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The Indian prime minister recently published some pictures of himself lounging beachside that prompted a surge of online support, a diplomatic incident and the suspension of three government officials in the country’s tiny neighbour, the Maldives.
Narendra Modi’s X account, which has more than 94mn followers, posted a thread in which he described a visit to India’s tropical Lakshadweep islands, in the Laccadive Sea off the Kerala coast.
The posts showed Modi interacting with residents, bathing in snorkel gear and gazing pensively out to sea wrapped in a shawl, despite January temperatures that reach highs of about 30C.
“For those who wish to embrace the adventure in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list,” Modi declared in the thread, published on January 4.
Indians and Maldivians alike took the posts as an effort by India’s powerful leader to throw shade at his tourism-reliant neighbour and promote Lakshadweep as an alternative.
The fallout from the battle of the beaches speaks volumes about regional geopolitical tensions and a rising India that does not hesitate to wield its clout against smaller countries that cross it.
The Maldives last year rattled New Delhi when it elected President Mohamed Muizzu, who ran on an “India Out” platform. About 75 Indian military personnel are stationed on the island and operate two helicopters, mostly used for medical evacuations. Muizzu has given them a deadline of March 15 to leave. The new president is leaning pro-China, and signed 20 agreements on a visit to Beijing last week on his first state visit.
India’s outbound tourism is expanding along with its economy, and it was the largest source of visitors to the Maldives last year. So what Modi says — or in the case of Lakshadweep, hints at — matters.
In the Maldives, officials saw the posts as an attempt to divert tourists from its own beaches. A trio of deputy ministers posted derogatory remarks mocking Modi’s attempts to promote Lakshadweep and demeaning Modi, including for his support of Israel.
The comments created a furore in India, which summoned the Maldivian envoy for a dressing down. The three officials have deleted their posts and been suspended.
Modi’s legions of online supporters rallied, using hashtags such as #BoycottMaldives and #ExploreIndianIslands. Indian business, often keen to curry official favour, chimed in: the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Aviation and Tourism Committee asked trade groups to stop promoting the Maldives in light of “anti-India feelings” voiced by Maldivian officials. Booking agent EaseMyTrip said it was suspending bookings to the destination and published ads to that effect, with the slogan “Nation First, Business Later”.
The escalating spat has alarmed some Maldivians. “If the intention of the Indian government . . . was to irritate the Maldives or give a signal that ‘we too have islands and can destroy your tourism’, that’s not how states conduct relations,” says Mohamed Munavvar, a former attorney-general of the Maldives.
Munavvar, a former opposition party head, also criticised Muizzu’s response as “very immature”, adding that “India is a big country and our closest neighbour, to whom we have to turn in emergencies, and they have the right to develop their islands”.
Muizzu’s stance is bold, but it is not entirely new. Neighbouring Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli used an “anti-India narrative to mobilise support at home” when he was in office, says Constantino Xavier, a fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi.
“What changed this time is the extent to which India’s hard diplomatic response was politically visible at home, through social media,” Xavier says. “It reflects” how Modi’s party has “been adept at using foreign policy to mobilise domestic political and electoral support”.
In recent months the Modi government has shown itself unflinching in putting other nations in their place, as in the case of the recent diplomatic showdown with Canada.
Muizzu for now is pushing back. “We may be small, but that doesn’t give you the licence to bully us,” he said on Saturday.