Two days after politicians and public figures from the island nation of Maldives went on a racist diatribe against Indians, Akshay Kumar urged Indians to not tolerate such unprovoked hate and to support India’s native tourism.
In a tweet on Sunday (7th January), the Bollywood actor wrote, “Came across comments from prominent public figures from Maldives passing hateful and racist comments on Indians. Surprised that they are doing this to a country that sends them the maximum number of tourists.”
“We are good to our neighbors but why should we tolerate such unprovoked hate? I’ve visited the Maldives many times and always praised it, but dignity first,” he emphasised.
“Let us decide to #ExploreIndianIslands and support our own tourism,” he concluded.
The Background of the Controversy
On January 4, PM Narendra Modi shared some pictures of his recent visit to Lakshadweep as he exhorted people to explore the scenic island in what could be seen as a push to his ‘vocal for local’ slogan, and an effort to give a boost to tourism in the island.
Following PM Modi’s tweet posting stunning vistas from the Lakshadweep Islands, several social media users in India called for Indians to visit the place over foreign destinations, including the Maldives, which shares similar geographical characteristics as the Lakshadweep Islands.
That touched off bitter reactions from Maldivian counterparts, including governmental functionaries and prominent citizens, many of whom resorted to making churlish remarks against India, Indians, and the Indian PM.
Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, recently made insulting remarks against PM Modi, referring to him as a ‘clown’ and a ‘puppet of Israel’ after he posted pictures from his visit to Lakshadweep Islands.
“What a clown. The puppet of Israel Mr Narendra diver with a life jacket #VisitMaldives,” Shiuna tweeted. The post was deleted after backlash on X, formerly known as Twitter, where Indian social media users slammed the Maldives government officials, including Shiuna, for their crass remarks against the Indian Prime Minister.
It is worth noting that PM Modi did not mention the Maldives anywhere in his tweets. Similarly, other officials and prominent personalities too have taken to social media, making obnoxious remarks against India and Indians.
On Friday (5th January), Zahid Rameez, a Council member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) also took to the microblogging site X to mock Indians.