Sri Lanka and the Maldives: the island neighbours

Detail

Sri Lanka: India's nearest neighbour by sea

• Sri Lanka is an island country. It lies to the southeast of India, in the Indian Ocean.
• At the nearest point it is only about 32 km from India, across the Palk Strait (NCERT Class 7).
• NCERT Class 11 adds that two water bodies separate the two countries: the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.
• Cultural links:
• In the 3rd century BCE, Emperor Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and his daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka. They took Buddhism there.

• The Indian epics also travelled to the island.

• Civil war (mid-1980s to around 2010):

• The war was fought between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority.
• The armed Tamil group LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) was defeated in 2009.
• Many Tamils fled across the narrow sea as refugees to Tamil Nadu.

Gulf and strait: the key difference

Feature	Meaning	Example here
Strait	A narrow strip of sea that joins two larger seas	Palk Strait: joins the Bay of Bengal to Palk Bay
Gulf	A large part of the sea that cuts into the land and is partly closed in by it	Gulf of Mannar: lies south of Adam's Bridge, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka
Bay	An opening of the sea into the land, usually smaller and with a wider mouth than a gulf	Palk Bay: lies between the Palk Strait and Adam's Bridge

The sea between India and Sri Lanka, from north to south

• Palk Strait: a narrow, shallow strait between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka. It joins the Bay of Bengal to Palk Bay.
• Palk Bay: a shallow stretch of water south of the strait. Adam's Bridge closes it off on the south side.
• Adam's Bridge (Rama Setu):
• A chain of limestone shoals about 48 km long. Shoals are shallow sandbanks and rocks just under the sea surface.
• It runs from Pamban (Rameswaram) Island in India to Mannar Island off the northwest coast of Sri Lanka. Britannica gives its length as about 30 miles, which is roughly 48 km [8].
• It separates Palk Bay in the north from the Gulf of Mannar in the south.

• Many of the shoals are so shallow that ships cannot pass. People have tried to dredge a channel through it since the early 19th century [8].

• Gulf of Mannar: a shallow inlet of the sea south of Adam's Bridge. It has coral reefs, seagrass and dugongs.

Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project: stalled

• Aim: to dredge (dig out) the shallow sea floor and make a ship channel through Palk Bay, Palk Strait and Adam's Bridge.
• Ships would then not need to sail all the way around Sri Lanka.

• The Government of India approved the project in 2005 [8].

• Why it stopped:

• On 14 September 2007, the Supreme Court passed an interim order. It suspended dredging only at Adam's Bridge / Ram Sethu [6].
• Because of long court cases, all dredging in Palk Bay and Palk Strait also stopped in July 2009 [6].
• Only about 9.52 million cubic metres had been dredged by then. This is 19.81% of the planned 48.05 million cubic metres (Annual Report 2021-22) [6].

• Objections came from three sides: the religious importance of Rama Setu, possible loss of thorium deposits, and a fear of higher tsunami risk [8].

• New plan: in March 2018, the government told the court it would look for a different route that does not damage Adam's Bridge [6].

Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve

• Biosphere reserve means a large protected area. Its core is kept strictly for nature, and the people living around it use the land and sea in a sustainable way.
• Timeline:
• 1986: Tamil Nadu declared the area a Marine National Park [4].
• 1989: the Government of India declared it India's first marine biosphere reserve. It is also the first marine biosphere reserve in South and South-East Asia [4].
• It is part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) network [3].

• 2022: it was listed as a Ramsar site, which is a wetland of international importance [5].

• The 21 islands:

• The core zone, the Marine National Park, is a chain of 21 islands with their coral reefs. They lie off the Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) districts of Tamil Nadu [4].

• The islands fall into three groups of seven each: Mandapam, Keelakarai and Tuticorin [4].

• Wildlife:

• About 3,600 species of plants and animals live here [4].

• Fringing reefs (reefs that grow along the shore) and patch reefs (small separate reefs) ring the islands. They are called an "underwater tropical rainforest" [4].

• The dugong link:

• Seagrass covers the sea floor.
• The dugong (Dugong dugon, the "sea cow") is an endangered mammal that eats only plants, and it feeds on this seagrass [4].
• The Gulf of Mannar is the last important refuge for the dugong off the Indian coast [4].

Katchatheevu and the maritime boundary

• Katchatheevu is a small uninhabited islet in the Palk Strait.
• 1974 agreement:
• It was signed at Colombo on 26 June 1974 and at New Delhi on 28 June 1974.
• It fixed the boundary in the historic waters of the Palk Strait [2].
• Under it, Katchatheevu falls on the Sri Lankan side.

• Indian fishermen and pilgrims could still visit Katchatheevu as before, without visas or travel documents [2].

• 1976 agreements:

• The first, signed on 23 March 1976, fixed the boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal [2].
• A Supplementary Agreement, signed on 22 November 1976, extended the Gulf of Mannar boundary [2].

• (NCERT: the 1976 agreement limited Indian fishing in Sri Lankan waters.)

• Why it is still in the news (verify current):

• Tamil Nadu trawlers (fishing boats that drag large nets) often cross the boundary line.
• Sri Lanka arrests the fishers.
• Tamil Nadu then asks for Katchatheevu to be taken back.

The Maldives: a nation of islets

• Location:
• The Maldives has over 1,100 coral islets grouped in 26 atolls.

• It lies about 130 km from Minicoy (Lakshadweep), across the Eight Degree Channel (about 8°N).

• Atoll means a ring-shaped coral reef or chain of islets around a shallow lagoon (a calm body of water).

• How it forms: coral grows around a volcanic island → the island slowly sinks → the coral keeps growing upward → a ring of reef and islets is left around a lagoon.

• Cultural links with India:

• The islands have Buddhist remains from before Islam came.
• South Indian influences are seen in coconut curries, roshi (a flatbread) and the Boduberu drum dance, whose rhythm echoes Tamil folk music.
• Dhivehi, the Maldivian language, has words taken from Sanskrit, Tamil and Malayalam:
  • raajje means kingdom or country
  • mas means fish
  • dhoni means boat

India–Maldives: independence, help and politics

• The Maldives became independent in 1965, and India recognised it soon after.
• Operation Cactus (1988):
• Mercenaries (hired foreign fighters) tried a coup against the elected government.

• At the Maldives' request, India sent help. Indian Navy ships INS Godavari and INS Betwa rescued the people the fleeing mercenaries had taken [7].

• 2004 tsunami: India sent relief to the Maldives.

• Operation Neer (2014):
• Male ran short of drinking water.

• The Indian Navy brought fresh water [7].

• COVID-19: India sent medical help and vaccines.

• India calls itself the "first responder" to the Maldives [7].
• Ties fell and then recovered (verify current):
• Relations dipped during the "India Out" campaign of 2023-24.
• They improved again. In October 2024 the two countries adopted a vision for a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership [9].

Climate threat and solar energy

• Most of the Maldives is only 1–2 m above sea level, so it is very exposed to sea-level rise.
• Cause: global warming melts ice sheets and warms seawater, which then expands.
• Process: the sea rises. Storm waves and salt water spread further onto the land.

• Result: the sea may rise by 1 m by 2100, which could drown most of the islets.

• In 2009 the Maldives held a cabinet meeting underwater to warn the world about this danger (NCERT Fig. 2.19).

• The Maldives is a member of the International Solar Alliance, a group led by India and France that promotes solar energy.

Prelims Hooks

• Palk Strait joins the Bay of Bengal to Palk Bay. Adam's Bridge separates Palk Bay from the Gulf of Mannar.
• Order from north to south: Bay of Bengal → Palk Strait → Palk Bay → Adam's Bridge → Gulf of Mannar.
• Adam's Bridge runs from Pamban (Rameswaram) Island to Mannar Island and is about 48 km long.
• Gulf of Mannar: Marine National Park in 1986 (declared by Tamil Nadu); India's first marine biosphere reserve in 1989; 21 islands in three groups (Mandapam, Keelakarai, Tuticorin); Ramsar site in 2022.
• The dugong is the flagship animal of the Gulf of Mannar because it feeds on the seagrass there.
• Katchatheevu lies in the Palk Strait (not the Gulf of Mannar). It was given to Sri Lanka under the 1974 agreement. The 1976 agreement covered the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal.
• The Eight Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the Maldives. Trap: the Nine Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the main Lakshadweep islands.
• Operation Cactus = 1988 coup in the Maldives. Operation Neer = 2014 water crisis in Male.
• Dhivehi borrowings: raajje = kingdom, mas = fish, dhoni = boat. Boduberu is a drum dance.
• Buddhism reached Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE through Mahendra and Sanghamitra.

Mains Points

• Livelihood versus sovereignty in the Palk Bay (GS-I/II):
• The shallow, narrow sea makes it easy to cross the boundary line.
• Tamil Nadu trawlers fish in Sri Lankan waters.
• Sri Lanka arrests them, and the Katchatheevu question comes back.

• Possible solutions: deep-sea fishing boats, ending bottom trawling (dragging nets along the sea floor), and joint working groups.

• Development versus environment and faith (GS-III):

• The Sethusamudram channel would make shipping routes shorter.
• But it threatens the coral reefs and dugong habitat of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, and it touches the religious meaning of Rama Setu.

• That is why the government is looking at a different route.

• Small island states and climate change (GS-I/III):

• Low coral atolls such as the Maldives and Lakshadweep face sea-level rise, coral bleaching (coral turning white and dying when the sea gets too warm) and storm surges (sea water pushed onto land by a storm).

• Climate adaptation and support through the International Solar Alliance are key tools.

• Geography shapes security (GS-I/II):

• The Maldives sits close to the busy sea routes of the Indian Ocean, and it is near India.
• This explains India's role as first responder (1988, 2004, 2014, COVID-19) and its maritime security partnership with the Maldives.