An island for all, or none  Premium

Katchatheevu, an island in the Palk Strait, has for long been a bone of contention between India and Sri Lanka. A church festival on this tiny piece of land however, draws pilgrims, mainly fisherfolk, from both countries, praying for happiness, health and good livelihoods

The last-minute check for essential travel items, the mad rush to nearby shops to buy water bottles and water cans, elders urging children to keep their identity cards in hand, security personnel asking people to maintain order: this cacophony grows, as do the serpentine queues as people pour in, awaiting the short boat ride across a choppy sea. 

After a thorough security check, about 2,400 Indian visitors are ready to embark on a pilgrimage. In batches, about 70 mechanised and country boats set sail for the two-day St. Antony’s Church festival, which is held every year in February or March, at Katchatheevu, an island, which is now part of Sri Lanka.

Katchatheevu, in the Palk Strait, is a tiny island, measuring 285.20 acres, and is located about 14 nautical miles from Rameswaram in India. The proximity of the isle to both countries, India and Sri Lanka, has been the cause of its being a bone of contention between the two nations for decades now. While there are records stating that the island was part of the then Ramnad Kingdom, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) also laid claim to it. It was administered jointly under British rule.

It was in the 1970s that the nondescript island gained prominence, and in 1974 and 1976 two agreements between the two nations followed. Then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and then Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bhandaranaike signed agreements making Katchatheevu a part of Sri Lanka. Even since, with Katchatheevu determining the maritime border, fishing rights have been a topic of debate on both sides.

While Indian politicians want the island retrieved, Sri Lankan politicians have not taken much interest in talks of handing the piece of land back to India.

In 1974, then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi wrote to the Prime Minister, citing records that showed Katchatheevu belonged to the Ramnad Kingdom and claimed the land for the State. Subsequently in 1991, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urged the Centre to retrieve Katchatheevu and restore the fishing rights of Indian fishermen. The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted resolutions that said the State would retrieve Katchatheevu.

In 2001, Ms. Jayalalithaa met then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and urged him to obtain the island on a lease in-perpetuity for the fishermen of Tamil Nadu. Ms. Jayalalithaa continued these efforts in the following years: in 2008, she moved the Supreme Court to declare the earlier agreements signed between the two countries. null and void. In 2013, Mr. Karunanidhi also filed a separate petition to declare those agreements null and void. In 2014 however, the Centre told the Supreme Court that Katchatheevu was a sovereign part of Sri Lanka.