India-Maldives | Suspended minister of Maldives now insulted Indian flag, apologized after controversy escalated

Suspended Maldives minister Mariam Shiuna has apologized after a social media post in which she shared a picture allegedly insulting the Indian national flag sparked outrage. The post, which has now been removed, featured an opposition party’s campaign poster where the party’s logo was replaced with the Ashoka Chakra on the tricolor ahead of parliamentary elections in the island nation.

Mariam Shiuna belongs to the ruling party of Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu and used her now-deleted social media posts to seek votes for her party. The post read, “MDP is heading towards a big decline. The people of Maldives do not want to fall and slide with them.”

The Maldivian minister’s post drew sharp reactions from Indian social media users who demanded President Muizzu to take strict action against Shiuna. After the uproar, Shiuna deleted the post before apologizing.

he said in a post on I sincerely apologize for any confusion or offense caused by the content of my recent posts. It was brought to my attention that the image used in my response to the Maldivian opposition party MDP resembles the Indian flag. I would like to clarify that this was completely unintentional, and I regret any misunderstanding it may have caused.”

Shiuna said Maldives deeply values ​​its relations with India and respects the country. The incident comes amid the diplomatic row between India and Maldives, which started after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep in January 2024. During his visit, PM Modi promoted the beauty of Lakshadweep on social media, leading to derogatory comments from Maldivian officials including Shiuna.

Despite the tensions, India remains an important economic partner for the Maldives, being a major source of imports and a major provider of essential commodities such as rice and medicine for the island nation. New Delhi recently renewed the import quota of essential commodities for Male for the coming year.

However, recent events suggest that anti-India sentiment is on the rise in the Maldives, particularly among those campaigning on an “India Out” platform due to concerns about India’s military presence and influence. Meanwhile, China has continued to increase its investment and influence in the Maldives, further complicating the situation for India.

Maldives recently requested the return of Indian military personnel deployed there, prompting discussions between the two countries towards finding a “mutually workable solution”. Last month, the first batch of Indian personnel moved out of the Maldives, with May as the deadline for complete withdrawal.