On October 27, the Navy officials of Sri Lanka had attacked more than 4,000 fishermen in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu when they were fishing near Dhanushkodi by throwing bottles and stones. The leader of the fisherman association has reported the incident and said that some of them are gravely injured while Sri Lanka severely damaged their gears and equipment.
Even the day before the incident took place, the fishermen were chased away by Sri Lanka’s navy when they were fishing in the sea, they had occupied 400 boats and came back at night. There have also been reports of mild attacks in the area for the last three months.
D Jayakumar, minister of Fisheries condemned the attack saying that it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. They will inform the centre about the attack and make sure the fishermen in Tamil Nadu do not face such serious issues and work peacefully.
They are positive that the centra will listen to them and take the matter to Sri Lanka to make sure such attacks do not happen again. There are no borders in the sea and the fishermen were not wandering but working in the sea.
Mr Jayakumar said that even if the fishermen had strayed into the sea, the right thing would be to return them to their country instead of fighting them.
It was ideated by Indian government There were difficulties in giving the fishermen satellite phones at a subsidised cost. However, the cost of Rs 1 lakh per phone was higher than the subsidy Rs 25,000.
What Tamil Nadu has to say on the attack?
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan (DMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) the dominant political parties of Tamil Nadu criticized the attack by the Sri Lankan Navy on the Indian fishermen when they were fishing near Katchatheevu. On the other hand, Sri Lanka has not issued any statement clarifying its position.
DMK called out the centre to intervene and accused them of passive spectator. They accused AIADMK of not being sensitive to the condition of the fishermen and not forcing the centre to take strict action against Sri Lanka.
DMK also said that by not supporting the fishermen, the central government would make it seem like they are encouraging Sri Lanka to wrest the fishing rights of the fishermen of Tamil Nadu.
The complaint of the attack on the fishermen is being looked at by the Police and the Fisheries Department.
In the incident, many fishermen were brutally beaten while one of them was injured severely in the assault. Hundreds of fishing nets were also damaged by the Navy of Sri Lanka.
India had given the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in 1970s which is the main cause of the attack. Therefore, now that the neighbouring nation has attacked the people of India, the central government should take the land back, said the political parties of the state.
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party called the attack on the fishermen an offence committed by Sri Lanka which shall not be tolerated by both state and central government.
The central government is expected to be more attentive to the foreign issues of the country. Irrespective of the current situation, when most of the neighbouring countries of India are behaving in a hostile manner.
