'Coral queen of the Arabian Sea'

INDIA'S CORAL ISLANDS IN THE ARABIAN SEA - LAKSHADWEEP: Murkot Ramunny; Lakshadweep Social Cultural Research Commission. Rs. 250.

THE DEVELOPMENT of Lakshadweep ``The Coral Queen of the Arabian Sea'' as Mr. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer calls it, in his foreword to this book, is a fascinating story of an isolated and neglected poor island-community, developing themselves through self- determination to manage their own natural and human resources, and through moral support from the Central Government.

The author of the book under review, Wing Cdr. Murkot Ramunny, is a senior civil servant, who worked for over a quarter of a century in the tribal States of the North-Eastern India, and also as the Administrator of Lakshadweep, from November 1961 to April 1965. He developed such a genuine love for the land and the people of Lakshadweep that even after 30 years, he revisited these islands to renew his contacts and to wonder at the remarkable progress of the people.

The chief aim of this book, sponsored by the Lakshadweep Social Cultural Research Commission (LSCRC) is to record the unique land reforms, achieved through people's cooperation, which have brought about a revolutionary progress in the Union Territory.

Geologically, the islands are believed to be extensions of the Aravalli System of rocks, as submarine mountains on whose tops coral growth has taken place during the late tertiary period to form inhabitable reefs, atolls, sand banks and sandy islands of exquisite beauty and romance. Historically, Greek, Roman and Arab sailors used to visit these islands for collecting boat-loads of cowries and tortoise-shell, for commerce.

It is only about 800 years ago, during the 12th century, sailors from the Malabar Coast, the nearest mainland, started colonising these islands to plant coconut trees on these no-man's lands. Thus Kerala was wielding a profound influence on the whole life and culture of these islanders who were all originally Hindus. During the medieval period of the 13th century, the most significant event in these islands was their mass conversion to Islam, through an Arab teacher, Obaidullah.

During the 14th century Marco Polo seems to have visited these islands. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portugese arrived on the scene and started obstructing the Cannanore traders, of their traditional coir and copra trade with the mainland. By the 18th century, the British annexed these islands to their erstwhile Madras Presidency.

Soon after Independence, the visit and report of the able civil servant, Mr. S. Y. Krishnaswamy, recommending several developmental innovations, have been chiefly instrumental in establishing them as Laccadive Islands in 1956, and as a Union Territory of the Government of India, renamed as Lakshadweep, in 1973.

The intervention of the Government of India in promoting the coir and the copra trade, starting cooperative societies, and ration shops, developing education, healthcare, modernisation of the tuna fishing and trade in ``masmeen,'' improvement of communication and transport with the mainland, and above all, ending of the exploitation by the middlemen on the mainland, and caste exploitation by the richer Koyas over the workers, Kudiyans, on the islands themselves, have all set the stage for strengthening people's confidence in the governmental welfare schemes.

However, the most serious obstacle for the island's rapid progress was their traditional, unique, but inextricable and confusing ``coconut tree-tenure system'' called the ``Nadapu'' system. Land is an important natural resource, and it was plenty in Lakshadweep, but not owned by anyone. Ironically, it was only the coconut trees that were owned, but not the land on which they exist. The higher caste owners employed lower caste workers to plant coconut trees for them, on the condition that 40 trees were given to workers.

The latter, however, planted their own coconuts also, in between the owner's coconut plots, adding to the confusion and deprivation by owners. Dedicated Raman Nair and Keshava Menon, who intervened on behalf of the Union Government, revolutionised the whole system, by convincing the age-old workers to part with one-fourth of the coconut trees to owners and to retain the three-fourths to themselves, a change that was unanimously agreed to by owners as well as workers. This change from the ``tree tenure'' to ``land tenure'' triggered off the rapid progress in Lakshadweep.

Seventeen appendices, particularly the one showing cultural connection between the Maldives and Lakshadweep, are interesting additions to this book, which is a success story of people's own development in remote islands, after they are declared as the Union Territories of the Government of India, holding greater promises for a glorious future, even as an international tourist centre soon.

P. J. SANJEEVA RAJ

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Wolf as man-eater
Next     : Military genius