My colum on Katchatheevu published Pioneer - New Delhi edtion

 My colum on Katchatheevu published Pioneer - New Delhi edtion

#Katchatheevu - K.S. Radhakrishnan Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar have expressed their views on Katchatheevu over the past two days. Issues like Katchatheevu, the Cauvery dispute, Mullaperiyar, and Palar arise once a year, much like Thai Pongal or Deepavali, and are discussed before fading away. As Minister Jaishankar stated, the then Foreign Secretary Kewal Singh had spoken about this in October 1973. It is true that he discussed it with then Chief Minister Karunanidhi at the Chennai Secretariat in 1974, with Chief Secretary Sabhanayagam and Tamil Nadu Home Secretary S.P. Ambrose present. Minister Jaishankar also claimed that Katchatheevu was communicated to Chief Minister Karunanidhi in advance. Reports suggest that the then Union External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh wrote letters to the Tamil Nadu government regarding this. All these were part of central-state diplomatic affairs. Chief Minister Karunanidhi, speaking in Madurai, Tiruchy, and Papanasam in Thanjavur district, stated that Katchatheevu was handed over without the knowledge of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and called for DMK members to hold protest meetings. He convened an all-party meeting. At that time, M.G.R. had split from the DMK. On his behalf, ADMK’s headquarters secretary Aranga Nayagam attended the all-party meeting but walked out. Opposition leader Ponnappanadar, M.P.C. Samath, Communist movements, Swatantra, and Forward Bloc leaders participated in the meeting. In the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Karunanidhi proposed a resolution opposing the transfer of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. All these events took place. In Delhi, during Nehru’s time, Communist Party leader Anantha Nambiar, Pudukkottai Vallatharasu, and G.G. Swell raised the issue in Parliament, to which Nehru responded that he had no information about it and that Katchatheevu was merely a piece of land. In the 1960s, individuals like Chettur Vaid Doctor Krishnarao provided legal advice to the central government, urging it not to hand over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. After Nehru’s demise, during Shastri’s tenure, the central government formed a committee and sent it to Colombo to discuss the matter. Tamil Nadu Minister Pudukkottai Ramaiah was a member of that committee. During Indira Gandhi’s time, amidst complications in the Indian Ocean, the U.S. presence in Diego Garcia, and Sri Lanka’s plans to lease the Trincomalee Port, Katchatheevu was handed over in 1974 without parliamentary approval, based solely on letters exchanged between the Indian and Sri Lankan foreign ministries, in violation of international law. For formality’s sake, Minister Swaran Singh tabled a statement in Parliament, spoke briefly, and handed over Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. DMK MPs like Nanjil Manoharan, Era Sezhiyan, Mukkaiya Thevar, Mohammed Sheriff (Periyakulam), and M. Kalyanasundaram, along with MPs like Vajpayee and Lokappa, expressed their condemnation. A second agreement was discussed by Minister Y.B. Chavan in March 1976. **In exchange for Katchatheevu, India received mere sand** India received the barren sandbank of Wadge Bank, spanning 6,500 square kilometers, in exchange for Katchatheevu. The second agreement was signed on March 23, 1976. This agreement defined the boundary between India and Sri Lanka in the Gulf of Mannar. It was signed by India’s Foreign Secretary Kewal Singh and Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary W.T. Jayasinghe. Following this, Kewal Singh wrote a letter to W.T. Jayasinghe, elaborating on the Wadge Bank region. In the letter, he stated: “A mutual understanding has been reached between the two governments regarding fishing in the Wadge Bank area.” 1. The Wadge Bank, near Kanyakumari, is part of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone. India has full sovereignty over that area and its resources. 2. Sri Lankan fishing boats or fishermen will not fish in the Wadge Bank area.