The tiny, barren, uninhabited island of Katchatheevu has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately.
In this episode of ‘The Gist‘, Dr Arup Kumar Chatterjee, Professor of English, OP Jindal Global University, and author (Adam’s Bridge | Indians in London | Great Indian Railways) examines the historical, political and diplomatic aspects of the contested island and argues that awarding the tiny island (which by all accounts was Indian territory of Ramnad Zamindari under the Setupatis, comprising 69 small townships and villages and 11 islands, from the 17th century, if not earlier) to Sri Lanka in 1974 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a ‘supremely masterful act of bilateral and international diplomacy.’
Prof Chatterjee begins by arguing that one cannot discuss the Katchatheevu issue without understand the nuances of Adam’s Bridge, or the Ram Sethu, a chain of shoals which apparently connected the India with the island of Sri Lanka.
He then looks at how Indira Gandhi handled several critical constituencies including the UN, Indian, Tamil and Sri Lankan Civil societies by formalising the award of the island to Sri Lanka.
Watch the full interview to get an expert’s view on a sensitive subject, as Prof Chatterjee navigates through the rocky shoals of political, ecological, social and strategic compulsions that determine the discourse over this tiny island.
