‘Operation Cactus’: What Was the Military Intervention by All 3 Indian Forces to Protect Maldives in 1988?

News Snapshot:

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu may have asked India to withdraw its military troops from his country, but India’s intervention in the 1988 coup attempt in Male has not been forgotten. Albeit in the middle of a diplomatic row that was triggered by social media, people fondly remember ‘Operation Cactus’ even 35 years down the line. “Across party lines in the Maldives, they don’t criticise this operation. They will mention other issues that they have with India, but not this,” Dr Gulbin Sultana, a Maldives expert, told The Indian Express in 2021. The ‘India Out’ campaign in the Maldives gained momentum...