Thread by @tnec_IN

#Article|To start with on Sunday social media was erupted with the hashtag #SaveLakshadweep trend where the islanders impeached the official and BJP leader Praful Khoda Patel for enforcing “repressive measures” and also damaging “traditional life and culture of the island”. (1/n)

So Praful Khoda Patel is a BJP leader who served as the home minister of Gujarat under the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He was elected the administrator of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in 2020 by the NDA government.He however has made complete changes (2/n)

to Lakshadweep Island and has also implemented a draft.Well, the central govt along with Praful Patel has talked and introduced the draconian, undemocratic, unconstitutional, and inhumane Draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation, 2021 (LDAR 2021). (3/n)

What it does is endangers the standing land ownership and custom in Lakshadweep by giving sliding, immoral, lawless powers to the government (and all its bodies) to directly intervene with an islander’s ownership to possess and keep their property. It further empowers the (4/n)

govt to pluck any land for “dev.” activities and later the land can be used as per govt sees fit i.e. with no regard for the owner of the land. It will be land needed for a “public purpose.” Now the dev. comprises of harmful procedures like mining, quarrying, the building (5/n)

of NH, Rlwys, Tram-ways, etc.This seems to be impractical plans for islands as the area is less than 5 sq km and it is, however, based on control & demolition rather than sustainable dev. according to the indigenous people.Also,if this comes under execution it will (6/n)

have a devastating impact on the population, 94.5% of whom belong to ST, & impact the fragile ecosystems.Another fact about Lakshadweep Island is that one of the biodiversity-rich islands in Lakshadweep-Parali I island has been eroded to an extent of 100% in 2017. (7/n)

Therefore, this draft takes back India in the time where there was land rights activism for the marginalized through its disenfranchisement. Twitter is full of #SaveLakshadweep, #RevokLDAR, and also calling Praful 'anti people'.