It is spread across 32 square kilometres – it is India’s smallest Union Territory – but it has become the talk of the town. We are talking about Lakshadweep, which is at the centre of the India-Maldives row.
The island state has gone viral all over India as well as internationally, courtesy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit last week and the ensuing row with the Maldives after ministers from the neighbouring country posted derogatory tweets about India.
We take a closer look at how Lakshadweep’s popularity has surged and its possible impact.
Lakshadweep turns internet sensation
In the first week of January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his way to Lakshadweep – an archipelago of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km – as part of his outreach programme ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. During his visit, the PM chaired a review meeting on various aspects relating to the islands, and also laid the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 1,150 crore.
PM Modi also shared pictures of himself taking early morning walks on the beaches and trying snorkelling. In fact, one of his posts on X, said that the visit to the islands was an “enriching journey of learning and growing.”
However, it seemed that Modi’s posts on Lakshadweep didn’t sit well with some, namely a few prominent Maldivian ministers. Three ministers from President Mohamed Muizzu’s Cabinet responded to the PM’s tweets with derogatory and derisive comments, one even going as far as calling Modi a “clown”.
This snowballed into a bigger row, with Indians firing back with their own #BoycottMaldives trend on social media and asking people to explore Indian islands. In response to the row, the Maldives government then suspended the three ministers and also stated that the views were not that of the country.
Most-searched on Google
And it seems that the PM’s visit coupled with the Maldives row has made Lakshadweep a Google trend. The worldwide interest in the island-state reached its highest point in 20 years on the search giant.
A simple search on Google in the time frame of 20 years (2004-present) for Lakshadweep shows a flat line until 2024. In fact, the government’s MyGov, as well as All India Radio took to social media to share the spike in search.
Moreover, Lakshadweep was a top-searched keyword in Google for two consecutive days, coinciding with the time the PM had shared images of his visit to the island.
Lakshadweep’s administrator Praful Patel also was quoted as telling news agency PTI, “The kind of inquiries the Lakshadweep administration is getting after the prime minister’s visit is unbelievable. People from all over the world are expressing the desire to visit the island. This will give a big boost to its economy and generate opportunities for locals.”
Online travel portal MakeMyTrip also noted that they had observed a 3,400 per cent increase in on-platform searches for Lakshadweep ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the islands.
“We have observed a 3400 per cent increase in on-platform searches for Lakshadweep ever since Honorable PM’s visit. This interest in Indian beaches has inspired us to launch a ‘Beaches of India’ campaign on the platform with offers and discounts to encourage Indian travellers to explore country’s stunning beaches. Keep watching this space!” MakeMyTrip said in a post on social media platform X.
Enquiries galore
Apart from the interest in the island on Google, people have also begun showing keen interest to travelling there for a holiday. Abdul Saleem P, owner of Comfort Inn, a local hotel brand, in Kavaratti island in Lakshadweep, speaking on the same, told Economic Times, “We used to get an average of two or three inquiries a day. But, immediately after the PM’s visit the number of calls and enquiries for rooms have increased at least 10 fold.”
Other hotel and resort operators also echoed the same, saying they were experiencing a surge in calls, with most expecting a huge boost to tourism in the islands going forward. “The real impact can be gauged only after mid-February. Till then flights are fully booked and there is no capacity available,” Hussain Manikfan, who is part of Lakshadweep Tourism, was quoted as telling the Economic Times.
Some express concern
However, not everyone is excited about Lakshadweep’s rise in popularity. Some locals are wary that the new-found attention would lead to overtourism in the area, leading to more problems. One Lakshadweep local told The Quint that “the islands face several issues which need to be addressed before the government’s plan to use Lakshadweep as a tourist hub”.
Other industry experts also noted that mass tourism could have a disastrous impact on Lakshadweep’s ecosystem.
We have to wait and watch if Lakshadweep truly turns into India’s Maldives, but for now we can only hope.
With inputs from agencies
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