Lakshadweep: Capital, Administration, and India’s Coral Islands

1.1 What is the short answer on Lakshadweep?

Lakshadweep is a Union Territory in the Arabian Sea. Its capital is Kavaratti. It is India’s smallest Union Territory. It was formed in 1956 and renamed Lakshadweep in 1973.

1.2 What does the name mean?

In Malayalam and Sanskrit, Lakshadweep means “a hundred thousand islands”. The real count is far smaller, about 36 islands. The older name was the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands.

1.3 Who runs Lakshadweep?

An Administrator runs the territory. Praful Patel has held the post since 5 December 2020. The official site still listed him in October 2026.

He is Administrator of both Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

2.1 How big is the territory?

The land area is about 32 sq km. The islands are small, but the sea around them is wide. The lagoon area is about 4,200 sq km. The territorial waters cover about 20,000 sq km.

2.2 What are the islands made of?

The territory has 12 atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks. An atoll is a ring of coral around a lagoon. 10 islands are inhabited.

Almost all the inhabited islands are coral atolls. Their soils are sandy and come from coral.

2.3 Where do the islands lie?

The islands lie between 8 and 12 degrees North latitude. All are 220 to 440 km from Kochi in Kerala. Minicoy is the southernmost island. The Amindivi group lies in the north.

2.4 What is the Eight Degree Channel?

The Eight Degree Channel separates Minicoy from the Maldives. Many ships use it. A PIB release put the traffic at 30 to 40 ships a day.

3.1 How many people live there?

Census 2011 counted 64,473 people. Of these, 33,123 were male and 31,350 were female. The 2001 population was 60,650. Growth between 2001 and 2011 was 6.30 per cent.

3.2 Who are the people?

Most people descend from migrants from the Malabar Coast. They arrived before the 7th century. The official site says more than 93 per cent of the indigenous population are Muslims. Most follow the Shafi school of the Sunni sect.

The whole indigenous population is classed as Scheduled Tribes. There are no Scheduled Castes in the territory.

3.3 Which languages do they speak?

Malayalam is spoken on all islands except Minicoy. Minicoy people speak Mahl. It is written in the Divehi script and is also spoken in the Maldives.

3.4 Is there anything unusual in family life?

A matrilineal kinship system exists in the islands. This means descent is traced through the mother.

4.1 How do people earn a living?

The main occupations are fishing, coconut farming and coir twisting. Tourism is an emerging industry. Tuna is the main catch. A tuna cannery stands on Minicoy.

Coconut palms are the farming mainstay. Copra, dried coconut kernel, is sent to the mainland.

4.2 How do people travel?

Most passenger ships sail from Kochi. Agatti has an airport with flights to Kochi. A helicopter links Agatti and Kavaratti. Visitors need a permit.

4.3 What changed in January 2024?

The Prime Minister inaugurated the Kochi-Lakshadweep submarine optical fibre cable at Kavaratti on 3 January 2024. It links 11 islands to Kochi. The estimated cost was about Rs 1,072 crore, including five years of running costs.

Before this, satellites were the only telecom link. Their bandwidth was limited to 1 Gbps.

5.1 What do we know about early history?

The official site says early history is unwritten. Much of it rests on legends. One legend links the first settlement to Cheraman Perumal, the last king of Kerala. The site itself says this legend is not substantiated.

5.2 When did Islam arrive?

The official history places the arrival of Islam in the 7th century, around 41 Hijra.

5.3 Who ruled the islands later?

The Portuguese raided the islands in the early 16th century for coir. Around the middle of that century, the Muslim house of Arakkal of Cannanore took over. Tipu Sultan received the Amini group in 1783.

After the battle of Seringapatam in 1799, the islands passed to the British East India Company. In 1854 the remaining islands were handed to the Company too.

5.4 What did the British add?

They brought in the Lakshadweep Regulation of 1912. It gave limited judicial and magisterial powers to local officials called Amins and Karanis.

6.1 How is Lakshadweep governed?

The Centre runs a Union Territory through the Ministry of Home Affairs. An Administrator heads Lakshadweep. The territory also has a two-tier panchayat system. It has one district panchayat and 10 village panchayats.

6.2 Does it have a voice in Parliament?

Yes. People of Union Territories elect their Members of Parliament to the Lok Sabha. Lakshadweep has one Lok Sabha seat. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

6.3 Will it become a State?

The Home Ministry told the Rajya Sabha in July 2021 that no proposal for full Statehood was under consideration.

6.4 Which court hears its cases?

Lakshadweep is under the Kerala High Court. The Sub Court at Kavaratti became a District and Sessions Court in April 1997. A Munsiff Court sits at Andrott.

7.1 Which real exam questions came from this topic?

7.2 Which facts do students mix up?

• Formed in 1956; renamed Lakshadweep in 1973.
• About 36 islands, but only 10 are inhabited.
• Eight Degree Channel: Minicoy and the Maldives.
• Kerala High Court covers Lakshadweep.