by Saloni Neema 3 July 2021
The ‘Save Lakshadweep’ movement has acquired a lot of momentum on different social media platforms over the last few days, with activists protesting a host of new policies suggested by the islands’ administrator Praful Khoda Patel. These proposed laws address Several issues, including a beef prohibition, an outdated Goonda Act, and the Lakshadweep Development Authority Act that locals believe is anti-local. The policies have been faced with hostility not just from residents, but also from politicians, activists, and performers in Kerala. The new regulations enacted recently in the Union territory of Lakshadweep were a deliberate attempt to change the cultures of people who had lived in the Arabian Sea archipelago for centuries. These arbitrary measures, however, can be contested since they infringe on the residents of Lakshadweep’s Fundamental Rights.
One of these regulations, the Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation popularly known as “Goonda Act. The Administrator is given a wide variety of powers, including the ability to detain someone for up to one year “with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”. In the case of the State of Madhya Pradesh v. Baldeo Prasad, the Supreme Court held Central Provinces and Berar Goondas Act, 1946, as unconstitutional for violating Article 19 (1) (d) and (e), but particularly because the Act failed to define Goonda. Justice Bhagwati stated in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India that the “concept of reasonableness is an essential aspect of equality or non-arbitrariness under Article 14.” The administrator’s arbitrary decision may be contested since it infringes on the residents of Lakshadweep’s Fundamental Rights. Justice Bhagwati in EP Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu States that “equality and arbitrariness are sworn enemies; one belongs to the rule of law in a republic while the other, to the whim and caprice of an absolute monarch”. The imposition of such a strict restriction on an island with one of the lowest crime rates in the country only serves to highlight what is clearly happening on: an attempt to silence dissent by instilling fear of arbitrary detention among indigenous people.
Praful Khoda Patel has previously banned non-vegetarian foods from school children’s midday meals and government-run hostels. He also prohibited the slaughter of cattle, as well as the transportation, sale, and purchase of meat. The right to food, in its varying ways, is a human right that protects people’s right to feed themselves in dignity, indicating that enough food is accessible, that individuals have the means to get it, and that it properly meets their dietary needs. Beef prohibition restrictions are not in the best interests as it is a part of their staple diet so this directly hampers their right to consume food. Such acts infringe on indigenous peoples’ right to practice and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs, as stated in Article 11 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It’s necessary to respect the cultural choices of Muslims who constitute 96.6% of the local population. In the interest of a democratic society, the administrator’s contentious restrictions are unjustified. The petitioners in Mohd. Hanif Qureshi v. the State of Bihar argued for their right to trade and claimed to be members of “the Qureshi community and typically engaged in the butcher’s profession.” The Supreme Court decided that a total prohibition would be impracticable in the national interest, but it decided to allow for a partial ban on cow slaughter.
Another of these proposed legislations, the Lakshadweep Development Authority Act, if passed, would empower the government to evict, change, and/or occupy any land owned by a common man on the island for “development” purposes. The archipelago’s population density is high, properties are rare, and restoration is unlikely. The rule infringes Article 21 of the Indian constitution. It also violates Article 14 of the Indian constitution since it infringes citizens basic rights and is obviously and utterly arbitrary and irrational. It also allows for large-scale development projects like mining, quarrying, and the construction of national highways, railways, and tramways, among other things.
The Lakshadweep administration has proposed new panchayat regulations that would make anyone with more than two children ineligible to run for panchayat elections. The draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation 2021, which has been placed in the public realm for public comment until March 28, 2021, has already sparked outrage from various political parties. According to Clause 14 of the draft Panchayat Regulation, people having more than two children are unable to run for panchayat elections. A person with more than two children cannot join or remain a member of a gram panchayat.
These actions can have severe consequences for the islands’ highly fragile environment, as well as the people who live there, their properties, and their livelihoods. It’s also possible that it’ll drive people to migrate. It’s high time for urgent intervention as any reform in the UT need to take into account the benefits of the people of the islands and its fragile ecosystem.