The roughing up of the Maldives is being applauded as evidence of the strength of Narendra Modi’s “New India”. It is, in fact, a measure of its weakness. Only a pitifully insecure country would seek self-aggrandising frisson in the harrying of a tiny neighbouring archipelago. The humiliation of the Maldives is New India’s version of gladiator sport. Its purpose is to entertain and delude a nation deadened by Modi’s reign.
The prospects for the young entering New India’s job market are so dire that more than 1.25 crore people applied for 35,000 openings in the Indian Railways in 2022 alone. Last year, jobless men breached Parliament in protest. There is a not inconsiderable surge in the number of young people returning to their villages to scratch a living from farming.
But all of this is secondary: what really matters is that India has bloodied the nose of the Maldives. Three ministers, whom most Indians cheering on Modi cannot name, have been suspended from their jobs. India is about to crush the Maldives. India is a superpower. Modi has allowed his myrmidons to unload their pile of frustrations on a target one-millionth the size of India.
This is not the behaviour of a great nation. It is the conduct of a pathetically weak nation, a nation that has become accustomed to lying to itself, a nation that searches for validation of its insupportable self-image as a great power by taunting and tormenting a microstate.
None of this is to defend or even to advance extenuations for Mohamed Muizzu’s government in the Maldives. Muizzu is a clerically minded nationalist who rose to power by vilifying India. The three contemptible bigots suspended from his government are—for all the offence they have caused—inconsequential beyond their little bailiwicks. Given their job titles, their statements perhaps warranted a formal response from New Delhi. But any injury they succeeded in inflicting on India with their insults is immeasurably outweighed by the embarrassment they have caused the Maldives. Most Maldivians, mortified by the remarks of the three ministers, have gone out of their way to express their affection for Indians and India.
Also Read: Maldives’ Muizzu has joined camp China. Space for diplomacy with India has shrunk
Gladiator sport, but India should beware
Modi-worshipping Indians, however, have found a thrilling cause. The Maldives has wounded them and made them feel self-righteous in the same breath. Could there be anything more exciting to a people deranged by a decade of venerating the leader and bullying his rivals?
A posse of celebrities amplified their grievance. Our celebrities are ordinarily a stolid bunch. So little seems to disconcert them, and virtually no atrocity or wrong appears capable of stirring them into public-spirited action. In the past decade, they have reconciled themselves, among other horrors, to the lynching of Muslims by Hindu mobs, the loss of Indian territory to China, the subversion of democratic institutions, the catastrophic handling of the second wave of Covid, and the desertion of Manipur. But the outrages that have provoked them into putting on displays of aggrieved patriotism are posts on the internet by three Maldivian politicians. Just over ten years ago, so many of them relished playing the dissenter, offering commentary on rising costs and turning up at anti-corruption protests. Since 2014, they have confirmed themselves as cowards willing to abuse their fame and debase themselves in service of this government.
If this farce persists, India will pay the cost of the momentary thrill being experienced by Modi’s devotees. India’s friends in the Maldives will find themselves isolated if their nation is interminably mocked, maligned, and treated as though it survives on Indian sufferance. The Maldives may be small, but its people are as proud of their country as Indians are of theirs. No people can long abide such treatment. Nor do they deserve to be penalised as a whole for the sins of a handful of wretches.
The Maldives, at any rate, is not without choices. If India keeps throwing infantile tantrums, it will intensify Malé’s pro-China tilt. The contrition of ordinary Maldivians will curdle into contempt over time. The tour operators currently trying to mollify India with apologies will grow to despise Indian tourists once Chinese holidaymakers, already being encouraged by Beijing to visit the Maldives, flood the island. And the politicians who wish to turn the Maldives into a vassal state of China in the Indian Ocean will face no obstacles at home.
Kapil Komireddi is the author of ‘Malevolent Republic: A Short History of the New India’. Follow him on Telegram and Twitter. The views expressed above are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
शुरुआत किसने की??? कोई जवाब मालदीव के मिनिस्टर्स ने जब टिप्पणी की तो तुम कहां थे, पता ही नही चला होगा न… गजब की समझ है।।
कैसे लिख देते हो ऐसे आर्टिकल!!!
I am not a BJP fan, but making disparaging remarks on a country’s prime minister, I do not know who supports unprovoked, unlike they are mental, like this guy. No one in the govt said a word and you construe it as bullying a small nation.
The leftist wokes are a problem everywhere and they are myopic at best.
Indian government hasn’t really done anything to bully Maldives. The citizens have expressed their anger at the Maldivian ministers called our Prime Minister a puppet in the way they could. It has nothing to do with being powerful. Jobs not there for our people and other internal problems are ours.
Kapil Komireddi is right. It is not necessary to answer every deputy minister that rants.
Those comments from the 3 ministers reflects the attitude of the Government. These 3 just couldn’t hide the emotion.
And there is nothing against from Indian government. Where is the bully? atleast it is not started yet.
Not so cool blog man and illogical and am not pro BJP though
The problem with left leaning authors is yet again amplified. In an article purportly focused on foreign relations, Para 1 refers to the lack of jobs. Another para is exclusively dedicated to covid, Manipur, silence of celebrities on all that is wrong in this country. Dear Sir, celebrities do not really weigh in on anything other than their next movie release.
The sad attempt at maligning a large chunk of Indian voters as Modi worshippers is another overused trope.
The article surprisingly steers clear of the core issue at play – Have Indian diplomats factored in the noisy bunch on twitter in their strategy? Lastly, as the author suggests, if the Maldivian ministers are such light weights then the folks on twitter are even lighter and inconsequential. Some depth is sorely needed from the intelligentsia.
Hey Chinese agent, are you dumb? They voted on India out and you ask us to be silent.
“a set of opinions is not a fact”. Even after supporting Maldives so much, India got backstabbed.
So, we will bully Maldives even more. Set an example.
Shame on The Print for sounding like China’s mouthpiece, just like many other anti-India news outlets. Just because Modi ji is not acting tough against news outlets spreading false narratives and hate campaigns you can’t feel emboldened. People are watching and you stand exposed in every anti-India article your churn out. Karma will hunt you down soon.
Yeah, because Maldivians didn’t vote for the ruling party’s “India Out” campaign. I wonder how much CCP dishes out for such tomfckry.
Isn’t this just a mere frustration article. Like I read The Print to actually gain something. Not for whining of some guy I don’t know, who isn’t even aware of ground realty. We are a 1.4 billion people country, of course our social media will be loud. But the people who actually have work don’t have time to be bothered by what is happening online. They simply won’t visit a place if they don’t feel welcomed. Your article would have been good for a social media post. But this is not something worth reading on a reputable paper like The Print.
Problem is bigger than the 3 ministers. Maldives has voted for india out manifesto (biased/untrue, targeting foreign nation), whereas india and celebrities asked to more frequently visit its own islands than others
Former FM on campaign- https://theprint.in/diplomacy/indian-servicemen-in-maldives-subject-of-disinformation-ex-maldivian-spokesperson-amid-diplomatic-row/1919951/
3 ministers are just the tip of the iceberg, problem is bigger Mr. Author. If maldives was given a choice to first say “india out” (Maldives talking about foreign country india), then indians should be given the right to say prefer to party on your own country than others (india talking to improve itself).
How much Did you get from China to write this article? India never talked anything about Maldives.
I thought a lot about whether I should dignify the commie-ready assclowns sorry piece of brain numbing nonsense with a response. I felt it deserved atleast aine given the effort commie had put to dish out utter trash. First of all the brainless clown hasn’t realised that our PM has maintained a dignified silence and no one is being coaxed to do anything. The spontaneous reaction of Indians is the result of absolutely unwarranted comments by some jobless maldivi jokers with the tacit support of their bearded goat PM who has been trying to beg slit eyed commie Chinese and jihadi tourists from across the world. We have always been a good neighbour to Maldives but this should have been reciprocated by their political leadership. The locals there should strongly urge their leadership to reconsider the India out strategy which they have been tom toming. So Commie-ready has like an ostrich dished out crap without considering facts.
Please rename your self to ‘’Anti-India print’’
Well said! Humility, Patience and Generosity are expected of Greatness.
The article should have ended with the truth: “Kapil Komireddi, author on Chinese payroll.”
I disagree
If you expect responsibility from biggest nation
Please ask smaller nation to behave first
There will be reaction to untoward action
India has call their LEADER with crass language it is they who abused our country and leader and what for have we did anything adverse to them know we aren’t playing any sport but it is high time people should know be it is maldives or america that india will not bow down
Penalized….excuse me!
Reason for boycotting & not going is purely our of fear & disrespect we would receive on arrival in Maldives.
No campaign of the honourable prime minister ever compared or said to compete with or pull down Maldives.
Least their leadership could do is come on record and Apologize.
If this is what they think of Indians, to hell with them.