'Indians boycotting will have huge impact...': Netizens cancel Maldives trips over remarks row

After anti-India comments by politicians and ministers of Maldives, several Indians decided to cancel their trips to the island nation. Several Indians took to X to announce their decision even as Maldives attempted damage control by suspending the three ministers in question.

Hyderabad: Several Indians have cancelled their trip to Maldives after a row erupted over social media posts by Maldivian ministers denigrating India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Lakshadweep.

The posts on X, formerly Twitter, by three Maldivian ministers opened a Pandora's Box for the island nation as Indians slammed the remarks and rallied for #BoycottMaldives which was soon trending on the social media platform.

So much so was the impact that scores of Indians shared their stories of cancelling their upcoming Maldives plans. The impact was vivid as former Maldives Minister Ahmed Mahloof said Indians boycotting would hugely impact the Maldives economy.

Mahloof said that he was worried about the escalating situation regarding the sensitive comments about India, whom he termed as Maldives' closest neighbour.

"I’m deeply worried about the escalating situation regarding the sensitive comments about our closest neighbor. Indians boycotting the Maldives would have a huge impact on our economy. It would be hard for us to recover from such a campaign. I call on the government to swiftly take serious action to solve the issue ASAP. India will always remain our closest neighbor; that’s a fact. We love India and Indians; they are always welcome in the Maldives. As an ordinary citizen of the Maldives, I apologize for the racist comments by a few Maldivians towards Indians and Prime Minister @narendramodi#Maldives (sic)," Mahloof said in a post on X, formerlyknownas Twitter.

Indians, meanwhile, continued to vent their anger against Maldives with many saying they would make sure none of their family or friends visit the island nation.

One X user Himanshu, posted, "I had #Maldives in my Travel list, and I've literally removed it and added #Lakshadweep instead!!! Seeing these pictures are already giving me butterflies!!" (sic).

Another X user identified as Chetan Somavat wrote, "Maldives✖️ Lakshyadeep✔️ #BoycottMaldives (sic)".

Another X user Bipin Kumar Pandey wrote on his handle, "Let explore indian iland, boycot Maldives (sic)." Another X user, who identifies himself as 'Truth Seeker', said that his boss has an email asking all the employees not to visit Maldives.

"I did not have any bookings but our entire office has been sent email by our boss about not visiting Maldives because of abuse towards Indians and a state that prohibits religions other than Sunni Islam. We will never visit and ensure no one we know does visits Maldives (sic)," Truth Seeker posted on X.

Dr. Falak Joshipura said that she was planning to celebrate her birthday in Maldives but now has cancelled her trip. "Was planning to go to Maldives for my birthday which falls on 2nd of feb. Had almost finalised the deal with my travel agent (adding proofs below) But immediately cancelled it after seeing this tweet of deputy minister of Maldives. #boycottmaldives (sic)".

Earlier Bollywood stars who promoted Maldives as a preferred tourism destination are now backing the Lakshadweep outreach by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has supported PM Narendra Modi's Lakshadweep outreach with a post on X. It is also understood that several hotel bookings in Maldives have been affected following the controversy.

Former Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid urged the government to reprimand the concerned officials and urged public figures to maintain decorum.

"Derogatory remarks made by 2 Deputy Ministers of the current #Maldives Government, and a member of a political party in the ruling coalition, towards Prime Minister @narendramodiand the people of India on social media is reprehensible and odious. I call on the Government to reprimand these officials. Public figures must maintain decorum. They must accept that they are no longer social media activists and that they are now entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the interests of the people and the country. India is a time tested friend and an unwavering ally. They have historically been the first to respond in our time of need. Our close relationship has been bound by mutual respect, history, culture and strong people-to-people relations (sic)," Shahid said in a post on X.

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