Maldives A Change After Three Decades

Location

A group of atolls stretching south of India8217;s Lakshadweep islands between the Minicoy and the Chargos archipelagoes, about 700 km south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of the Indian Ocean. The 26 atolls of the Maldives encompass a territory of 1,192 islets, of which 250 are inhabited.

Political history

8226; Islam was introduced in 1153 and subsequently governed as an independent Islamic Sultanate till 1968.

8226; Became British protectorate in 1887; gained independence in 1965.

8226; The Sultanate continued to operate for another three years under King Muhammad Fareed.

8226; A referendum held in 1968 marked the Maldives8217; transition from a Sultanate to a republic with Ibrahim Nasir, the Prime Minister under the Sultanate, as President.

8226; Nasir was succeeded in 1978 by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Population

8226; Smallest Asian country in terms of population which is 385,925 approx as per July 2008 statistics. More than 70,000 foreign employees and about 33,000 illegal immigrants consisting mainly of people from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, account for more than one-third of the Maldivian population.

Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs.

Religion: Sunni Muslim; smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world.

Languages: Maldivian Dhivehi a dialect of Sinhala, the script derived from Arabic. English mostly an administrative and commercial language, also the medium of instruction in schools.

Relationship with India

8226; In November 1988, Maldivians headed by businessman Lutfee used Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries to stage a coup against President Gayoom. After an appeal from Gayoom, the Indian Air Force airlifted a parachute battalion group from Agra and flew them non-stop over 2,000 km to the Maldives in an operation termed Operation Cactus. The Indian paratroopers who landed at Hulule and secured the airfield restored the Gayoom Government rule within 24 hours.

Other facts

8226; Tourism is the country8217;s largest industry, biggest foreign exchange earner, contributing about 28 per cent to the GDP.

8226; Consisting of some of the lowest islands of the world, with more than 80 per cent of its land less than a metre above sea level, the Maldives are highly vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by global warming. Scientists have warned that if global warming continues, the entire island nation could sink beneath the ocean within 100 years. Much havoc has already been wrecked by the 2004 tsunami catastrophe, which besides devastating the country8217;s infrastructure, also erased some of its tiny atolls.

Compiled by SHARIKA C