Shouting at his fellow men to rush it up, Antony, who has been fishing for 30 years, says that he is pushing his luck to get a good catch near Katchatheevu without getting caught with the Sri Lankan Navy.

“Fortunately, I have never been caught… It’s not that I have not crossed the maritime border, but I am lucky enough to not get caught. And I am pushing it as long as I can for survival,” says the 47-year-old before he left the shores of Rameswaram on Saturday noon.

Not everybody is as lucky as Antony.  According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the Sri Lankan Navy arrested 3,137 fishermen between 2014 and 2024 (until February).

Another 2,915 fishermen were arrested between 2004 and 2014 for crossing the maritime boundary and fishing near Katchatheevu, which is just 12 nautical miles from the shores of Rameswaram.

Katchatheevu has been an election topic in Tamil Nadu, but it was raked up this time by none other than PM Narendra Modi himself.

Fishermen to whom ThePrint spoke to yearn for a permanent solution as their fellow brethren face custodial torture. The situation worsened after 2014 as Colombo started to auction the seized boats, say fishermen. The risk is taken as the catch in Indian waters is just not enough for all the 700 boats to venture into the sea, they explain.

This year, fishermen boycotted the annual three-day feast of St Antony’s Catholic church at Katchatheevu in protest. Even though the BJP has been trying to get the support of fishermen, Ramanathapuram constituency has always been the turf of the Dravidan parties. Since 1951, people have voted only for the DMK, the AIADMK or their allies. The only time the BJP managed to come up as runner-up was in 2019.

‘Tied up in chains, scratched with knives’

Each time the men ride into the sea, their families have prayers on their lips. Harrowing stories from those released by the Lankan Navy are not for the faint-hearted.

“But, do we have an option?” asks 40-year-old Karpagam, whose 47-year-old husband and 37-year-old brother have been fishing for over two decades.

Karpagam, who sells fish in Rameswaram market, is busy selling the left-out fish as the fresh catch is about to arrive on Sunday morning.

Her brother Karumalaiyan was among those arrested last year and released after 60 days of imprisonment. “He was chained with 40 other fishermen and was dragged to the prison. All the 60 days he spent in the prison, he hardly had any food and survived on water and snacks. Imagine, staying in a 10 ft by 10 ft room, with over 40 men. One cannot even stretch their legs,” Karpagam says.

“There were cut injuries all over his body. He was scratched with knives and he had to rest for two months to get back to normal.”

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she says, “I don’t want to share how the three children were left in the lurch when Karumalaiyan was incarcerated.”

Like others from the fishing community, Karpagam and her friend Kathija are hopeless that Katchatheevu would return to India.

“We all know it was given to Sri Lanka around 50 years ago, and there is no use of talking about it now. We don’t think it is possible to retrieve, but the government could make some arrangements for our fishermen to fish around Katchatheevu,” says Kathija.

Angry over the PM and the external affairs minister’s statement, Rameswaram fishermen association president N. Devadoss wants to know what the Union government had done to the fishermen during the last 10 years.

Fishermen getting arrested near Katchatheevu is not new, he says.

“What was new after 2014 was the Union government’s silence. Before 2014, whenever fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested, it used to condemn Sri Lanka and demand immediate release of the fishermen, as a result, all of them would be released. But, in the last 10 years, not even once the PM or the Union ministers raised their voice when the fishermen were arrested.”

Devadoss, who has been fishing in the Palk Strait between Tamil Nadu and Jaffna for three decades, says not even once the Indian boats were kept in Sri Lanka before 2014.

“Now, they (Sri Lanka) take us for granted since the government has left us to fend for ourselves for the last 10 years.”

Thanking the PM for finally remembering the fishermen, Mechanised Boat Owners’ Association president Sesu Raja asks if Modi can help with the release of the fishermen languishing in prison.

“Only for the last 10 years, Sri Lanka has taken stringent action. Earlier, we used to get released in 14 days; now it is after 60 days. If you look at data, until 2014, all the arrested fishermen were released, but, after 2014, we were held for longer days and our boats were never returned.”

Sesu Raja says that the fishermen accused of crossing the maritime border for the second time were punished with imprisonment ranging from six months to three years. “Five are in the prison of which one was convicted last month for crossing the border for the second time.”

Most of the fishermen to whom ThePrint spoke were not keen on Katchatheevu but about the fishing rights around the island.

“In fact, we go five nautical miles beyond Katchatheevu for fishing. So, the problem is not Katchatheevu at all. The Union Government should negotiate a deal over fishing rights around the island,” says Sweeter Fernandes, a fisherman from Thangachimadam. “We don’t even want the island. Fishing rights alone will make our life easier.”

Former Indian consul general for Sri Lanka A. Natarajan says that it is not right to seek Katchatheevu back. “However, the only option before the government is to have bilateral talks with Sri Lanka to allow our fishermen in their waters to fish. India can also allow the same for Sri Lankan fishermen.”

According to the agreement signed in 1974, Indians had access to Katchatheevu without any travel documents and vessels from both sides could fish in each other’s waters.

In another agreement, India secured Wadge Bank located below Kanyakumari instead of Katchatheevu in 1976. Fishing rights for Tamil Nadu fishermen near Katchatheevu were left out and only the rights of the pilgrims visiting the church on the island for the annual festival were retained.

Dream dashed in mid-sea

According to the Rameswaram fishermen, Colombo came up with the idea of auctioning the impounded boats only after 2014.

Of the 360 boats seized in the last five years, only 170 are left to be auctioned, says Emarick S., a fisherman from Thangachimadam. “The government did not care about these incidents. For every boat that was impounded by the Sri Lankan government, the Tamil Nadu government gave Rs 5 lakh for the losses, but there is not any financial aid from the Union government.”

According to the fishermen, boats cost anywhere between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 85 lakh, depending on their specifications.

“To get a boat is a dream of every fisherman. Of over 30,000 fishermen, hardly 500 people own the boats, and most of them are in huge debt as they either have pledged jewellery or land deeds to purchase one. In such a scenario, if a boat is impounded and not returned, imagine our plight,” explains Seyon, whose boat was impounded a couple of years ago.

“Every time we venture out, we invest at least a lakh including the salary, diesel and other resources. So, only if we get a good catch, will we be able to at least compensate for the investment we make.”

BJP confident of retrieving Katchatheevu

Situated around five km from fishing jetty, Rameswaram town’s BJP office looks deserted with just 10 members, discussing the winning prospects of O. Panneerselvam, who is contesting as Independent supported by the NDA.

Speaking to ThePrint, BJP town secretary S. Murugan claims the people in the fishing hamlet have high regards for Modi as he is concerned about the community.

“Since Rameswaram is a pilgrim city, it is under the direct supervision of our Prime Minister. Once we come to power, we will retrieve Katchatheevu. In the last 10 years, our state leader has gone to Sri Lanka three times to hold talks and our PM is well aware of the issue. So, we are sure that fishermen issues along the Palk strait will be sorted soon.” .

The sentiment seems different on the ground. Though the fishermen were angry at the Congress and the DMK for “giving away” the island, they voted for the AIADMK only in 1977. In five Lok Sabha elections held between 1980 and 1996, people voted thrice in favour of Congress, and once each for the DMK and the Tamil Manila Congress.

“Whether it is Congress or the DMK, we see them regularly on the ground and we can question and demand accountability. But, it’s not the case with the BJP,” explains Peter Alphonse, a fisherman.

The  DMK questioned what the BJP did in the last 10 years. “They did nothing for the fishermen. S. Jaishankar, who is the face of India to the world, should be ashamed for sharing false information on an external affairs matter,” says DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai.

Ramanathapuram MP Navas Kani, who is the candidate of DMK ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), says that he has always stood with the fishermen.

“I have been raising the Rameswaram fishermen issue ever since I was elected. I will continue to voice out in Parliament and assure to resolve the issue by pushing for bilateral talks,” he promises.

Back at the shore the next day, Antony Raj scoffs at the national debate over Katchatheevu. “It is completely missing the point.” That he made it back safely on Sunday morning with a bumper catch justifies the risk, says Antony. But, he wonders how long his good fortune will last.