The history and importance of this island in sri lanka is as follows Modi said that indira gandhi gave Kachathivu island to sri lanka, which was part of India.. Modi said that the DMK government of tamil Nadu is demanding to take back Kachathivu island. When prime minister Modi spoke about the opposition's no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, he talked about the island of Kachchathivu. This island is currently in Sri Lanka. But, why is this important for india, and why did Modi talk about it, Anthira..?

On Thursday, Modi accused indira gandhi of giving the island of Katchathivu, which was part of india, to Sri Lanka. Modi said that the DMK government in tamil Nadu is demanding the return of Kachchathivu island. A day before Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit to india last month, tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. stalin is understood to have written to the prime minister in this regard, requesting him to initiate diplomatic efforts to reclaim the island.

Taking back this island will restore historical fishing rights and provide permanent relief to our fishermen, tamil Nadu cm M.K. stalin reportedly wrote in his letter. Raising the issue in Parliament, Modi referred to the India-Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Agreements signed between the two countries in 1974 and 1976 regarding the international boundary between them. According to a 2008 speech by the then Sri Lankan Foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama in the Sri Lankan Parliament, Kachathivu is a barren island located in the Pak Strait, approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Ramanathapuram in tamil Nadu and approximately 14 miles (22 km) southwest of Sri Lanka's Delft Islands. The island has no inhabitants or permanent structures except for the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony Shrine, which is maintained by the Diocese of Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

The island was owned by the king of Ramanad (present-day Ramanathapuram) and later became part of the madras Presidency. From 1921 to 1974, both india and sri lanka claimed to fish in the island and it is known that it was disputed until treaties were signed between the two countries. In june 1974, then prime minister indira gandhi and former Sri Lankan PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike signed an agreement on 'Boundary and Related Matters in Historic Waters Between the Two Countries'. Under this agreement, Kachchathivu became part of the territory of Sri Lanka. Article 5 of this agreement allowed indian fishermen and pilgrims to visit Kachchathevi without the need to obtain travel documents from Sri Lanka.

However, in 1976, a second agreement was signed between the two governments on the 'Maritime Boundary in the gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal'. According to this, each country has sovereign rights and exclusive jurisdiction over resources, whether animate or inanimate, that fall within its borders. In other words, the law came into force that the fishermen of tamil Nadu no longer have the right to fish around the island. Initially, historical fishing rights were maintained between indian and Sri Lankan fishermen around the island of Kachchathivu. Later, until the Liberation Tigers of tamil Eelam (LTTE) operated in northern sri lanka, the Lankan government restricted the easy movement of their fishermen in the area. Later, after the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, the country's navy resumed patrolling the seas around northern Sri Lanka.

In 1991, the tamil Nadu Legislative assembly passed a resolution demanding the return of Kachchathivu Island. In 2008, the then chief minister of tamil Nadu, J. jayalalithaa has declared the two border agreements between india and sri lanka unconstitutional and has filed a case in the supreme court against the central government seeking annulment of the agreements.