The story of Lakshadweep: How Sardar Patel kept Pakistan from capturing the islands

Lakshadweep, also referred to as Laccadives, is a union territory of India. It is a 36-island archipelago located in the Arabian Sea.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to India's smallest Union Territory generated a social media craze among Indian and international visitors, sparking a diplomatic spat with the Maldives, where three ministers — since suspended — posted derogatory remarks about PM Modi and India.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel said that the island’s fortune changed after the PM’s trip. The Lakshadweep administration expects around Rs 20,000 crore in investments in the coming days, putting it on par with the Maldives.

Since then, the Indian island has constantly been the most searched location on Google from India.

PM Modi in his October 2019 Mann Ki Baat explained how India's 'Iron Man' not only unified scattered major princely realms like Hyderabad and Junagarh but also saved Lakshadweep from Pakistan.

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The tropical paradise, a vital Arabian Sea position, would have been conquered by Pakistan if it hadn't been for Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first post-colonial Indian home minister. Sardar Patel's contributions helped shape post-British India, according to media reports.

Following India's independence in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned, with West Pakistan and East Pakistan on opposite borders, both with a Muslim majority. Meanwhile, another Muslim-majority area, minor in the larger scheme of things for Pakistan, was left alone 496 kilometres off the coast of Kochi. The focus on Lakshadweep, which had a 93 percent Muslim population, came later for Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the head of the Muslim League who founded Pakistan, the reports added.

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The Lakshadweep islands are closer to the Malabar coast of southern India. According to reports, Sardar Patel understood the strategic importance of the Lakshadweep islands and urged officials in southern India to rapidly dispatch a ship with security troops to the islands.

According to reports, Pakistan had also deployed a ship to seize the islands. However, Indians won the race and unfurled the tricolour on the islands. As a result of this event, the Pakistani ship was forced to return to port.