The new President of Maldives has forgotten the old days, when Indian soldiers had stopped the coup.

Maldives' new President Mohammed Muiz, who supports China, has said that we will soon expel the Indian Army from the country. But Muiz has forgotten that in the year 1988, it was the Indian Army that fought the war in Maldives and saved President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from being overthrown.

A statement given by the newly appointed President of Maldives, Mohammed Muiz, regarding the Indian Army is in discussion. He has resolved to oust the Indian Army from Maldives. After winning the elections, Mohammed Muiz, who supports China, has told his supporters that we will no longer tolerate foreign troops in Maldives at any cost. But Mohammed Muiz has probably forgotten the old days, when the Indian Army had foiled the coup in Maldives by running Operation Cactus.

Mohammed Muiz told his supporters gathered to celebrate his election victory that I will not stand in favor of the presence of foreign troops in the Maldives against the will of the citizens. People have told me that they do not want to see foreign troops here. We will soon start the process of pulling out the Indian Army from Maldives.

What was Operation Cactus?

In fact, on November 3, 1988, there was a coup attempt in Maldives. This coup attempt was made by Sri Lankan Tamil rebel organization People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) leader Maheswaran and businessman Abdullah Lathufi. These armed militants attacked the capital Male on November 3. After this President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom went into hiding. He asked for help from America, Britain and India. But America and Britain refused to provide help. But India immediately said yes.

At that time the Prime Minister of India was Rajiv Gandhi. PM Rajiv immediately called an emergency meeting and decided to send the army to Maldives. Two army contingents reached Maldives. One squad set out in search of President Gayoom and the other squad went to confront the militants. At midnight, the militants encountered the Indian Army, where the soldiers drove them away. The good thing was that during this time the other team had reached the President. This information was immediately given to Rajiv Gandhi.

Militants took the ship hostage

However, the militants did not stop and in the morning they took hostage a ship named MV Progress Light, on which apart from civilians, the Maldivian Minister and his wife were present. The militants also made a plan to escape by this ship. Later, in talks between the militants and the Sri Lankan government, an agreement was reached to bring the ship to the Sri Lankan coast. According to a report, it is said that Sri Lanka wanted to sink this ship. The Indian government was worried about this, because the civilians present on the ship would have been killed.

Indian Army again gave power to the President

It is said that India's INS Godavari and INS Betwa were chasing this ship. On November 7, the Indian Army attacked the ship, killing many militants. However, some crew members also lost their lives in the attack. The ship was damaged after the attack and was sunk. After this operation, Maldives once again became completely safe. In this way the Indian Army helped the President regain power and Operation Cactus ended.