The India-Maldives relationship is facing new challenges due to a dispute over disrespectful comments made by Maldivian ministers about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.
The Maldivian government, under President Mohamed Muizzu, quickly distanced itself from the offensive remarks and suspended three deputy ministers who made the comments, but India remained unsatisfied.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Maldivian envoy in New Delhi to express concern over the ministers’ comments. The Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs then summoned the Indian high commissioner in Male, resulting in a diplomatic row.
The initial conflict started when Prime Minister Modi made posts on social media praising the beauty of India’s Lakshadweep Islands, without mentioning the Maldives. This led to some of his supporters on social media claiming that his visit to the island chain would promote tourism there, potentially impacting the Maldives’ tourism industry.
This situation escalated when three deputy ministers in the Maldivian Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Art made derogatory comments about Modi and India on social media, leading to a further deterioration of relations between the two countries.
As a result, Indian and Maldivian nationals engaged in a war of words on social media, with calls to boycott the Maldives and visit Indian tourist destinations gaining traction. This online conflict has also begun to impact tourism, with a major travel booking portal suspending the sale of flight tickets to the Maldives.
While social media posts have contributed to the ongoing dispute, the strained relationship between India and the Maldives has deeper roots, including disagreements over foreign policy and diplomatic decisions made by the respective leaders of the two countries.
It is evident that the latest India-Maldives row was a long time coming given the underlying tensions and disagreements between the two nations.