Maldives Bans ‘India Out’ Campaign

India Out campaign UPSC: Relevance

• GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations.

India Out campaign in Maldives: Context

• Recently, Maldivian President has issued a decree banning the ‘India Out’ campaign, terming it a “threat to national security.”

India Out campaign banned: Key points

• The Presidential order states that the campaign against India “exploited” the freedoms and “intends to disrupt” the long-standing bilateral relations between the Maldives and India as well as efforts to maintain peace and security in the region.
• The decision comes after the Maldives’s National Security Council decided that the campaign “to incite hatred against India” is a “threat” to national security.

India Out campaign meaning

• “India Out” is a slogan coined two years ago by protesters who claimed that the MDP government in Maldives, led by President Ibrahim Solih, had “sold out” the Maldives to India.
• The protesters claim that due to the pro-India policies of the present Government, India has sent a large military contingent to Maldives.
• Attention has focused particularly on the co-operation between the two sides to develop a harbour on the Uthuru Thilafalhu (UTF) atoll for the Maldivian coast Guard.
• The present Maldivian government has said there are no Indian military personnel in the Maldives other than a maintenance and flight crew operating three Dornier aircraft used for surveillance, and for rescue and air ambulance operations.

India Out campaign significance

• The anti-India campaign was first led by a social media activist, however, the matter turned out to be political after the former President Abdulla Yameen became its face since his release from prison last December.
• During the Presidential tenure of Yameen—2013 to 2018, Yameen gave Maldives’ foreign policy a pronounced pro-China tilt.
• It was a time when Beijing was projecting its power in the Indian Ocean region and marketing its Belt and Road Initiative.
• Yameen is now seen using the India Out campaign as his re-election vehicle.
  • The presidential elections are due by September 2023.

India-Maldives ties after 2018

• After coming to power in 2018, the Solih government sent out clear signals that it intended to repair ties with India, which had taken a hit during the Yameen presidency.
• The government also declared an India First foreign policy.
• Since coming to power, the Solih government has signed a security cooperation pact with a credit line of $50 million from India for capacity building in the maritime domain.
• India is also helping to develop a coast guard base at the Uthuru Thilafalhu atoll.
• The pact includes cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism.
• India is developing new projects under the High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) in various atolls of the Maldivian archipelago.
• These projects include setting up hospitals, sports facilities and museums. India already has 20 other HICDPs in Maldives.
• These projects are finalised on the basis of requests and proposals from local communities.
• India is also executing the biggest infrastructure project in Maldives — the Greater Male Connectivity Project.

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