[Katchatheevu Agreement 1974 Pdf 15
Iberio Ralda
The island is located between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India and has been traditionally used by both Sri Lankan Tamil and Tamil Nadu fishermen.[6][7] In 1974, then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan territory under the Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement aimed at resolving the maritime boundaries in the Palk Strait.[7] Another agreement signed in 1976 restricted both the countries' fishermen from fishing in the other's exclusive economic zones.[7]
Earlier, it had been owned by the Ramnad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram Rameshwaram which later came under the Madras Presidency during British rule of the Indian subcontinent. By 1920, Ceylon had reinstated its claims to Katchatheevu and the island found itself within Ceylonese territory in 1921.[3][7]
The dispute over the island between the Ceylonese and Indian colonial governments arose in 1920. While the Indian view was that the island was part of India because it belonged to a landlord of the Raja of Ramnad, B. Horsburgh opposed this view and cited evidence that Katchatheevu, along with St. Anthony's Church on the island, belonged to the Diocese of Jaffna. By 1921, both sides had agreed on a border that put the island within Ceylonese territory.[3]
Ownership of the island was a dispute between India and Sri Lanka up until 1974 as it had been during British rule. It was never demarcated by the Indian government.[4][clarification needed] India recognized Sri Lanka's ownership of the island in 1974. The legality of the transfer was challenged in the Indian Supreme Court since the recognition had not been ratified by the Indian Parliament. This recognition of an island that is culturally important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu state in India has led to some agitations by Tamil Nadu politicians that India should claim sovereignty over it. The island is also important as fishing grounds used by fishermen from both countries. The Indo-Sri Lankan agreement allows Indian fishermen to fish around Katchatheevu and to dry their nets on the island. As part of the Sri Lankan Civil War, the arrangement led to many difficulties with the Sri Lankan Navy, which was deployed to prevent smuggling of weapons by the rebel group LTTE. The island has a Catholic shrine that attracts devotees from both countries.[16]
The main problem continues to grow as more fisherman move into the Sri Lankan sea area for poaching. In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.[17]
In June 2011 the new Tamil Nadu government led by the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa, filed a petition in the Supreme Court that the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements between India and Sri Lanka on ceding of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka were unconstitutional.[18] The court ruled in the Berubari case that the cession of Indian territory to another country had to be ratified by parliament through amendment of the Constitution.
The Indian government in February 2014 stated, "No territory belonging to India was ceded nor sovereignty relinquished since the area was in dispute and had never been demarcated." The government added that the agreements did not require a constitutional amendment because no territory was ceded.[4]
A motion of the Katchatheevu dispute was reopened by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the general elections in India, which are set to start on April 19, 2024. The BJP brought this issue to the forefront as part of its election campaign, particularly targeting the discontent of Indian fishermen affected by the 1976 agreement that barred them from fishing in the waters around the island. Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Ali Sabry, has publicly dismissed the motion of reopening discussions about Katchatheevu, stating the issue was resolved 50 years ago.[19]
St Antony's Shrine is the only structure on the island. It is a shrine-church named after Antony of Padua, considered a patron saint of seafarers by Christians. It was built by a prosperous Indian Catholic (Tamilian) fisherman Srinivasa Padaiyachi in the early 20th century. The annual church festival runs for three days. Christian priests from both India and Sri Lanka conduct the worship services (Mass) and procession. Pilgrims from India are ferried mostly from Rameswaram. According to the agreement between the Indian and Sri Lankan governments, the citizens of India are not required to possess an Indian passport or Sri Lankan visa to visit Kachchatheevu.
Documents shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) with BJP state president K. Annamalai recently under the Right to Information Act, have no doubt established that then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi was taken into confidence by the Centre before India signed an agreement with Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the Katchatheevu islet in 1974.
The MEA (Historical Division) document prepared by its Director B.K. Basu, details the record of talks held in Madras on June 19, 1974 between the Chief Minister and Foreign Secretary Kewal Singh in connection with the consideration on the question of Kachchativu (as spelt in the records). Mr. Basu was privy to the discussions along with then Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary P. Sabanayagam and Home Secretary S.P. Ambrose.
On the substance of the proposal Karunanidhi indicated that he was inclined to accept the suggested solution. His difficulty was, however, that he could not take the opposition into confidence without sharing with them the knowledge about the oil strike and convince them about the need to accept the compromise.
Karunanidhi then told the Foreign Secretary that for obvious political reasons he could not be expected to take a public stand in favour of it. He assured the Foreign Secretary that he would help keep the reaction at a low key and would not allow it to be played up.
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Katchatheevu is a 285-acre uninhabited island in the Palk Straits located close to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) of Sri Lanka and India. The island only comes alive during the annual feast of St. Anthony, when fishermen from Sri Lanka and India visit the island.
However, the dispute over fishing rights in the area has led to tensions between the fishing communities since 2009. Between January 1 and March 21 this year, the Sri Lanka navy seized a total of 23 Indian trawlers and 178 Indian fishermen, who were poaching in Sri Lankan waters. Indian fishermen did not take part this year in the annual festival at Katchatheevu, alleging that Sri Lankan naval personnel harass them when they cross over to Sri Lankan waters.
However, in the decades since the agreements were signed, Tamil politicians in India have been insisting that they got a bad deal. For example, in 2011, the Tamil Nadu government under the leadership of Jayalalithaa Jayaram lodged a petition in the Supreme Court of India, requesting the declaration of the 1974 and 1976 agreements as unconstitutional.
Over the last 15 years, Sri Lankan fishermen have been urging their political leaders and the government to take more stern action against the Indians. Even now thousands of Tamil Nadu trawlers engage in fishing over a wide arc from Chilaw in the West to Mullaitivu in the East.
This is not the first time that Modi has spoken about Katchatheevu. In 2023, he told parliament that the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (DMK), the party in power in Tamil Nadu, was asking him to reclaim Katchatheevu, which former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Congress Party had given away to Sri Lanka. It was when Gandhi was prime minister that the Katchatheevu deal was done. Incidentally, the DMK, now an ally of the Congress party, was in power in Tamil Nadu when that agreement was signed with Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda, whom northern fishermen have pressured to take action against Indian fishermen who poach in Sri Lankan territorial waters, was more candid. He pointed out that India secured Wadge Bank, which extends over a larger area and is richer in marine resources than Katchatheevu.
As fellow South Asians, Sri Lankans know that politicians make outrageous statements when elections approach. However, local and small-time politicians usually make the most inflammatory statements. This gives senior leaders in the party plausible deniability about these claims.
In the Katchatheevu case, it is the Indian prime minister and the foreign minister who have reopened a settled dispute. It is understandable then that Sri Lankans are taking these statements seriously.
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