Any understanding of the modern
Maldivian people and their culture must take into account the unique
combination of geography and history which is the basis of their national
identity. The Maldives were long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then
under British protection. They became a republic in 1968, three years after
independence. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago.
The Indian Influence:
The Maldives people are a clear ethnic category, having a unique language
derived from Sinhala but grafted on to an earlier Tamil base, and they have
a homogeneous cultural tradition. In early medieval times they followed the
Sri Lanka type of Buddhism, but in 1153 were converted to Islam by order of
their ruler. There is another island located to the north of Maldives
territory that belongs culturally to the Maldives, Minicoy (properly,
Maliku), which because of events during the colonial period is now held by
India as part of its Laksh- advip Island group. Most of the Maldives islands
are tiny, less than a mile long, but Minicoy is the largest island populated
by Divehi people. The Indian government does not allow foreigners to visit
this island.
India - Be in the Rendezvous land of color, culture and fauna
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