The Interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep should be regained

The Interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep should be regained

Anannya Varghese Parakkal
B.A.,LL.B Sem 4 student at Amity University
Intern at Jimson Associates
Thrissur – 680 001

With the widespread protests over its policies and the Lakshadweep administration’s proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from the Kerala High Court to the Karnataka High Court. The government of Kerala should take necessary measures to regain the interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep as it was before November 1, 1956, due to its strong cultural ties to Kerala, with most of its people speaking Malayalam, and because Lakshadweep was once a part of the Malabar district which was merged with the former state of Travancore – Cochin to become Kerala according to the States Reorganization Act of 1956.

The History of Formation of India

The role of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

As the first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is recognized as the person behind the unification of India after the departure of the British in 1947.He handled the integration of 565 princely states into the Indian union, preventing the country from being divided into mini – nations. The 565 princely nations were offered the option of joining either India or Pakistan, or opting for independence, under the plan of reformation. Indian nationalists and a significant portion of the population believed that if these states did not accede, most of the people and land would be separated. From invoking the patriotism of the princes to reminding them of the possibility of anarchy on event of their refusal to join, he kept trying to convince them to join India. He also introduced the concept of “privy purses”, a payment to be made to royal families for their agreement to merge with India.

Patel’s tireless efforts paid off when most rulers agreed to dissolve their states, handing over control of thousands of villages, jagirs, palaces, institutes, cash balances in the billions of rupees, and a 12,000 – mile railway system to the Indian government without receiving any compensation.

While Patel’s involvement in bringing these royal lands into the Indian union is well – known, few people are aware that he also merged Lakshadweep at a later point, ensuring that the gorgeous coral atolls remained part of India. Pakistan began eyeing the strategically positioned and nearly “out – of – sight” island archipelago that had been hardly informed of the Independence shortly after August 15, 1947. Patel intervened quickly to send Indian military ships to protect Lakshadweep, thwarting Pakistani Navy attempts to take the island. Thus, the ever – pragmatic Patel and his brilliant secretary accomplished the monumental task of unifying the princely states into the Indian union. India is defined as a “Union of States” under Article 1. And no one deserves more credit than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for bringing modern India into being,

The Formation of States

When India had 565 disjointed princely states when it gained independence in 1947, which were combined to form 27 states, these were grouped based on political and historical concerns rather than linguistic or cultural boundaries, but this was just a temporary arrangement. Because of the multilingual nature of the states and the differences that existed between them, the states needed to be reformed on a permanent basis. In 1948, the government selected SK Dhar, an Allahabad High Court judge, to head a panel that would investigate the necessity for linguistic reform of states. The Commission, on the other hand, supported reorganising states along administrative lines, considering historical and geographical reasons, rather than along linguistic lines.

The JVP Committee, which included Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh bhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya, was constituted in December 1948 to investigate the matter. In its April 1949 report, the Committee rejected the concept of reorganising states on a linguistic basis but stated that the matter may be revisited considering public demand. Using of language as the criteria for the division of states would result in a greater number of local people participating in administration because of being able to communicate in a common language. Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistic state for Telugu speakers in 1953. In the face of a prolonged protest and the death of Potti Sriramulu after a 56 – day hunger strike, the administration was obliged to remove the Telugu – speaking territories from the state of Madras. As a result, other parts of the country made similar requests for the formation of linguistic states. And this was made a reality through the reformation act of 1956.

The States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a landmark act that reorganized India’s states and territories along linguistic lines. Despite further revisions to India's state boundaries since 1956, the States Reorganization Act of 1956 remains the single most significant adjustment in state boundaries since India's independence in 1947. The Act came into effect at the same time as the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, which (among other things) restructured the constitutional framework for India’s existing states and the requirements to pass the States Reorganization Act, 1956 under the provisions of Part I of the Constitution of India, Article 3.

India now has 29 states and seven union territories. The states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, and Telangana. The union territories are Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra, and Nagar haveli.

History of Lakshadweep

All the islanders were converted to Islam because of Muslim missionary activities in the 7th century and continuing contact with Arab commerce. Before 1100, the islands were acquired by a minor Hindu kingdom on the Malabar Coast, and after the Kulashekhara dynasty of Kerala fell in 1102 and were handed to the Kolathiris, another small Hindu dynasty. After a Kolathiri princess married a Muslim convert later in the 12th century, a separate kingdom (including the islands that later became Lakshadweep) was established in the Kannur (Cannanore) district of Kerala to maintain the Keralan tradition of matrilineal succession.

When Vasco da Gama landed in Kozhikode during the Age of Discovery in 1498, he took control of the archipelago (which he called Laquedivas) and used it to exploit coir production until the islanders ousted him in 1545. The Chirakkal or Kolattiri Raja granted all the inhabited islands of the Lakshadweep as jagir to the ruling family of the Cannanore Kingdom (Arakkal Kingdom) in the mid-16th century to provide protection against the Portuguese. In addition to the city of Kannur, the Arakkal kingdom ruled over the Laccadive and Amindivi groups of islands.

Until the 1780s, when authority of the northern group of islands, the Amindivis, fell to Tippu Sultan, the sultan of Mysore (now Karnataka) on the mainland, the islands were ruled by bibis (female rulers) and their husbands. Tippu Sultan took control of the Aminidivi group of islands (Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlath, and Bitra) in 1787. After the Third Anglo-Mysore War, they were given to the British and assigned to the Kasaragod Taluk of South Canara. The rest of the islands (Agatti, Andrott, Minicoy, Kavaratti, Kalpeni, and Bangaram) remained under Kannur's sovereign control in exchange for an annual tribute payment. For nonpayment of debts, the British took over the administration of the islands. During the British Raj, these islands were part of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency. It was then incorporated into the Kozhikode Taluk. When India gained independence in 1947, sovereignty was transferred to India, and the islands were designated as a union territory in 1956. According to reports, communist leader AK Gopalan suggested to Jawaharlal Nehru that this area be constituted a Union Territory. As a result, Lakshadweep was designated a Union Territory on the same day as Kerala — November 1, 1956.

How were Union Territories created?

The Central Government and the State Governments share ruling authority in India, which is a federal country. The first schedule lists India’s states and territories, as well as any modifications to their borders. India is a Union of States, not a federation of states, according to Article 1 of the Indian Constitution. Articles 2, 3 and 4 provide parliament the power to create new states, increase or decrease the size of existing states, and amend the constitution.

The Union Government has the power to form a State, increase or decrease the size of any State, and alter the boundaries or name of any State, according to Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.

In the case of Babulal Parate v. State of Bombay, the court clarifies the terms of Article 3 of the Indian Constitution in this decision. His argument was that the Act for formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat was approved in violation of Article 3 of the Constitution since the Bombay Legislature had not been given an opportunity to voice its opinion on the composite State's establishment. The petition was dismissed by the High Court.

The Indian federal system includes the following when the new Constitution of India was adopted in 1949:

Part A state’s former British India provinces that had a Governor and a legislature.

Part B states the former Princely States that were governed by a Rajpramukh.

Part C states chief Commissioners’ provinces and some princely states that were governed by Chief Commissioner.

Part D states territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands that was governed by a Lieutenant Governor who was appointed by the Central Government.

After the States Reorganization Act of 1956, Part C and Part D states were combined into a single category of ‘Union Territory’. The concept of the UT was added by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956. It refers to regions that are either too tiny to be autonomous or too distinct (economically, culturally, and geographically) to be combined with neighboring states, as well as those that are financially weak or politically unstable. They could not survive as distinct administrative units for the reasons stated above and must be handled by the Union Government.

Conclusion

Looking at the facts, Lakshadweep could be merged back into their place of provenance on public interest and as a solution for the ongoing argument on environment vs development with the new administration. The state of Kerala should take necessary measures to regain the interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep which they had prior to 1956. Since Lakshadweep was made a Union territory for the safeguard of the territories of India, just Like Delhi, Lakshadweep can jointly be administered by the Union government and an elected body. Union Government can give all the legislative and executive powers to an elected body and the Union can continue controlling and regulating the remaining duties through different departments. During the formation of India, the first condition applied was the linguistic boundaries, and most people of Lakshadweep are descendants of migrants from the Malabar Coast of southwest India that is Kerala, and the islanders are ethnically like coastal Kerala’s Malayali people.

Article 3 assigns Parliament the power to enact legislation for the formation of new states, that is: (i) separating territory from any State,

(ii) uniting two or more States,

(iii)uniting parts of States and

(iv)uniting any territory to a part of any State

Through this, the government should consider on merging the two states on lingual and ethnicity bases. A bill calling for formation of new States must be introduced in either House of Parliament on the recommendation of the President. This merging could turn the angry population into peaceful one.

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