MALDIVIAN HISTORY

MALDIVIAN HISTORY

The history of the Maldives is as mysterious as the country itself. The moving hand of time has made it difficult to separate facts from legend, but has historical evidence leaves little doubt of the richness of life in the Maldives during the past.

Liberally sprinkled with stories of people who fought demons from the sea, brave Sultans and Kings who fought valiantly for the nation's independence, and huge dynasties which ruled the country for decades, the Maldives has a history which captures the minds of both the serious historian and the imaginative day dreamer.

People have been living on the islands of the Maldives from as far back as 3000 years ago. They set sail from different parts of the world - often not realizing that their ultimate destination will be the Maldives where they will find an idyllic place to settle down and live in total serenity for the rest of their lives. 

The ancient mariners came from different parts of the world. They came from Asia, Arabia, Europe and the Americas. Some came across the Maldives by accident. Some ere asylum seekers. Some were on planned journeys. All of them stayed for the same reason - the country's beauty was too inviting to resist, the peace and the serenity which existed then and still survives today, is hard to find anywhere else in the world.

Life evolved slowly. As 99 percent of the country is the sea, it made sense that life centered around the ocean. Slowly, as the population increased, the Maldivian people with their mixed features, and simple, peaceful nature began to emerge. The existed on different islands, they formed tight-knit little island communities and in 1153 AD, was bonded by faith in the one religion - Islam.

Islam came to the Maldives with the Arabian traveler Abul Barakhat Al-Bar Bari. Historical remains from as far back as 400 BC show strong evidence that Buddhism was widely practised among the people. Bar barrio's story is again steeped in legend. However, the fact remains that Maldives is one of the few 100 percent Muslim nations in the world. 

The Maldivians, with their inherent love for peace, had to fight hard for their independence. In 1558, the Portuguese invaded and captured the Maldives. They ruled the country for 15 long years, until Boduthakurufaanu, the national hero saved the nation from losing its freedom forever. He ruled the country as Sultan Mohamed Thakurufaanu from 1573 - 1583.
After 800 years of being a Sultanate (from 1153 AD- 1953), the Maldives became a Republic in 1953. However, remaining a Republic for less than a year, the Maldives returned to being a Sultanate on 21 August 1953.

The Maldives which became a British Protectorate, gained full independence on July 26, 1965. The second Republic was declared on 11 November 1968 and since then the country has remained a fully independent republic. 

History - Important dates...

400 BC Buddhist Kingdom
Discovery of ruined temples on some islands indicate an early Buddhist reign.

1153
Conversion from Buddhism to Islam
Foundation of the first Sultanate
Islam becomes the national religion
The first Sultan of the Maldives was Mohamed Bin Ibnu Abdulla (1141 - 1156, he disappeared during a pilgrimage to Mecca)

1344
Ibnu Batuta, Arabian historian and scholar traveled around the Maldives and worked as a Judge. 

1558
The Portuguese capture Male'. Sultan Ali VI falls in battle.

1573
Under the leadership of Mohamed Thakurfaanu and his two brothers, the Maldives frees itself after 15 years of Portuguese rule.
Sultan Thakurufaanu (from 1573 - 1583) is honoured as national hero.

1887
On December 16, 1887 the Sultan of the Maldives signs a Protectorate Treaty with England. The Sultan receives protective rights for the Maldives, and is obliged to pay a tribute to the English Crown.

1932
The first written constitution comes into force. (Constitutional Sultanate)

1947
The last tribute payment to England.

1953
January 1 - After 800 years as a Sultanate (between 1153 - 1953), the first Republic is declared. The first President is Mohamed Amin Didi who dies only one year later.

1953, August 21
Return to Sultanate.

1959
Secession of the Southern Atolls and deceleration of the Republic of Suvadhuva. 

1965
On July 26, 1965 the Maldives becomes independent and in the same year, a full member of the United Nations.

1968
On November 11, 1968 the second Republic comes into force (Presidential Republic by plebiscite). The first President is Ibrahim Nasir.

1972
The beginnings of tourism came after Hans Hass with his boat Xarifa. Produced the first film on the Maldives, both over and underwater in 1957/58.

1976
Accepted in the group of Non-Aligned States. The British leave the airbase at Gan.

1978
The current President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is elected for the first time and is confirmed in office in 1983, 1988 and again in 1993.

1988 Nov 3rd.
Failed attempted coup by Tamil separatists on 3 November 1988. The President asks for foreign support. On the same evening, 1600 Indian parachutists land on the main island and suppress the rebellion.

Independence

On 26 July 1965, Maldives gained independence under an agreement signed with United Kingdom. The British government retained the use of the Gan and Hitaddu facilities. In a national referendum in March 1968, Maldivians abolished the sultanate and established a republic.

Nasir

The Second Republic was proclaimed in November 1968 under the presidency of Ibrahim Nasir, who had increasingly dominated the political scene. Under the new constitution, Nasir was elected indirectly to a four-year presidential term by the Majlis (legislature). He appointed Ahmed Zaki as the new prime minister.
In 1973 Nasir was elected to a second term under the constitution as amended in 1972, which extended the presidential term to five years and which also provided for the election of the prime minister by the Majlis. In March 1975, newly elected prime minister Zaki was arrested in a bloodless coup and was banished to a remote atoll. Observers suggested that Zaki was becoming too popular and hence posed a threat to the Nasir faction.
During the 1970s, the economic situation in Maldives suffered a setback when the Sri Lankan market for Maldives' main export of dried fish collapsed. Adding to the problems was the British decision in 1975 to close its airfield on Gan in line with its new policy of abandoning defense commitments east of the Suez Canal. A steep commercial decline followed the evacuation of Gan in March 1976. As a result, the popularity of Nasir's government suffered. Maldives's 20-year period of authoritarian rule under Nasir abruptly ended in 1978 when he fled to Singapore. A subsequent investigation revealed that he had absconded with millions of dollars from the state treasury. However there has been no evidence so far and as a result it was believed that it was act of the new government to get their popularity and support among the civilians.

Gayoom

Elected to replace Nasir for a five-year presidential term in 1978 was Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a former university lecturer and Maldivian ambassador to the United Nations (UN). The peaceful election was seen as ushering in a period of political stability and economic development in view of Gayoom's priority to develop the poorer islands. In 1978 Maldives joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Tourism also gained in importance to the local economy, reaching more than 120,000 visitors in 1985. The local populace appeared to benefit from increased tourism and the corresponding increase in foreign contacts involving various development projects.
Despite the popularity of Gayoom, those connected to the former President hired EX-SAS mercenaries in 1980 to carry out a coup to oust him. The attempt was sponsored by Ahmed Naseem, brother-in-law of Nasir and former junior Minister and was supported by a handful of Nasir loyalists. Naseem had objected to the emergence of Gayoom and had vowed to depose him within 6 months. Naseem's disaffection only increased when the parliament began investigating financial irregularities under Nasir as well as the murder of inmates and torture in Villingili Prison in the early 1970s, which implicated his brother-in-law, the erstwhile strongman Abdul Hannan Haleem who was Nasir's Ministers for Public Safety.
The small group of mercenaries arrived in the Maldives smuggling their light arms in diving equipment, but did not carry out the mission because Gayoom had been tipped about their arrival and they found that they had been misinformed about the popularity of Gayoom.
In 1983, a local shipping businessman, Reeko Ibrahim Maniku made a bid to win the parliamentary nomination by offering bribes to members of parliament and to High Court judges. Reeko Ibrahim remained in self-imposed exile, returning to Maldives only in 2006 and has since registered a political party, Social Democratic Party.
Despite coup attempts in 1980, 1983, and 1988, Gayoom served three more presidential terms. In the 1983, 1988, and 1993 elections, Gayoom received more than 90% of the vote. Although the government did not allow any legal opposition, Gayoom was opposed in the early 1990s by Islamists (also seen as fundamentalists) who wanted to impose a religious way of life and by some powerful local business leaders.
Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup attempts against Gayoom's presidency were not considered serious, the third coup attempt in November 1988 alarmed the international community. About 80 armed Tamil mercenaries belonging to PLOTE [1] landed on Malé before dawn aboard speedboats from a freighter. Disguised as visitors, a similar number had already infiltrated Malé earlier. Although the mercenaries quickly gained the nearby airport on Hulule, they failed to capture President Gayoom, who fled from house to house and asked for military intervention from India, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi immediately dispatched 1,600 troops by air to restore order in Malé. Less than 12 hours later, Indian paratroopers arrived on Hulele, causing some of the mercenaries to flee toward Sri Lanka in their freighter. Those unable to reach the ship in time were quickly rounded up. Nineteen people reportedly died in the fighting, and several taken hostage also died. Three days later an Indian frigate captured the mercenaries on their freighter near the Sri Lankan coast. In July 1989, a number of the mercenaries were returned to Maldives to stand trial. Gayoom commuted the death sentences passed against them to life imprisonment.
The 1988 coup had been masterminded and sponsored by a few disgruntled businessmen, chiefly Sikka Ahmed Ismail Maniku and Abdulla Luthufi, who were operating a farm in Sri Lanka. Earlier, the two of them had also been caught in an attempt to assassinate Nasir when he was president and had been tried and imprisoned before being released in 1975. The captured mercenaries and their paymasters were put on trial. Sikka Maniku and Luthufee were sentenced to death in 1989, but Gayoom commuted their sentences to life imprisonment. In 1994, Gayoom pardoned and released Sikka Maniku on humanitarian grounds as he had developed cardiovascular complications, and Maniku went into self-imposed exile in Colombo.
Ex-president Nasir denied any involvement in the coup. In fact, in July 1990, President Gayoom officially pardoned Nasir in absentia in recognition of his role in obtaining Maldives' independence.

Nasheed

Mohamed Nasheed Won Presidential election of 2008 held under the rules of new constitution. He controversially resigned from office after large number of police and army mutinied. Whether he resigned willingly or was forced to resign due to a bloodless coup is highly debated to this day.

Waheed

Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik was sworn in as President of the Maldives on 7 February 2012, in connection to the resignation of President Nasheed amidst weeks of protests and demonstrations led by local police dissidents who opposed Nasheed’s 16 January order for the military to arrest Abdulla Mohamed, the Chief Justice of the Criminal Court. Dr. Waheed opposed the arrest order and supported the opposition that forced Mohamed Nasheed to resign. A day later, Nasheed stated that he was forced to resign at gunpoint through a police mutiny and coup. There have been allegations that Dr. Waheed was involved in planning the coup, though Dr. Waheed has denied involvement.