Many Indians are calling for a tourism boycott of the Maldives after three deputy ministers of the island nation insulted Prime Minister Modi on social media.
"We treat our neighbors well, but why should we tolerate such unjustified hatred?" Akshay Kumar, a famous Indian actor, posted on social network X on January 8. "I have been to the Maldives many times and have always praised the place, but self-respect comes first."
Kumar also urged Indians to support domestic tourism instead of going to the Maldives. The actor's post has been viewed over 6.5 million times.
The boycott call came after three deputy ministers from the Maldives' Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts last week criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a "clown", "terrorist" and "Israeli puppet", following his visit to the Lakshadweep atoll group in India to promote domestic tourism.
The actor described the Maldivian deputy ministers' comments towards Prime Minister Modi as "hateful and racist".
India national cricket team vice-captain Hardik Pandya also said he was "extremely saddened to see what Maldives is saying about India" and decided to plan his next beach holiday in the country.
EaseMyTrip, India's largest online travel booking platform with nearly 10% market share in the country, announced on January 8 that it would stop booking flights to the Maldives.
The Confederation of All India Traders, one of the country's largest trade bodies representing thousands of traders and trade associations in India, also urged its members to stop doing business with the Maldives.
“Until Maldives issues an apology or ensures corrective measures, the business community in India will not cooperate with them,” said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of the federation.
Tourists disembark from a seaplane at a resort in Baa Atoll, Maldives, September 2023. Photo: AFP
Some see Mr Modi’s visit to the Lakshadweep atoll as an attempt to persuade Indians to travel domestically rather than to the Maldives, a country known for its luxury resorts on the Indian Ocean. Indians are the largest group of foreign visitors to the Maldives, where tourism accounts for nearly a third of the economy.
The Maldives government said the three deputy ministers' statements were personal and did not represent the country. Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has suspended the three officials and ordered an investigation.
Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer called the three officials' comments "unacceptable", stressing that the island nation was committed to "promoting positive and constructive dialogue with its partners".
President Muizzu, who has a pro-China stance, won elections last year on a pledge to end a policy that gave top priority to relations with India. He also announced that he would ask the 75 Indian troops stationed in the country to leave.
However, Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, said the Maldives' decision to quickly sanction three deputy ministers and condemn their comments showed how much the country valued its relationship with India.
"I think the leadership in the Maldives does not want to risk losing its relationship with India. I think the Maldives government will want to balance its relationship with both India and China," he said.
Huyen Le (According to AFP , CNN )
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