It has been learned that since President Muiz, who is known as the "most anti-Indian" Maldives, came to power in September last year, the contradictions between the two countries have gradually begun to intensify. Unlike his previous government, which relied on India for development, the new president advocated "Maldives first" and sought to curb India's influence in the Maldives. The day after he took office, he issued a circular demanding that India withdraw all its military forces from the country, even though India's troops in the country were less than 100 men, and Muiz demanded that "no one remain". In response, India has also canceled and suspended a number of reciprocal policies with the Maldives, and Indian media said that Modi is about to "use his strength to tell the answer to this country that is not self-sufficient", hinting that it will be suppressed.
The news mentioned that India is also one of the largest groups of tourists visiting the Maldives because of its geographical proximity. After the discord between the two sides, the Indian tourism department began to deliberately encourage people to travel to the country instead of going to the Maldives. Last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a post about the advantages of the "pristine beaches" of India's Lakshadweep archipelago, which is also considered to be competing with the Maldives for tourists. Later in the day, three Maldivian deputy ministers began posting sarcastic posts on social groups about Modi, citing India's position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and denouncing the Indian prime minister as an "Israeli puppet" and a "terrorist figure", with Deputy Minister for Youth Rights Shuna even comparing India to a "cow dung state".
The incident caused an uproar in India, with Indians protesting online and demanding that the government use diplomatic means to resolve the issue. On the 6th, the Indian diplomatic mission in the Maldives expressed protest, and the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained on the 7th that this is only the "personal attitude" of the ministers and does not represent the position of the Maldives, and the officials involved have been suspended from their posts. This was confirmed by Maldivian President Muiz, but he did not issue an "apology" demanded by the Indian public. Despite this, Indian media such as India Today hailed this as their "victory" for the Maldives.
Analysts say the diplomatic dispute between the Maldives and India is not only due to the "superficial friction" between the two countries over tourism, but also the conflict between the two sides that has intensified since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In the Gaza war, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to put pressure on Israel and condemn its attacks on Muslim civilians has sparked angry protests from Muslim communities in India, accusing him of "misbehaving". The Maldives, which is dominated by Islam, is even more dissatisfied with the Indian government, and the deputy minister who accused Modi of this time mentioned the issue of "religious persecution" by the Indian government, which caused the incident to ferment.
It is also worth mentioning that despite the suspension of the three deputy ministers, the anger in India has not subsided, with many people posting orders to cancel travel to the Maldives in protest. The news that Muiz will visit China this month has also made the Indian side quite unhappy, and these voices believe that the Maldives will "break away from the Indian system and turn to China". "India still adheres to its narrow nationalism and hegemonic mentality, aspiring to be the ruler of South Asia, but oppression and threats will not help it build prestige, only keep more countries away from India," he commented. ”