Decode Politics: Why Katchatheevu, a speck of an island, is causing a splash in Tamil Nadu poll waters

What has BJP said?

The allegation was first made by BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai based on an RTI, and was then taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.

On Sunday, Modi posted: “Eye opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away #Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds — we can’t ever trust Congress!”

On Monday, the PM followed up with a post saying: “Rhetoric aside, DMK has done nothing to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests. New details emerging on Katchatheevu have unmasked the DMK’s double standards totally.”

On Monday, Jaishankar addressed a news conference at the BJP national headquarters where he said Congress PMs had displayed “indifference” about Katchatheevu island, that both Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi referred to Katchatheevu as a “little island” and “little rock”, and that they had given away Indian fishermen’s rights despite legal views to the contrary.

The Union minister also added that DMK leader and then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was fully in the know about Indira Gandhi’s decision, and that the regional party had “connived” with the Centre on the issue.

Why Katchatheevu-I?

The focus on Katchatheevu kills several birds with one stone for the BJP. It appeals to Tamil sentiments in a state where regional pride carries much resonance, and has been a major obstacle in the efforts of the BJP, with its nationalist agenda, to make inroads there.

It also puts the DMK, which is the senior partner of the INDIA bloc in the state, on the defensive, especially by linking the emotive issue of capture of Indian fishermen in Lankan waters – a matter that has been raised by parties cutting across political divides in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK and its allies – to territorial control over Katchatheevu.

In his post on Monday, Modi said the Congress and DMK “only care that their own sons and daughters rise”. “Their callousness on Katchatheevu has harmed the interests of our poor fishermen and fisherwomen in particular.”

Jaishankar said that in 20 years, “6,184 Indian fishermen” had been detained by Sri Lanka and “1,175 of its fishing vessels” seized; and that it was the Modi government which had been trying to ensure their release. “We have to find a solution. We have to sit down and work it out with the Sri Lankan government.”

Why Katchatheevu-II?

A senior BJP leader said: “Prime Minister Modi has for long been trying to position the Congress as a party that has made a lot of mistakes across history, against its own claims of a party of freedom fighters or as a party that won freedom for the country. When the Congress tries to paint the BJP as a party devoid of any glorious past and politicises that issue, the BJP has to take the sheen away and expose the Congress’s vulnerabilities.”

Plus, with the Opposition attacking the Modi government over territory “lost” to China in Ladakh, this is one way to blunt the issue.

On Monday, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram drew this comparison, demanding that PM Modi speak on “Chinese occupation” of Indian territory, rather than about Katchatheevu that was ceded to Sri Lanka to “maintain good relations and to save the lives of lakhs of Tamils”.

In an interview to PTI, Chidambaram said the Indira Gandhi government had reached a settlement on Katchatheevu as belonging to Sri Lanka, and that in return, six lakh Tamils were allowed to come to India. “They have come here, their families are here, they have got full freedom, they are breathing free air. Their children and grandchildren are here. The issue was closed 50 years ago.”

In contrast, Chidambaram said, “2,000 sq km of Indian territory is occupied by Chinese troops and that is a fact… He should talk about what has happened in the last two-three years; instead of talking about something that happened about 50 years ago.”

In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi shared an RTI response from the Ministry of External Affairs in 2015 which said Katchatheevu island lies on the Sri Lanka side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line, that was delineated by the 1974 Agreement demarcating it in the Palk Straits and a subsequent 1976 Agreement demarcating it in the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal.

“This did not involve either acquiring or ceding territory belonging to India since the area in question had never been demarcated. Under the Agreements, the Island of Katchatheevu lies on the Sri Lankan side of the India-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line,” the RTI reply said.

Why Katchatheevu-III?

Any space it can carve for itself in the South is a positive for the BJP, where it is still placed behind other parties in most states, and in direct fight with the Congress in Karnataka and Telangana. “Now the party is trying to take on the DMK,” the BJP leader said, adding that the gains may not be visible as far as immediate elections go.

The BJP has invested a lot of energy in Tamil Nadu, where the political landscape remains dominated by the regional parties DMK and AIADMK, with the Congress on the slide. Spotting an opening, one of the first things the BJP did was to pick K Annamalai, a former IPS officer, as its young, aggressive state chief.

The BJP has also tried to shed the impression of a party committed to a monolithic nationalism, by professing its admiration for Tamil language, literature and culture. The Narendra Modi government has been holding Tamil Sangamams to mark the age-old links between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi, and the traditional Tamil sceptre called Sengol – meant to symbolise a ruler’s adherence to dharmic principles – was carried by the PM himself into the new Parliament building as part of its inauguration.

Modi often invokes Tamil culture in his messages, from wearing a veshti (lungi) on his visits to the state and during his interview to the Tamil channel Thanthi Sunday, to quoting Tamil classic Thirukkural and poet Subramania Bharati in his speeches.

How far will BJP succeed?

BJP leaders admit that the impact might not show in the current polls, but see it as part of a long-term project to win a new territory to its side. While its attempts to reunite with the AIADMK were not successful, the party is confident about making gains this time, from the 0 seats it won in 2019 and 1 in 2014.

The DMK-led alliance that swept the 2019 elections has several things going for it though, including the fact that this is one state where the INDIA alliance, a combination of the DMK, Congress, Left parties and IUML, has had smooth sailing.