So the three Maldives ministers who mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been suspended. And Indians continue to cancel vacations to Maldives by the thousands.
All very good.
Maldives cannot sustain itself without India, its closest neighbor. That was evident when the Indian Navy had to rush its ships to provide drinking water to the islands when a water plant there broke down a few years ago. Thousands of Maldivians travel to India for medical treatment. The island is facing rising sea levels and there was once even talk of buying land in India for its population.
But a few anti-Modi, anti-Hindu politicians decided to overlook all that and try to mock Modi. They forgot that Modi is no Rahul Gandhi, or Manmohan Singh. They should just ask Malaysia if they have any doubts of what punishment will rain down on their nation. When India boycotted Malaysian palm oil imports over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's attempt to become a global spokesman for Muslim migrants, Kuala Lumpur was brought down on its knees. Modi was just taking a leaf out of a playbook the Chinese have wielded for decades. Just that India could not use the playbook earlier -- partly because it didn't have any economic heft to speak of, and partly because most Indian prime ministers before Modi (with the notable exception of AB Vajpayee) were just interested in being on the good books of the west.
And the thing is India could do punish Malaysia without any official comments or action. The Indian traders did the boycott -- probably nudged behind the scenes by the BJP's machine. Now the same thing is happening with Maldives. India has officially protested but not called for boycotting Maldivian holiday destinations. But the Indian people, in their new-found patriotic fervor, just took things into their hands.
As an aside, that shows how out of touch the Indian political opposition is. Their self-serving ways no longer sell among India's young voters. It is interesting that none of them have uttered a word on the Maldivians attempt to mock Modi and India. That dishonesty doesn't go unnoticed in the vibrant cyberspace of today's India.
But amid all this, what is more interesting is why the three Maldives ministers, who are now supposedly suspended (go figure!) from the ministry managed to link Modi's vacation in Lakshadweep to Maldives. Why would they shoot themselves in the foot? Modi never mentioned Maldives, and as India's prime minister he was just doing his job.
Was it extreme insecurity that made the three make those comments? Or extreme hate for India? That is probably a billion dollar question that will hang over Maldives for years. Perhaps forever.
Indian make up the most number of tourists arriving in Maldives every year. And the country cannot sustain its standard of living without Indian support. Perhaps that may be wrong -- but without India, it is safe to say that they will have to pay a heavy cost to keep up their standard of living. Even for their security, the country will have to pay a heavy cost in terms of cultural impact and sovereignty, not to talk of resources, if it opts for the umbrella of another powerful country. India is the least invasive and harmful option they will ever find on the globe.
Imagine if they had not made those comments. A few thousand Indians would have started going to Lakshadweep on vacation. Much like what happened to Kumarakom in Kerala when Prime Minister A B Vajpayee vacationed there in the naughts. But that growth would have come without damaging Maldives' tourism. Because there are enough Indians traveling to fill both places!
Now Maldives' tourism industry has suffered a body blow. Thousands of Indian will not go there anymore. May be millions.
And the Modi government will actively promote Lakshadweep, pulling away vacationers to India's unexplored islands.
Maldives can of course, in theory, fill that gaping hole on their balance sheet with Chinese tourists and Chinese money. But they will realize the problems that will bring when -- and that is a big if -- the Chinese start coming. They don't have the same sensitivities to local culture like Indians.
Great going Prime Minister Mohammed Muizzu! Do you have more such nutcases to add to your ministry?
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