Katchatheevu

Katchatheevu is a small, uninhabited island of about 285 acres in the Palk Strait, the narrow stretch of sea between Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka. It lies about 33 km from the Indian coast, north-east of Rameswaram, and close to Sri Lanka's Delft (Neduntheevu) island. Under agreements signed in 1974, India recognised it as part of Sri Lanka. Its only building is St. Anthony's Church, where Indian and Sri Lankan Catholics gather for an annual festival.

Why does such a small island matter?

The island has no people and no fresh water. But it sits next to the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), the line in the sea that divides Indian and Sri Lankan waters. Who owns the island decides where that line runs, and that decides where fishermen of each country can legally fish. The waters around it are rich in prawns and fish. For thousands of fishing families in Rameswaram and nearby districts, this is a matter of daily income.

Where did the dispute come from?

• The island is mentioned in medieval records, including an inscription of the Sri Lankan king Nissanka Malla (12th century).
• From the 17th century it was controlled by the Raja of Ramnad (Ramanathapuram), a local ruler on the Tamil coast. Under British rule, this area became part of the Madras Presidency.
• Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was a separate British colony. Around 1920 to 1921, officials of Madras and Ceylon disagreed over the island. Ceylon pointed out that the church belonged to the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna. A boundary discussed in 1921 placed the island on the Ceylon side, but the matter was never finally settled.
• After both countries became independent (India in 1947, Ceylon in 1948), the island remained a disputed and un-demarcated spot. "Un-demarcated" means no agreed boundary had ever been marked on the map.

The 1974 agreement

In June 1974, the Prime Ministers of India and Sri Lanka signed the Agreement on the Boundary in Historic Waters between the two countries. It drew the maritime boundary from the Palk Strait to Adam's Bridge, and placed Katchatheevu on the Sri Lankan side. Two articles of this agreement are at the heart of today's debate:

• Article 5: Indian fishermen and pilgrims would continue to enjoy access to visit Katchatheevu "as hitherto" (as before), without needing travel documents or visas from Sri Lanka.
• Article 6: Vessels of India and Sri Lanka would enjoy in each other's waters the rights they have "traditionally enjoyed".

The 1976 agreement

On 23 March 1976, the two countries signed a second agreement fixing the boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal. Through an exchange of letters, they agreed that fishing vessels and fishermen of each country would not fish in the other's waters without permission. The same set of letters recognised the fish-rich Wadge Bank, near Kanyakumari, as being within India's Exclusive Economic Zone. A supplementary agreement in November 1976 extended the boundary to the meeting point with the Maldives.

What do the two sides read in the agreements?

• Tamil Nadu's view: Article 6 protects traditional fishing rights around the island, and Article 5 lets fishermen continue to use the area.
• Sri Lanka's view, and India's stand in its Supreme Court: Article 5 covers only visiting the island, for example to dry nets and attend the church festival. Article 6 covers only navigation (the right of boats to pass), not fishing. The 1976 letters ended fishing in each other's waters.

The legal challenge in India

Petitions in the Supreme Court, filed from 2008 onwards, argue that the agreements are unconstitutional. They rely on In re Berubari Union (1960), where the Supreme Court said that giving away Indian territory to another country needs a constitutional amendment under Article 368. No such amendment was passed for Katchatheevu. The Union government's reply has been consistent: no Indian territory was ceded and no sovereignty was given up, because the island was disputed and had never been demarcated.

The agreements only settled a disputed boundary, so no amendment was required. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed resolutions seeking the island's return, the latest in March 2025.

St. Anthony's Church festival

The church was built in the early 20th century by a Tamil Catholic fisherman. St. Anthony is seen by Catholics as a protector of seafarers. Every year, a festival lasting about three days is held there. Priests from both countries lead the prayers, and Indian pilgrims, mostly from Rameswaram, attend without a passport or visa under the 1974 agreement.

Commonly confused concepts

• Palk Strait vs Palk Bay vs Gulf of Mannar: The Palk Strait is the narrow sea passage between Tamil Nadu and the Jaffna peninsula, connecting the Bay of Bengal with Palk Bay. Palk Bay is the shallow, almost enclosed water body to its south. The Gulf of Mannar lies south of Adam's Bridge (Ram Setu), the chain of shoals between Rameswaram (Pamban island) and Mannar island.
• Katchatheevu vs Wadge Bank: Katchatheevu is an island in the Palk Strait recognised as Sri Lankan in 1974. The Wadge Bank is a rich fishing ground off Kanyakumari, recognised as part of India's EEZ in 1976.
• Cession of territory vs settlement of a boundary: Cession means giving away land that is clearly one's own; under the Berubari ruling this needs a constitutional amendment (as with the 9th Amendment, 1960, and the 100th Amendment, 2015, for the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh). Settling a disputed boundary is treated by the Union government as an executive act that needs no amendment.
• IMBL vs Line of Control vs International Border: The IMBL is a sea boundary agreed by treaty. An international border on land is agreed and marked on the ground. The Line of Control (with Pakistan) is a military ceasefire line, not an agreed border.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Livelihood vs sovereignty: For fishermen, the issue is about access to fishing grounds, not ownership of a small island. Even if the island were returned, the waters around it would still be governed by the boundary agreements.
• Treaties without Parliament's approval: Critics argue that boundary agreements affecting Indian citizens should be approved by Parliament. The government's position is that treaty-making is an executive power and that no territory was ceded.
• Reopening settled treaties: Reopening a 50-year-old boundary agreement could hurt trust with Sri Lanka, an important neighbour in the Indian Ocean where China is also active. India has chosen not to reopen it, as stated in court.
• Way forward: Experts suggest a focus on fishermen's welfare: shifting from bottom trawling to deep-sea fishing, joint patrolling, licensed fishing arrangements if both sides agree, and quick release of arrested fishermen and boats.

Concepts to Know

• Maritime boundary: An agreed line in the sea that separates the waters of two countries, much like a fence between two farms.
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): A sea area up to 200 nautical miles from a country's coast in which that country alone has rights over fish, oil, gas and other resources, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ships of other countries can still pass through.
• Cede / cession: To formally hand over territory to another country.
• Demarcation: Marking a boundary clearly on the map or on the ground.
• Attorney General of India: The highest law officer of the Union government (Article 76), who presents the government's position in the Supreme Court.