When do you call a law “draconian”?
When do you call a measure by the government to be “undemocratic”?
When do you call something “unconstitutional” and “inhumane”?
Are these words that can be randomly thrown around without logic or rationale? Accuse and charge anything and everything that the central government comes up with by using any of these words and get the much-needed attention on social media?
The context here is the newly appointed Administrator of Lakshadweep islands who has come up with a few draft laws which he and his team wish to implement in consultation with people at large. And the drafts that are in the center of attraction are ‘The Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation 2021’, ‘The Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation 2021’, ‘The draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation 2021’, ‘the Lakshadweep Anti-Social Activities Regulation 2021’, and few other ancillary laws.
The points of contention with these laws are primarily around the power granted to the government when it comes to acquiring lands from the inhabitants for development purposes. The government also plans to revoke the ban put in place on the sale of alcohol in the locality. The government plans to put restrictions on meat slaughter. The government plans to put in criteria for contesting elections and few other laws.
The whole social media campaign against these laws is one big IRONY. The administrator of Lakshadweep has not implemented any of these laws, he has put these laws in the public domain and has categorically asked for suggestions and feedback from the public at large. How’s the act of asking for feedback from the public even remotely undemocratic? In fact, it’s anything but that. The draft laws have been placed before the public, for them to review the laws and their clauses and to come back with constructive feedback and suggestions, this is exactly how a democracy is supposed to work. Kudos to the administration for upholding the very ethos of our democracy and for enabling wider participation.
Some of the points of contention and IndiQ Live’s views:-
Clause 14 of ‘The draft Lakshadweep Panchayat Regulation 2021’, makes any person with more than two children ineligible to contest panchayat elections. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge that the Lakshadweep islands are the smallest Union Territory of India with a total length of JUST 32.62 km². There were around 36 islands until recently with one completely submerging due to sea erosion. Overpopulation has been a problem that India as a whole has been facing, needless to say, the drastic impact of overpopulation on a minuscule bunch of islands with even more limited resources as compared to mainland India. There are research think tanks and other universities that have proposed similar laws from a pan-India perspective to curb the menace of overpopulation. The government’s proposal to ban people with more than two children from contesting elections is a step in the right direction.
The second contention has been with regards to ‘the Lakshadweep Anti-Social Activities Regulation 2021’ mainly section 14, which grants the authorities to detain ‘property grabbers’, ‘cruel persons’, and other culprits for more than one year. In his letter to the Lakshadweep Authorities, Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal pointed out that the crime rate is low on the island and called the proposed law “unwanted” and “unwarranted”.
The MP argues that Lakshadweep doesn’t have many crimes so it doesn’t need the new law and order amendment act, using his yardstick, India hasn’t fought a full-fledged war in over two decades, India’s navy last saw action during the 1971 war, should India disband its entire Armed forces and sell all its warships, since India has not been in war for a long time?
The logic used by the MP to lash out at the proposed new law is baffling and juvenile, to say the least. Wonder how he forgot about Lakshadweep becoming a new base for Islamic State terrorists? Or the Indian Navy and Coast Guard in close coordination with the Lakshadweep Administration nabbed boats carrying Heroin Hashish. This was days before the Navy intercepted three boats near the Lakshadweep islands. The second set of boats, apparently of a foreign origin, were carrying weapons including AK47s with close to 1000 rounds of ammunition. Drugs worth Rs. 3000 crores were also recovered in a search conducted in the area near the island from where the boat was intercepted. With such cases being reported, a decision to implement strict law makes more sense than ever.
The third contention has been around the proposed meat restrictions and the liquor license. A short background, Lakshadweep is a Union Territory with a 96% Muslim population.
The outrage revolves around the meat restrictions which people claim is a breach of fundamental rights that allow people to eat what they wish to eat and with the same voice, the same set of people want a complete liquor ban in the Union Territory to remain as is because they believe it would hurt the religious sentiments of the majority, irony much? This is peak pseudo-secularism and pseudo liberalism at play and let there be no two ways to it.
The controversial ‘The Lakshadweep Animal Preservation Regulation 2021’, seeks to put in place some restrictions when it comes to animal slaughter, the proposed law mandates people to obtain a clearance certificate from designated authorities before carrying out any slaughter as opposed to what is being propagated online. It’s also important to add that the administration has been pushing for Animal Husbandry (poultry and cattle) activities since the 1960s. To boost up the activity, the administration had animals flown in from the mainland. The new laws are in line and are consistent with the policies adopted by the administration of Lakshadweep since time immemorial.
Lakshadweep in terms of geography is quite similar to the Maldives yet one fails to ponder why Lakshadweep isn’t able to replicate a Maldives model when it comes to tourism. How many holidaying Indians prefer Lakshadweep over Maldives, very few? Has anyone wondered why? Most of these steps taken up by the Administrator seem to be in the direction to scale up the tourism prospects of the Union Territory.
1) Giving more powers to the government to acquire lands and at the same time setting up redressal courts for the public in case of contentions or disputes. This move would help the government ramp up infrastructure projects which include setting up hospitals, roads, etc, and also address any concerns that may arise to the public while carrying out such activities.
2) Allowing the sale of alcohol, bringing restrictions on animal slaughter thereby preserving the animal life in the region. Both of which could boost tourism in the region, which would fortuitously help the local population.
3) Bringing in liberal laws to curb the overpopulation in the region.
4) Pushing for stricter law and order which would be enticing to foreign tourists who generally prefer a safe and sound locale for their holidays.
The bottom line being, none of these laws are enacted, they’re all thrown to the public for wider discussions and opinions. This is an opportunity for the public to be constructive and come out with pros and cons on various facets of the proposed laws. Fake narratives, biased analysis, pseudo secularist, and hypocritical views will only damage a potential prospect for the Lakshadweep islands, which has all the potential in the world to compete with Maldives, period.