and Sri Lanka were under British control, they both laid claim to Katchatheevu to set their fishing borders. Although a survey placed the island within Sri Lanka's territory, an Indian British delegation contested this, arguing that the island belonged to the Ramnad kingdom. This disagreement remained unresolved until 1974.
In 1974, Indira Gandhi worked to finally fix the sea boundary issue between India and Sri Lanka. Through a deal called the ‘Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement', she handed over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. She believed that the island wasn't very important strategically and that giving it up would strengthen India's relationship with its neighbour to the south.
Additionally, the deal allowed Indian fishermen to keep going to Katchatheevu as they always had. However, the agreement didn't clearly sort out fishing rights. Sri Lanka took it to mean that Indian fishermen could only use the island for specific purposes like resting, drying their nets, and visiting the Catholic shrine, without needing a visa.
In 1976, another agreement came about during India's state of Emergency, which prevented both countries from fishing in each other's Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Katchatheevu was right on the border of the EEZs of both countries, which left some grey area regarding the fishing rights.
From 1983 to 2009, the border conflict was largely overlooked due to the intense civil war in Sri Lanka. During this time, Sri Lanka's navy was focused on disrupting the supply channels of the LTTE in Jaffna. Consequently, Indian fishermen often crossed into Sri Lankan waters. Larger Indian fishing boats were a particular problem because they not only fished excessively but also caused harm to Sri Lankan fishing gear and vessels.
After the conflict with the LTTE concluded in 2009, the situation shifted significantly. Colombo strengthened its naval patrols and started paying closer attention to Indian fishermen. With dwindling fish stocks near the Indian coast, these fishermen often ventured into Sri Lankan waters, as was their long-standing practice, but now they started facing repercussions.
To this day, the Sri Lankan navy regularly detains Indian fishermen, with numerous claims of harsh treatment and fatalities while in custody. Calls for the return of Katchatheevu resurface whenever such events occur.
Tamil Nadu's stance on Katchatheevu is that the island was handed over to Sri Lanka without asking for the Tamil Nadu state assembly's opinion. Right from the start, there was strong opposition to Indira Gandhi's decision, with critics pointing to the past governance of the island by the Ramnadzamindari and the long-established fishing rights of Tamil fishermen from India.
In 2008, the AIADMK leader, the late J Jayalalithaa, took legal action, claiming that Katchatheevu couldn't be given to another country without changing India's constitution. She stated that the 1974 agreement had harmed the traditional fishing practices and the way of life for Indian fishermen.
Upon becoming chief minister in 2011, she pushed a measure through the State Assembly and, in 2012, appealed to the Supreme Court to quickly address her petition due to the rising number of Indian fishermen being detained by Sri Lanka.
Last year, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK chief MK Stalin sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi just before Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's trip to India. In the letter, Stalin urged Modi to bring up important issues, including the Katchatheevu situation.
The letter highlighted that the central government's decision to give Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka without Tamil Nadu's approval has taken away the rights of Tamil Nadu's fishermen and has negatively affected their ability to earn a living. This point echoes the objections raised by the Tamil Nadu government back in 1974.
Stalin also referred to past efforts by the former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who had reached out to the Prime Minister in 2006, seeking to get Katchatheevu back. The aim was to improve the situation for Tamil Nadu's fishermen so they could have a peaceful life.
The BJP, particularly its Tamil Nadu branch, has been outspoken about wanting to get Katchatheevu back for India. However, even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has heard the demands from Tamil politicians, they haven't taken much action, as there's not much they can realistically do.
In 2014, Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi informed the Supreme Court, “Katchatheevu was handed over to Sri Lanka through a 1974 agreement… It's not possible to reclaim it now without conflict. To retrieve Katchatheevu, a war would be necessary.” IPA
