The lost Island of Kachatheevu

 

 

Earlier, it was only a murmur. Now, it has transformed into a full blown movement. The Indian Tamil fishermen want the government to get back Kachatheevu, a small barren island in the Palk Strait, from Sri Lanka. This demand is prompted by the Sri Lankan navy’s indiscriminate attacks on Indian fishermen straying into Sri Lankan waters. Till date, 140 Indian fishermen have lost their lives to the guns of the Sri Lankan navy in the Palk Strait. Records show 330 attacks which injured 309 fisherfolk.

In one of India’s majorly failed foreign policy initiatives, Kachatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka on June 26, 1974, in an agreement between the then Prime Ministers of the respective countries, late Indira Gandhi and late Sirimavo Bandarnaike. This decision affected the livelihoods of the Tamil fishermen, who till now enjoyed a free catch near Kachatheevu, where the waters are rich in fish. Though Tamil fishermen continue straying into Sri Lankan waters to this day, the navy there has indiscriminately arrested or shot at anyone who strays into their waters ever since the Sri Lanka civil war started in 1983.

Retd Col R Hariharan, an expert on South Asian affairs, told TSI: “Sri Lankan waters are rich in fish whereas the fish is not so abundant in Indian waters. We have to find alternatives to improve the livelihood of our poor fishermen. There must be a joint mechanism between the fishermen of both countries and officials.”

Kachatheevu should be taken from Sri Lanka for perpetual lease, suggests Prof V Suryanarayanan, a Chennai based expert on Indo-Sri Lankan fisherman affairs. “Seventy percent of all violations happen in and around Kachatheevu. By taking it on lease, we can reduce these incidents. Indian fishermen should also be licenced by the Sri Lankan government to fish up to five nautical miles into their waters,” he says. A stronger political will is needed to solve this problem. Are our politicians ready?