Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin passes the resolution urging the Centre to take steps to retrieve Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka, at the Legislative Assembly in Chennai on April 2, 2025
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (April 2, 2025) unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union government to take steps to retrieve the Katchatheevu island, located in Palk Bay, from Sri Lanka.

The resolution moved by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said “Retrieval of Katchatheevu island is the only permanent solution to protect the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen and to mitigate the sufferings faced by them due to the Sri Lankan Navy.”

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The resolution urged the Union government to immediately review the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement 1974 and take steps to retrieve Katchatheevu island. The resolution also urged the Prime Minister to hold talks with the Sri Lankan government to get all imprisoned fishermen released along with their boats on a goodwill basis, during his official visit to Sri Lanka.

Introducing the resolution, Mr. Stalin said the continued attacks on Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu by the Sri Lankan Navy has become an ongoing and unending tragedy, despite there being a political change in Sri Lanka. “The Union government often forgets that fishermen from Tamil Nadu are also Indian fishermen. Therefore I emphasise that they are Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu…Before the 2014 Parliamentary elections, Mr. Modi said that not a single fisherman would be arrested if the BJP comes to power. Yet, the attacks continue unabated. When our fishermen, who have traditional fishing rights, put out to sea for fishing, they were arrested and their boats were seized by the Sri Lankan government,” Mr. Stalin said.

“In 2024 alone, 530 fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. These fishermen were given maximum prison sentences or hefty fines with the claim that they crossed the maritime boundary. It is a matter of great concern that the Sri Lankan government and its Navy treat our fishermen with such cruelty, without any compassion, depriving them of their livelihoods. This is condemnable. The Union BJP government must take action to stop it,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said he has written 74 letters to the Prime Minister and Union Minister for External Affairs on this issue. “Whenever I meet the Prime Minister, I emphasise on this issue. Despite repeated efforts for talks between the fishermen of both countries, no constructive outcomes have been reached. Sri Lanka’s continued actions of arresting fishermen and seizing boats have led to a dire situation for Tamil Nadu fishermen. Their livelihoods are severely affected and their traditional fishing rights are under threat. Their families live in constant fear for their safety. How long can we tolerate this situation? The only viable and permanent solution to this issue is the retrieval of Katchatheevu,” he said.

He also alleged that it has become a norm for some political parties to spread misinformation, claiming that the then Tamil Nadu government gave Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka. “However, it is regrettable that the Union government is also repeating the same for political gain. Former Chief Minister Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi] strongly opposed the giving away of Katchatheevu. He argued that the people of Tamil Nadu would not accept it and that the island should not be given to Sri Lanka. The then DMK MPs Ira. Chezhiyan and S.S. Marichamy also strongly opposed this decision in Parliament. Despite this, when the Katchatheevu agreement was signed on June 28, 1974, Kalaignar convened an all party meeting the next day and adopted a resolution condemning the agreement. He also wrote a letter the same day to the Prime Minister [Indira Gandhi].”

Further Mr. Stalin said on August 21, 1974 the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution expressing regret over the Centre’s decision regarding Katchatheevu and urged the government to reconsider the agreement with Sri Lanka, respecting the rights of Tamil Nadu people. The DMK government has made several attempts to reclaim Katchatheevu and uphold the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen. When the DMK was in power, letters were regularly written to the Prime Minister and Union Minister for External Affairs urging them to protect the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen.

During the tenure of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, resolutions were passed in the Assembly on October 3, 1991 and May 3, 2013, urging the Union government to reclaim Katchatheevu. Similarly, when O. Panneerselvam was the Chief Minister, a resolution was passed on December 5, 2014. “When the Prime Minister first visited Tamil Nadu after I became the Chief Minister, I categorically urged him to retrieve Katchatheevu…However, the BJP government at the Centre has failed to take any constructive action regarding the retrieval of Katchatheevu.”