Overview

• MK Stalin has intensified calls for direct intervention from Prime Minister Modi after the Sri Lankan Navy detained more Tamil Nadu fishermen and impounded their boats in mid-July.
• Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath maintained that Colombo will not return Katchatheevu and accused Indian fishermen of trespassing into its waters.
• BJP and AIADMK leaders have traded blame with the DMK and Congress over the 1974 ceding of the island, deepening political fault lines in Tamil Nadu.
• The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s April resolution demanding Katchatheevu’s retrieval remains unaddressed by the Union government, according to state officials.
• Maritime experts warn that regaining the island alone won’t safeguard fishermen’s livelihoods and advise negotiating long-term fishing rights or lease agreements with Sri Lanka.