Minicoy

Minicoy is known as Maliku in the local language, Dhivehi, which is also the national and official language of the Republic of Maldives. The language is a descendant of Elu Prakrit and is closely related to the Sinhala language, but not mutually intelligible with it. However, the Lakhshadweep Administration refers to Dhivehi as Mahl. This is due to a misunderstanding on the part of a British civil servant who came to Minicoy in the 1900s during the time of the British Raj. The official asked a local what his language was and he replied "Dhivehi-bas". The official looked confused as he had never heard of this language. Noticing this, the islander said "Mahaldeebu" as he knew that locals on the subcontinent referred to the kingdom to the south (the Maldives) by that name. The civil servant then official recorded the language of Minicoy as Mahl.[3]

The ancient name of Maliku was Mahiladū meaning women's island. Mahiladū derives from Elu Prakrit term Mahila du, which literally means woman-island.[4] However, the name Maliku is thought to have been derived from the Arab trader's term for the island, Jazirat al-Maliku ('the island of the king'). [5]

Minicoy islanders have long settled in the Nicobar Islands across the Bay of Bengal. These settlers regularly travelled back to Minicoy. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands had a reputation in the Maldives and Minicoy of being inhabited by cannibals, and so collectively the Andaman and Nicobar groups were called "Minikaa-raajje" by Minicoy and Maldive islanders. This meant "cannibal kingdom".

A British official once asked a Minicoy islander what the name of his island was. The islander told the official that he was from Maliku but usually lived in "Minikaa-raajje" (Nicobar). The official thought Maliku and Minikaa were the same place and recorded the name of this islander's home as "Minikaa". This later became anglicised as Minicoy.[3]

Little did this islander know that as a result of this cross-cultural exchange, his home would forever be called by a name that sounded like "cannibal" in his own language.

The islet of Viringili located at the southwestern end of Minicoy's reef where formerly the lepers of the island were banished.

Minicoy is the second largest and the southernmost among the islands of the Lakshadweep archipelago. It is located 201 km to the south-southwest of Kalpeni, at the southern end of the Nine Degree Channel and 125 km to the north of Thuraakunu, Maldives, at the northern end of the Eight Degree Channel. The atoll is 10 km in length, having a maximum breadth of about 6 km. The closest geographic feature is the Investigator Bank, a submerged shoal located 31 km to the northeast.[6]

It is located 400 km west off the coast of Trivandrum. The atoll contains two islands. The main island is located on the eastern and southeastern side of the lagoon, along the reef fringe. It measures about 10 km from its northern end to its southernmost point and it is about 1 km wide in its southern half, while the northern half is a narrow sandspit, often less than 100 m wide. Minicoy is almost completely covered with coconut trees. One of the few landmarks of the island is a tall lighthouse. On the southern side of the main island lies the uninhabited islet of Viringili (Dhivehi: ވިރިންގިލި; Malayalam: വിരിന്ഗാ, also called the Small Pox Island), measuring barely 200 m in length. Formerly the lepers of Minicoy were banished to this island where they lived in abject conditions.

Maliku Atoll has a lagoon with two entrances in its northern side, Saalu Magu on the northeast and Kandimma Magu on the northwest. Its western side is fringed by a narrow reef and coral rocks awash. The interior of the lagoon is sandy and of moderate depth, rarely reaching 4 m. It has some coral patches.

This atoll is administered under the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Nine Degree Channel separates Minicoy and the Laccadive Islands. The closest island to Minicoy is Thuraakunu in the Republic of the Maldives. Since 1956, the Indian Government has forbidden the direct travelling between the two islands despite their geographic proximity and ethnographic similarities.

Maliku Kandu is the traditional name of the broad channel between Minicoy (Maliku) and Ihavandippulhu (Haa Alif Atoll) in the Maldives. In the Admiralty Charts it is called Eight Degree Channel. Other names for this channel are Addigiri Kandu and Māmalē Kandu. It appeared in old French maps with the name Courant de Malicut.

Map of Minicoy Atoll (Maliku)

Minicoy has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with warm temperatures throughout the year. Precipitation falls during most of the year; only January to March are relatively dry.

As of 2001 India census,[19] the island of Minicoy had a population of 9,495. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Minicoy has an average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 80%. In Minicoy, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

MV Corals, MV Lagoons, MV Amindivi, MV Arabian Sea, MV Bharat Seema, MV Dweep Setu, MV Kavaratti, MV Lakshadweep Sea and MV Minicoy are the important passenger ships connecting Lakshadweep with Kerala. The passage takes between 14 and 20 hours.[20]

Agatti Airport is the only civilian airport in Lakshadweep. Helicopter transfer is available from Agatti to Kavaratti throughout the year. The flight from Cochin to Agatti takes approximately one hour thirty minutes. Flights operate six days a week. The Government of India is planning to develop an airport at Minicoy Island to boost tourism and promote tuna fishing industry for improving livelihoods in Lakshadweep.[21]

The Lakshadweep authorities are seeking an opportunity to invest in Port City of Kerala Kollam. They are ready to invest in a passenger terminal with dormitory facilities and an office to guide the people of Minicoy reaching Kollam Port.[22] Traditionally, Lakshadweep's connections with the mainland have been through Kollam, Kochi and Beypore ports. But Minicoy, a small atoll at the southernmost end of the archipelago, is closer to Kollam than to either Kochi or Beypore.[23]

• Ali Manikfan, born 1938

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  Satellite picture of Minicoy
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  Map

• Bell, H.C.P.: The Maldive Islands, An account of the physical features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade. Colombo 1883.
• Ellis, R.H.: A Short Account of the Laccadive Islands and Minicoy. Government Press, Madras, 1924.
• Kattner, Ellen: The Social Structure of Maliku (Minicoy). In: International Institute of Asian Studies (IIAS) Newsletter. Nr. 10, 1996, S. 19–20. (Online at http://www.maldivesroyalfamily.com/minicoy_kattner.shtml).
• Kattner, Ellen: Bodu Valu – Big Ponds: Traditional Water Management and its socio-cosmic Implications in Minicoy/Maliku, an Indian Ocean island. In: Ohlig, Christoph (ed.) Antike Zisternen. Publikationen der Deutschen Wasserhistorischen Gesellschaft, 9. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH, 2007, pp. 145–172.
• Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84-7254-801-5
• Divehi Tārīkhah Au Alikameh. Divehi Bahāi Tārikhah Khidmaiykurā Qaumī Markazu. Reprint 1958 edn. Male' 1990.
• Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru. Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee. G.Sōsanī.
• "The Encyclopaedia of Islam", new edition, Index Volume, Fascicule 2, Glossary and Index of Terms, Bill, 2006, LARGE book-size paperback, 592 pages, ISBN 978-90-04-15610-4.
• Das, Nrupal: Minicoy Island: Beaches, Culture and People of Minicoy, Lakshadweep Islands. 2018, Kindle, 37 Pages (Available Online – Minicoy, Lakshadwweep Islands)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Minicoy Island.

• Minicoy Tourism Guide
• Information about Minicoy Island
• A Language dies in India
• Amateur (Ham) Radio Special Event Station VU7M of Minicoy Lighthouse ILLW 2012