The US president has slammed UK’s decision to hand control over Chagos archipelago — of which the military base of Diego Garcia is a part — to Mauritius. That has set off fears of an American intervention in the Indian Ocean. TOI traces the long and hard-fought route the islanders have had to take to reclaim their home and how geopolitics threatens to upend their lives again
Till the early 60s, all was well in Chagos archipelago, part of the same chain of volcanic islands as Maldives and Lakshadweep. Located 1,700km from India’s southern tip — as far as Chennai is from Delhi — it had no tourists or jet-skis, no fighter jets or bombs. Just the azure waters of the Indian Ocean, lapping the shores of more than 65 islands.
Coconut farmers of African and southern Indian origin lived on Chagos’ seven atolls. After French colonial rule and as part of Mauritius, the Chagossians had sworn their allegiance to the UK. They sang in Creole but hoisted the Union Jack, pressed oil from copra, went to church, fished, played with their dogs, and watched sunsets for entertainment.
Coconut farmers of African and southern Indian origin lived on Chagos’ seven atolls. After French colonial rule and as part of Mauritius, the Chagossians had sworn their allegiance to the UK. They sang in Creole but hoisted the Union Jack, pressed oil from copra, went to church, fished, played with their dogs, and watched sunsets for entertainment.