Following “repeated publications and social media posts insulting the dignity of the High Commission” and diplomats stationed in the nation, the Indian High Commission in the Maldives has requested government action and increased protection.
A letter from the Maldives High Commission to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was leaked last week and widely circulated in Maldivian local media and social media platforms. The letter referenced the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) Preamble, stating that these “attacks are motivated, vicious, and more personal” and that they might.
The letter sparked widespread debate in Maldivian political circles, prompting the country’s ruling party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), to issue an official statement on July 2 expressing “alarm over the ill-founded and derogatory statements made about Indian officials.”
Anti-India sentiments are widespread.
The MDP might be alluding to the ‘India Out’ movement, which began as on-the-ground protests in the Maldives last year and has since expanded worldwide across social media platforms using the term and an associated hashtag. “We’re simply opposing the country’s military presence. We are not advocating a violent confrontation with India or Indians in the Maldives “Shifxan Ahmed, co-founder of Dhiyares and a campaign participant
“This ‘India Out’ movement isn’t about interactions between people. We want Indians to feel secure in their homeland. So, if anybody uses the ‘India Out’ hashtags to make violent threats, we reject those tweets. We’re all about calmly airing our grievances. It’s a cause-oriented movement “Ahmed expressed his thoughts.
Anti-India attitude did not emerge suddenly last year; it has been growing for over a decade, dating back to when Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of the Progressive Party (PPM) was elected president in 2013. According to academics, India-Maldives ties worsened during the PPM’s five-year administration, and the anti-India sentiment was evident at the time.
Prittle Prattle News has curated this article.
