How India worked out the Maldives crisis
New Delhi, February 24, 2013 It was an “understanding” between India and Maldives that resolved an embarrassing political situation in the island country after former president Nasheed took refuge inside the Indian high commission drawing India into the heart of the ongoing political crisis there. The resolution, which showcased Indian diplomacy at its most effective, confirmed India’s position as the pre-eminent power in the Indian Ocean. Both countries have denied there was a “deal” __ and there wasn’t. Since the moment Nasheed became a refugee in the Indian mission, both India, Maldives and, after a while, even Nasheed himself, were looking for a way to end the agony. On the Indian side, the initiative was led jointly by NSA Shivshankar Menon and foreign minister Salman Khurshid. Khurshid spoke with his counterpart Abdul Samad Abdulla over three times in the past week to soften up the government there to the fact that a face-saving solution had to be found for all concerned. Men...