Explainer: Katchatheevu and political controversy around it

Katchatheevu is an islet in the Palk Strait, roughly between Jaffna in Sri Lanka and Rameswaram in India. Since 1921, talks had been held between authorities of both the countries on rights over Katchatheevu.

Tamil Nadu had always pointed out that the islet, before independence, had been under the Raja of Ramnad's administration and that Tamil Nadu fishermen always had traditional fishing rights in that area.

Eventually, in June 1974, the island was ceded to Sri Lanka by the Indian government when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. Agreements were signed on June 26 and 28, 1974 and on March 23, 1976. Though over 50 years have gone by since the ceding of the island, it continues to be a topic of debate since it involves the rights of fishermen and the innumerable instances of arrest, assault and deaths of fishermen all these years allegedly at the hands of Sri Lankan Navy and has been a cause of grief for Tamil Nadu.

The Chief Minister of the day routinely writes to the Centre seeking release of fishermen and release of seized boats.

Ceding of Katchatheevu had always been cited as the cause of the travails of the fishing community and routinely demands are made to take back the island from Sri Lanka and stakeholders, including political parties and fishermen associations, are on the same page on these matters. BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai had said that the party wants to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka, not for the sake of territory but to ensure a lasting solution to fishermen's problems.

The AIADMK had always accused the DMK of doing nothing to stop the ceding of the island as it held power at that time (1967-1976) and the DMK had defended itself all the time saying it firmly opposed the move. In the 1971 election, the DMK allied with the Indira Gandhi-led Congress.

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and later, the DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's ceding of Katchatheevu. Over a decade ago, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi had told the Supreme Court that India may have to go to war to get back the island from Sri Lanka. Both the late Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi had cited the Supreme Court ruling in the Berubari Union case (1960) of a prior Parliamentary approval via a constitutional amendment for ceding of any territory to a foreign country.

The Assembly has passed resolutions four times urging the Centre to get back Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka. The first was passed on October 3, 1991 when Jayalalithaa was the chief minister and the second was adopted in 2013, again when she was at the helm. The third was passed on December 5, 2014 when O Panneerselvam (AIADMK at that time) was the CM and the fourth resolution moved by chief minister M K Stalin was passed on April 2, 2025.

CMs of Tamil Nadu had also spoken and officially written to the Centre many times demanding the same.

Ahead of the 2024 LS polls, Katchatheevu became a hotly debated issue in Tamil Nadu as state BJP President Annamalai, based on inputs obtained through RTI, alleged that Jawaharlal Nehru, was inclined to give away the islet to Sri Lanka despite opinion that endorsed India's sovereignty.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had last year cited documents that became public via the RTI, and said what they showed was that from 1973 onwards, the Central government and Foreign ministry held continuous and detailed consultation with the Tamil Nadu government and the then CM Karunanidhi personally on this matter.

He had said records exist of the then foreign secretary keeping Karunanidhi fully informed of the talks between the two countries. Jaishankar had also accused the DMK of conniving with the Congress in 1974 and thereafter in creating the situation, which has been a cause of "great concern."

PM Modi just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, raked up the issue to target BJP's arch rival the Congress party. He had said: "Eye opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away #Katchatheevu."

"This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people's minds- we can't ever trust Congress! Weakening India's unity, integrity and interests has been Congress' way of working for 75 years and counting," Modi wrote in social media on March 31, 2024.

The PM led the attack and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge had dubbed it poll desperation. BJP's attempt to use the resolved Katchatheevu issue as a "political tool" in the general election will not work, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had said.