Katchatheevu

Katchatheevu (Tamil: கச்சத்தீவு, romanized: Kaccattīvu, Sinhala: කච්චතීවු, romanized: kaccatīvu) is a 163-acre uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka. It was a disputed territory between India and Sri Lanka until 1974. It was never demarcated by the Indian government.

Katchatheevu
Native name:

கச்சத்தீவு
කච්චතීවු
Katchatheevu
Geography
Coordinates9°23′0″N 79°31′0″E
Administration
ProvinceNorthern
DistrictJaffna
DS DivisionDelft
Demographics
LanguagesTamil
Ethnic groupsSri Lankan Tamils
Additional information
Time zone

The island is located between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India and has been traditionally used by both Sri Lankan Tamil and Tamil Nadu fishermen. In 1974, then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi accepted Katchatheevu as Sri Lankan area under the "Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement" aimed at resolving the maritime boundaries in the Palk Strait. Another agreement signed in 1976 restricted both the countries’ fishermen from fishing in the other’s exclusive economic zones.

Earlier, it was owned by the Ramnad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram Rameshwaram which later came under the Madras Presidency during British rule of India. It was recognised by Ceylon as part of British India after the delimitation of Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait between the then governments of Madras and Ceylon. However in 1921, Sri Lanka reinstated its claims to Katchatheevu.

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