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| 1988 Maldives coup d'état attempt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofIndian Intervention in theSri Lankan civil war | |||||||
 Indian Air ForceIlyushin Il-76 planes like this one were used in Cactus. (This image was taken at an unrelated location inHawaii, United States decades after 1988.) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 India Maldives | .svg) People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Maldivian rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
R. VenkataramanRajiv GandhiMaumoon Abdul Gayoom Vice Admiral S.V.V. Gopalachari Brigadier Farouk BulsaraColonel Subhash Joshi Major (later Brig) Rupinder Dhillon[1][2][3] Major (later Lt Gen) Vinod Bhatia[3][2] | Uma Maheswaran Wasanti † Abdullah Luthufi (POW) Sagaru Ahmed Nasir (POW) Ahmed Ismail Manik Sikka (POW) | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Maldives National Defence Force | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 500 Indian paratroopers Maldives National Defense Force | 80–100 gunmen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
19 killed (8 NSS), 39 injured (18 NSS). 4 hostage killed, 3 hostage unaccounted for No casualties occurred during the operation carried out by PARA SF (India) from Indian Side. | Most of the mercenaries were killed and some were captured. 27 hostage taken, 20 were retrieved. 4 killed and the other 3 unknown. | ||||||
The1988 Maldives coup d'état attempt was by a group of Sri Lankans and Maldivians led by businessman Abdullah Luthufee and assisted by armed mercenaries of aTamil secessionist organization fromSri Lanka, thePeople's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government in the Republic ofMaldives. The attempt was thwarted with Indian assistance inOperation Cactus.[3][4][5]
Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup d'état attempts againstMaumoon Abdul Gayoom's presidency were not considered serious, the third coup d'état attempt in November 1988 alarmed the international community.[6] About 80 armedPLOTE mercenaries landed in the capitalMalé before dawn aboard speedboats from a hijacked Sri Lankan freighter.[7] Disguised as visitors, a similar number had already infiltrated Malé earlier. The mercenaries quickly gained control of the capital, including the major government buildings, airport, port, television and radio stations.[7] The mercenaries then marched towards thePresidential Palace whereGayoom was residing with his family.[7] But before they reached the Presidential Palace, Gayoom was escorted by Maldivian National Security Advisor to the Defence Minister's home. The Defence Minister then escorted the President to a safe house. Meanwhile, the mercenaries had seized the Presidential Palace and managed to take the Maldivian Education Minister as hostage. President Gayoom requested military intervention fromSri Lanka,Pakistan, andSingapore, but all three denied any help, citing a lack of military capabilities.[7] After that, he contacted theUnited States, but was told that it would takeUS forces 2–3 days to reach the Maldives from their nearest military base inDiego Garcia, 1,000 km away.[8] The president then contacted theUnited Kingdom, which advised them to seek assistance fromIndia.[7] Following this, Gayoom contacted the Indian government for assistance. India swiftly accepted their request and an emergency meeting was arranged at theSecretariat Building inNew Delhi byPrime MinisterRajiv Gandhi alongside Commanders of theIndian Armed Forces. Within 16 hours of theSOS, India was ready to commence their operation.
Rejaul Karim Laskar, a member of the then-ruling political party in India,Indian National Congress, stated that India's intervention in the attempted coup became necessary as in the absence of Indian intervention, external powers would have been tempted to intervene or even to establish bases in Maldives, which being inIndia's backyard would have been detrimental to India'snational interest.[9] India, therefore, intervened with "Operation Cactus".
The operation started on the night of 3 November 1988. Two IlyushinIl-76 aircraft of theIndian Air Force, escorted by sixMirage 2000s airlifted the Strike Force of the 50th Independent Parachute Brigade(India), commanded by Brigadier Farukh Bulsara and comprising the 6th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (India), A Company of 3 Para Battalion, 51 Battery of 17 Para Field Regiment, Field Platoon of 411Para Sappers, Airborne ADS of 60 Para Field Ambulance and the Signalers of 50(I) Para Brigade Signal Company in the First wave fromAgra Air Force Station and flew them non-stop over 3707 kilometers to land them over the Malé International Airport on Hulhule Island and 7 Para Battalion in the Second wave of 50(I)Parchute Brigade on 4 November 1988 toMalé International Airport onHulhule Island. The Indian Army paratroopers arrived on Hulhule in nine hours after the appeal from President Gayoom.[10][11]
The Indian paratroopers immediately secured theairfield, crossed over to Malé using commandeered boats and rescued President Gayoom. The paratroopers restored control of the capital to President Gayoom's government within hours. Some of the mercenaries fled toward Sri Lanka in a hijacked freighter named Progress Light. Those unable to reach the ship in time were quickly rounded up and handed over to the Maldives government. Nineteen people reportedly died in the fighting, most of them mercenaries. The dead included two hostages killed by the mercenaries.The following day,Indian Naval Air ArmIl-38s andTu-142s found the ship sailing towars Sri Lanka. TheIndian Navy frigatesINSGodavari andINSBetwa ,aided by thiere embarkedSea King's along with the training vesselINS Tir intercepted the freighter off the Sri Lankan coast. When two hostages were killed by LTTE, the ships opened fire, with Godavari using her AA guns and Betwa her 4.5inch guns. AnBreguet Alize flying fromINS Garuda dropped twodepth chages in a show of force prior to ship being boarded byMARCOS who captured the mercenaries. The swift intervention by the Indian military and accurate intelligence successfully quelled the attempted coup d'état in the island nation.[12][13][14][15]
India received international praise for the operation. United States PresidentRonald Reagan expressed his appreciation for India's action, calling it "a valuable contribution to regional stability". British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher reportedly commented, "Thank God for India. President Gayoom's government has been saved." But the intervention nevertheless caused some disquiet among India's neighbors in South Asia.[16]
In July 1989, India repatriated the mercenaries captured on board the hijacked freighter toMaldives to stand trial. Gayoom commuted the death sentences passed against them to life imprisonment under Indian pressure.[17]
The 1988 coup d'état had been headed by a once prominent Maldivian businessperson named Abdullah Luthufi, who was operating a farm inSri Lanka. Former Maldivian PresidentIbrahim Nasir was accused, but denied any involvement in the coup d'état. In July 1990, Gayoom officially pardoned Nasir in absentia in recognition of his role in obtainingMaldives' independence.[12]
The operation also strengthenedIndo-Maldivian relations as a result of the successful restoration of the Gayoom government.
Operation Cactus: How India Averted Maldives Crisis in 1988 (2018) is aTV documentary which premiered onVeer by Discovery Channel series, Battle Ops.[18]
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