The Indian Ocean is India’s soft underbelly, President Mohamed Nasheed has told Indian media.
Sify News reported that the Maldivian President sought to allay concerns here that Maldives could be used as a route to attack India although he acknowledged that some nationals of his country were getting terror training in Pakistan and some other countries.
“Terrorism issue is apolitical. We have to get a good grip on it,” Nasheed said in an interview while talking about the menace which is a cause of concern for the region and beyond.
“Security issues in Indian Ocean have lately been getting more and more serious…I mean we see the Mumbai attack also as an Indian ocean issue,” he said.
Noting that “India’s soft belly is through Indian Ocean” and no government in Delhi would be comfortable with it being exposed, he said Maldives and India are undertaking coordinated patrolling of the maritime areas.
“We have an understanding with India in patrolling… it is happening,” he said, adding India had also lent a helicopter for aerial surveillance of the Indian Ocean region.
The crowds thronged at the entrance of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH). Patients, nurses and visitors all waited impatiently for more than an hour, craning their necks each time a car drove up.
At last he came.
The arrival of Salman Khan, Indian superstar and one of the most bankable stars in the Indian film industry, was greeted with loud cheers.
Dozens of cameras and mobile phones were produced as everyone tried to capture the moment. Khan, dressed in a gray T-shirt sporting a superman logo, smiled at the crowd and flanked by a dozen policemen, made his way to the blood donors’ room.
The crowd was enthralled: “Oh, he looks so handsome!”, “He even moves like he does in the movies!”, “He is taller than I thought!”
Khan inaugurated the blood donation camp, one of the activities of the annual India-Maldives friendship festival 2010. Not just settling for a ribbon-cutting moment, Khan donated his own blood.
Later in the seminar room, Indian High Commissioner Dnyanesshwar Mulay said he hoped that this would herald a new era in the India Maldives friendship “as now we are blood relatives.”
Khan stood up and got as far as “Bismillahirahmaniraheem” before he was mobbed.
Photos and chats were requested – and he obliged. Smiling and gracious, he acknowledged everyone around him.
Khan was then whisked off to Iskandhar School to judge a painting exhibition by the school children. As children painted, Khan moved around signing their paintings and chatting with them. Outside it was pandemonium; the doors of the hall had to be locked to keep the crowds out.
A foreigner who said he was a teacher opened his wallet and showed proof.
“Now let me in, you have let other teachers in, let me in!” he screamed.
A Maldivian journalist threatened “I am going to make this as a breaking news now if you don’t let me in.”
Another journalist threatened to call the police spokesperson and complain.
Tempers flared, but the police inside kept the doors locked. People stuck their faces to the glass door to catch a glimpse of the superstar.
More than a star
Khan said he was pleased to be at the launching of the medical assistance programme in the children’s home on Villingili earlier that the day.
Mr Mulay explained that the medical assistance programme would provide free treatments for the children by Indian doctors.
Speaking at the ceremony, Khan said that he would help “in anyway possible” for similar charitable programmes.
“My number is at the Indian High commission. If my participation is needed for an event like this, all you have to do is call,” he promised. “It’s just a two hour flight to come to the Maldives and help out.”
Khan gained fame in the Maldives ever since he shot to fame with his first movie as a lead man, ‘Maine pyar kiya’ in 1989. His fame was later cemented with his hits ‘Hum aapke hei kaun,’ ‘Karan Arjun,’ ‘Kuch Kuch hota hei’ and recent ones like ‘Partner’ and ‘Wanted.’
His vast acting skills and his buff body are something a lot of Maldivians are familiar with.
But his humanitarian work is less well known here, and this was the first glimpse of it up close for Maldivians.
Khan recently set up his own charity NGO, ‘Being human.’
Asked in an interview about it, he replied “Being human for me is ‘being human’. We all are human beings and I think we don’t do anything human to be human so you have to do something. I mean, God gives you so much and you know eventually you need to start giving it back.”
Salman Khan and President Nasheed at last night's inaugrationOfficial inauguration
The official inauguration of the festival was held last night. President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali arrived with Salman Khan and Mr Mulay.
There was an audible gasp in the hall at Dharubaruge when people caught sight of Khan.
Once they took their place at the podium, a recitation of Quran started the ceremony.
Khan, clad in a slim greyish-striped shirt, provided the eye candy, there were more gasps as cameras clicked away.
“We live in this country, we breath this air, we earn our livelihood here, so we should contribute positively to the population” said Mr Mulay, highlighting why it was important for Indians to participate.
He said he hoped that the friendship between the two countries will be streangthened. Whenever he mentioned Khan’s name and his activities, a loud cheer went up.
Indian infrastructure giant GMR – which recently won the bid to develop Male International Airport – announced it would give 10 scholarships for the next four years to Maldivian students, and were greeted with loud cheers of approval.
Khan took the mic next and said he was honoured to be in the Maldives, and joked that the GMR group was now going to pay for his education.
“Islam means peace, we should all live in peace,” Khan said, drawing louder cheers.
President Nasheed also spoke, keeping his speech short “as this is no time for politicians.”
“We invited Mr Khan and wanted him here not only for his acting, but for his humanitarian work,” Nasheed said, thanking the famous actor.
Sitting side by side, Khan and President seemed amused at the enthusiasm of the crowd.
What followed next was two hours of entertainment, a fusion of Bharatnatyam and Khatak dance by Indians.
Maldivian dancer Jadu and his group performed a mix of traditional Maldivian dances with a modern take.
The atmosphere revved up a few notches when Khan took to the stage in the middle of a dance by young Indian girls. He matched them step for step, showing off his skills and driving the crowd went wild. He was invited to the stage for a follow up act.
When Jadu and his group performed a medley of his songs, he joined in and did his famous dance moves to songs like ‘Just chill’ and ‘Theyrahee chehra.’
After the President left, Khan followed and left the function.
A superstar was in town, and more than his dancing skills or his apparent talent for improvisation, what was most striking was his graciousness.
Despite being one of the most famous stars in the region, Khan showed no airs or graces. His whole demenour was respectful and obliging to the crowds who turned up to see him, and his apparent willingness to help Maldivians in charity work won the hearts of many.
The India-Maldives Friendship Festival 2010 will continue until August 15, 2010.
July 30-31: Education Fair organised by Times Group will be held at Dharubaruge.
August 3-5: A magic show by Mr Gopinath Muthukad will be held at the Olympus theater.
August 6: An evening of cultural programmes will be held by local artists.
August 12-15: Grande finale of the festival will be held in the evenings by a variety show group from India, together with local artists.
For more information, please contactthe Indian High Commission at Tel/Fax: 332 1824
A US$90 million (Rf1.2 billion) project agreement to provide solar powered electricity to the Upper South Province of Maldives (Thaa and Laamu atolls) has been signed by Upper South Utilities Limited with BBM Infra Limited of India.
The 24 mega watt solar power facility will be built by BBM in association with two Chinese companies to provide electricity to all islands of Upper South Province .
The project should commence within 2-3 months, says the managing director of Upper South Utilities Limited Ahmed Saeed Mohamed, and would reduce the cost of electricity by 20 percent.
BBM Infra Ltd is part of the BBM Bommidala Group, based on the tobacco trade. BBM Infra, the newest company in this group, is expanding into solar power, construction machinery, and highway projects.
‘Lessons from Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka and India’ described as a ‘large and wide-ranging study of post-tsunami recovery’ by researchers from Monash and RMIT universities in Melbourne, Australia, has been released.
The report identifies ‘serious shortcomings in how international aid agencies dealt with local groups, leaving them poorly equipped to manage with long-term recovery efforts. The researchers say they’re already seeing many of the mistakes repeated in the wake of more recent natural disasters, with worrying consequences’, reports ABC Radio Australia.
Concerns that Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba are seeking to establish a ‘sleeper cell’ in the Maldives have re-risen following reports in the Indian media.
The Times of India reported yesterday that India has quickened its efforts to formalise the counter-terrorism partnership between the two countries.
Quoting Indian intelligence sources, the Times reported that India “has noted with concern the sharp increase in the number of visitor from the Maldives to Pakistan, where they spend a lot of time travelling around the country for purposes which are unclear but suspicious.”
The isolation and strategic location of the Maldives make it a tempting target for groups such as Lashkar, which India has identified as responsible for the attacks in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, in which gunmen entered the city by sea and killed at least 173 people and wounded 308.
Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed Shihab travelled to India in early February to meet his counterpart P Chidambaram, in order to draw up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries that was to be signed in April.
State Minister for Home Affairs Adil Saleem said today Shihab was in Delhi but the trip was on the invitation of the World Bank regarding unrelated matters.
A spokesman for the Indian High Commission said defence agreements between India and the Maldives were “a continuous arrangement” and not specific to a particular incident or group.
He acknowledged that there was “support for fundamentalist groups” in the Maldives but would not speculate on who those groups were or defence arrangements between the two countries. He noted that no agreements had progressed since the minister’s last visit to India in February.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem noted that the Maldives and India performed intelligence sharing “very well”.
“India is very concerned about this group Lashkar-e-Taiba; I think all the countries in this region need to be vigilant,” Naseem said, emphasising the importance of “close cooperation with our regional neighbours.”
In a letter sent to the Indian parliament on Tuesday, India’s State Minister for Home Affairs Ajay Maken wrote that “available inputs indicate that Pakistan-based terrorist groups, primarily the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are making concerted efforts to organise terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, including iconic institutions, prominent industrial installations and tourist locations among others.”
In order to do so, he noted, the group was making concerted efforts to develop links with other countries in the region, including the Maldives.
Other prominent groups posing a threat included Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM), Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Al Badr, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), Khalistan Commando force, International Sikh Youth federation (ISYF), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Communist party of India (Maoist),” Maken noted.
New Moroccan Ambassador to the Maldives, Larbi Moukhariq, presented his credentials to President Mohamed Nasheed at the President’s Office yesterday afternoon.
President Nasheed and Ambassador Moukhariq discussed ways of strengthening bilateral relations between the countries and on expanding areas of cooperation, such as tourism, commerce, education and climate change, including renewable energies.
President Nasheed noted the strong historic relations between the two countries and said they were good development partners.
Ambassador Moukhariq assured the president of his country’s commitment to further strengthen relations with the Maldives.
Ambassador Moukhariq is also ambassador to India, and dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps.
(0)Dislikes
(0)