What Is The Row Around 'Katchatheevu' Island? The New Flashpoint Between BJP-DMK In Tamil Nadu

The BJP has targeted the DMK and the Congress over Katchatheevu island in Sri Lanka prompted by a report in The Times of India. The report alleges that the government led by Indira Gandhi relinquished control of the Palk Strait island to Sri Lanka in 1974.

What's in the report?

Documents obtained by TN BJP chief K Annamalai through an RTI application shed light on Sri Lanka's persistent pursuit of a 1.9 square km landmass, located about 20 km from the Indian shore. Sri Lanka asserted its claim immediately after Independence, challenging India's historical naval exercises on the island.

After years of contestation, India finally agreed to give away the island to Lanka. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru downplayed the issue in 1961, highlighting India's indecision until 1974 when it formally relinquished its claim. The legal complexity of the matter was acknowledged by the Ministry of External Affairs, despite the opinion of the then attorney general, M C Setalvad, who argued for India's sovereignty based on historical rights vested in the Raja of Ramnad by the East India Company.

The documents also revealed the struggle of Indian fishermen detained by the Sri Lankan Navy, prompting India to seek fishing rights leveraging its legal case.

"The matter is by no means clear or free from difficulty but on the assessment of the whole evidence it appears to me that the balance lies in concluding that the sovereignty of India was and is in India," Setalvad said.

The report citing the documents showed the MEA's joint secretary (law and treaties) K Krishna Rao stating that India had a good legal which could have helped the country to secure fishing rights.

In 1960, he wrote, "On the other hand, it may be noted that India has a good legal case, which could be argued with considerable force. I am not suggesting that we have no case at all."

It also highlights Commonwealth Secretary Y D Gundevia writing to the consultative committee in 1968 over giving up the land.

Even Gundevia, who did not consider the uninhabited island, with only a church on it, to be "really important", was against taking the risk of having to give it up, the MEA told the consultative committee in 1968.

Things to know about Katchatheevu

• Katchatheevu, a 163-acre uninhabited island situated between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, India.
• Historically, it was under the control of the British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) since 1921, although India never exercised direct authority over it. The dispute persisted until 1974 when India formally recognized Sri Lanka's sovereignty over the island.
• The decision to cede Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka was part of the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement" brokered by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, aiming to settle maritime boundaries in the Palk Strait.
• Despite its historical ties to the Ramnad Kingdom and later the Madras Presidency, the island was transferred to Sri Lankan territory in 1921. This move was motivated by India's desire to avoid potential security risks posed by international waters between the two neighbours.
• In return, India obtained exclusive territorial rights over the Wedge Bank fishing area off the coast of Kanyakumari.

How Congress Reacted?
Congress has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his charge that Indira Gandhi gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka and asked why he did not take steps to get it back during his 10-year rule.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that raising the "sensitive" issue ahead of elections shows his "desperation". The opposition leader also questioned why the prime minister gave a "clean chit" to China after 20 bravehearts made supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

The Congress chief said that Katchatheevu island was given to Sri Lanka as part of a friendly agreement in 1974 and reminded the Modi government that it too had undertaken a similar "friendly gesture" towards Bangladesh on exchange of border enclaves.

"Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ji, You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable," he said in a post on X.

Kharge cited the PM's statement made in 2015 and said the Prime Minister had said, "The Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh is not just about realignment of land, it is about a meeting of hearts". "This is your own statement in 2015 lauding your own government's realisation of Smt. Indira Gandhi's initiative in 1974," Kharge said.

The Congress President further alleged, "Under your Government, in a friendly gesture, 111 enclaves from India were transferred to Bangladesh, and 55 enclaves came to India." In 1974, the Congress chief said, a similar agreement, based on a friendly gesture, was initiated with another country - Sri Lanka on Katchatheevu.

"On the eve of elections in Tamil Nadu, you are raising this sensitive issue, but your own Government's Attorney General, Shri Mukul Rohtagi in 2014 told the following to the Supreme Court - 'Katchatheevu went to Sri Lanka by an agreement in 1974'¦ How can it be taken back today? If you want Katchatheevu back, you will have to go to war to get it back'.

"Pradhan Mantri ji, you should tell, did your government take any steps to resolve this issue and take back Katchatheevu," he asked.

"Gandhi ji, Pandit Nehru ji, Sardar Patel ji, Indira Gandhi ji, Rajiv Gandhi ji - all our beloved leaders lived and died for India's unity, our territorial integrity.

"Sardar Patel ji played a vital role in uniting 600 princely states.

"In contrast, you, PM Modi, gave a clean chit to China, after 20 bravehearts made supreme sacrifice in Galwan Valley...," Kharge said.