Tamil Nadu should take constructive approach on Katchatheevu island dispute: Governor RN Ravi
The governments at the Centre and in the state in 1974 ‘committed a grave sin by depriving fishermen of their traditional fishing rights', Ravi said.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Sunday said that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in the state should take a “constructive approach” in relation to the Katchatheevu dispute with Sri Lanka instead of “finding fault” with the Centre.
Following a visit to Rameswaram where he met fisherfolk, Ravi said that the state and the Union government should work together to find an “enduring solution” to the dispute.
Katchatheevu is a small uninhabited island in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. Both India and Sri Lanka have laid claim over the island since at least 1921.
In 1974, the two countries signed an agreement demarcating their maritime boundary. The deal said that the boundary runs one mile off Katchatheevu’s western coast, effectively placing the island in Sri Lankan territorial waters.
However, the dispute has continued to find traction in the politics of Tamil Nadu, especially because it is intertwined with the attacks on and detention of fisherfolk from the state by the Sri Lankan Navy.
On Sunday, Ravi said that the fisherfolk in Rameswaram were “victims of an iniquitous agreement of 1974 which was extremely insensitive” to their livelihoods.
“The then governments in Delhi and Chennai committed a grave sin by depriving our fishermen of their traditional fishing rights in the sea around Katchatheevu island,” the governor said on social media.
In my visit to Rameswaram today, I met our distressed brothers and sisters from fishing community. I deeply sympathise with them. They are victims of an iniquitous agreement of 1974 which was extremely insensitive to the livelihood concerns of our poor fishermen. The then… pic.twitter.com/YojPflMJ6t
— RAJ BHAVAN, TAMIL NADU (@rajbhavan_tn) March 2, 2025
The fishing community in the region had been enduring hardship since the bilateral agreement was signed, Ravi said. “They are arrested and their boats confiscated by Sri Lankan authorities,” he added.
“Instead of politicising this issue and faulting the central government a constructive approach by the state government will go a long way in wiping the tears of our affected people,” the governor said. “After all, it is the party ruling the state today as an ally of the then central government was equally responsible for the wrong in 1974.”
His statements came a week after at least 32 fisherfolk from Rameswaram, Thangachimadam and nearby areas in the state were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the Palk Strait.
The Sri Lankan Navy has arrested more than 100 Tamil Nadu fishermen and seized 20 trawlers this year. Sri Lankan courts have recently imposed heavy fines and jail terms on some fisherfolk citing repeat offences.
Also read: Explained: The Katchatheevu dispute with Sri Lanka that Modi is raking up this election season
