PM Nehru Wanted To Give Away Katchatheevu: S Jaishankar Amid Escalating Row

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 1st April. Backing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the Opposition regarding the Katchatheevu island dispute, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar stated today that India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had intended to hand over the island to Sri Lanka.

In 1974, the Indira Gandhi government accepted the island, which is approximately 1.6 km long and over 300 m wide, as Sri Lankan territory under an Indo-Sri Lankan maritime agreement. The issue resurfaced following a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai regarding the 1974 pact. In 1976, after the Tamil Nadu government was dismissed during the Emergency, another agreement was made to restrict fishermen from both countries from fishing in each other’s waters. The mistreatment of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities is a significant concern in the state, and the BJP has raised this issue in anticipation of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

During a press conference, Dr. Jaishankar referenced former External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh’s 1974 speech in Parliament. He quoted Singh as saying, “I feel confident that the agreement demarcating the maritime boundary in the Palk Bay will be considered as fair, just, and equitable to both countries. At the same time, I wish to remind the honorable members that in concluding this agreement, the rights of fishing, pilgrimage, and navigation, which both sides have enjoyed in the past, have been fully safeguarded for the future.”

Dr. Jaishankar highlighted that within two years, another agreement was reached between India and Sri Lanka. He explained that India proposed that with the establishment of exclusive economic zones by both countries, they would exercise sovereign rights over the resources within their respective zones. Indian fishing vessels and fishermen were prohibited from fishing in Sri Lanka’s historic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive zone.

“In 1974, assurance was given. By 1976, an agreement was concluded which gave away this assurance,” Dr. Jaishankar concluded.