Why the Maldives is facing a boycott from India following a holiday post by PM Modi

The Maldives is facing a boycott from India after three deputy ministers made insulting comments under a social media post made by India's prime minister Narendra Modi. 

The issue began when Modi took to social media platform X to share a series of posts of himself enjoying time along a southern Indian island, Lakshadweep.  

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"Recently, I had the opportunity to be among the people of Lakshadweep. I am still in awe of the stunning beauty of its islands and the incredible warmth of its people," he wrote in his post.

Modi added in his posts that he had the opportunity to interact with different people on the island of Lakshadweep and spoke about plans the government has to uplift lives through enhanced development and various government schemes. 

"For those who wish to embrace the adventurer in them, Lakshadweep has to be on your list," he wrote. "And those early morning walks along the pristine beaches were also moments of pure bliss."

Modi's innocent series of posts quickly drew the ire of some deputy ministers in the Maldives who reportedly called Modi a "clown", "terrorist" and "puppet of Israel" on X, according to Reuters.

Some netizens suggested that the posts by the ministers were in response to the fact that Modi was trying to draw tourism to Lakshadweep and that he had not mentioned its neighbor, the Maldives. 

Since then, the government of Maldives has issued a statement to say that it is aware of "derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals.".

"These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the government of Maldives," it said. 

It added that the government believes that the freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, and in ways that do not spread hatred, negativity, and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners.

Moreover, it said that relevant authorities of the government will not hesitate to take action against those who make such derogatory remarks. Since then, Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, who all reportedly work for the archipelago's Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, have been suspended. 

Since the incident, the hashtag #BoycottMaldives has popped up and is now trending with some people saying that they would be cancelling their trips. Some Bollywood actors such as Akshay Kumar, have also called out the deputy ministers for their "hateful and racist comments". 

"Surprised that they are doing this to a country that sends them the maximum number of tourists. We are good to our neighbors but why should we tolerate such unprovoked hate?" he asked his followers. 

Kumar then encouraged his followers to explore India's own islands and support its own tourism. The hashtag #ExploreIndianIslands has also been trending since. 

Many X users also noted that India contributes to a large percentage of tourism to the Maldives.

"India has always been a good friend to [the] Maldives and we must not allow such callous remarks to negatively impact the age-old friendship between our two countries," said former Maldives President Ibrahim Solih on X.

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