Indian tourists have begun boycotting the island paradise country of the Maldives following derogatory comments accusing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being a “clown” and a “puppet of Israel. “
The disparaging remarks, which prompted the #BoycottMaldives campaign, came after Modi was pictured lounging in a chair on a secluded white-sand beach in Lakshadweep, a mini-Maldives-like Indian territory 150 miles from the mainland and about 100 miles north of the Maldives.
Modi’s comments on the beach — he called a morning walk “moments of pure bliss” — sounded like a threat to the people of the Maldives, with its half-million residents feeling disrespected and pushed around by India.
“What a clown,” Mariyam Shiuna, a deputy minister in the Maldives’s government, wrote on social media. The post was later deleted. She also accused Modi of being a “puppet of Israel” and bizarrely of wearing a lifejacket while pretending to scuba dive.
Other officials have taken to social media to poke fun at India and the millions of tourists who stop on the island each year.
The comments underscored real tensions simmering between Modi and the leaders of the Muslim-majority islands, who have shown support for the Palestinians.
In India, the backlash against the Maldives was swift. Government officials, Bollywood actors, and even some tech titans have turned their outrage on the Maldivians, publishing Lakshadweep leaflets and encouraging their followers to boycott the Maldives.
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The Maldives is a popular high-end island country that generated more than $3 billion in tourism revenue in 2019, about 25% of its national economy. When COVID-19 hit and most countries besides China implemented strict lockdown procedures, the Maldives was kept afloat by Indian tourists, who have become the island’s main source of luxury spending.
India has recently seen untapped potential in marketing Lakshadweep to travelers as an attractive option for the Maldives. If successful, this could deal a major blow to the Maldives’ economy.