With the widespread protests over its policies and the Lakshadweep administration's proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from the Kerala High Court to the Karnataka High Court, the government of Kerala should take necessary measures to regain the interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep. Most of its people speak Malayalam, and Lakshadweep was once a part of the Malabar district which was merged with the former state of Travancore–Cochin to become Kerala according to the States Reorganization Act of 1956.
As the first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is recognized as the person behind the unification of India after the departure of the British in 1947. He handled the integration of 565 princely states into the Indian union. Patel also ensured that Lakshadweep remained part of India when Pakistan began eyeing the strategically positioned islands shortly after August 15, 1947. Patel intervened quickly to send Indian military ships to protect Lakshadweep, thwarting Pakistani Navy attempts to take the islands.
The States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a landmark act that reorganized India's states and territories along linguistic lines. It remains the single most significant adjustment in state boundaries since India's independence in 1947. The Act came into effect alongside the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956.
Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistic state for Telugu speakers in 1953. As a result, other parts of the country made similar requests for the formation of linguistic states, made a reality through the reformation act of 1956.
All the islanders were converted to Islam because of Muslim missionary activities in the 7th century. Before 1100, the islands were acquired by a minor Hindu kingdom on the Malabar Coast. After the Kolathiri dynasty fell, various rulers controlled the islands until the British took administrative control due to nonpayment of debts. During the British Raj, these islands were part of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency.
Tippu Sultan took control of the Aminidivi group of islands in 1787. After the Third Anglo-Mysore War, they were given to the British and assigned to the Kasaragod Taluk of South Canara. When India gained independence in 1947, sovereignty was transferred to India, and the islands were designated as a union territory in 1956 — on the same day as Kerala, November 1, 1956.
The Central Government and the State Governments share ruling authority in India. Articles 2, 3 and 4 provide Parliament the power to create new states, increase or decrease the size of existing states, and amend the constitution. Union Territories refer to regions that are either too tiny to be autonomous or too distinct — economically, culturally, and geographically — to be combined with neighboring states.
After the States Reorganization Act of 1956, Part C and Part D states were combined into a single category of 'Union Territory'. The concept of the UT was added by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956.
Looking at the facts, Lakshadweep could be merged back into their place of provenance on public interest and as a solution for the ongoing argument on environment vs. development with the new administration. The state of Kerala should take necessary measures to regain the interrelation between Kerala and Lakshadweep which they had prior to 1956.
Since most people of Lakshadweep are descendants of migrants from the Malabar Coast of southwest India — that is Kerala — and the islanders are ethnically like coastal Kerala's Malayali people, the government should consider merging the two on linguistic and ethnicity bases. A bill for formation of new States must be introduced in either House of Parliament on the recommendation of the President.