What
really happened to Hassan Farid Didi? 6 May
2008 This is a question that has intrigued Maldivians
since early in 1944. A number of conspiracy theories have
been put forward by many people over the years but no one
has been able to produce a definitive answer.
>>find
out
Oldest
member of the Royal House of Huraagey and Hilaaly dies:
11 March 2008 The Princess
Maandhoogey Tuttudon Goma died at her residence in Malé
today, 11 March 2008 at about 9:30 am local time. She
was aged 93. She was a Senator in the bicameral Parliament
of the Maldives during the short-lived first republic of 1953-54.
The Princess was the last surviving member of the Maldive
Senate.
>>full
article and photos
Historic
photos:
16 January 2008
Another page of historic photographs circa 1890s to 1930s
>>view photos
Maldives First Republic-
a who's who:
14 January
2008 The first Maldive republic came into being on
1 January 1953 and lasted until 7 March 1954, when the monarchy
was restored. The following were important political and judicial
positions in the republic and the names of the people who
held those positions.
>>more
Condemnation
of attack on Gayoom:
9 January
2008 This web site vehemently condemns the attempt
at assassinating the Maldive president of the republic, Mr Maumoon Gayoom.
According to
Haveeru Online, the attack was carried
out by a man wearing a beard and shortened trouser legs; the
tell-tale trademark of Saudi-sponsored Islamic fanatics. He
was shouting “
Allah-o-Akbar” (
Allah
is great), as he was being apprehended, according to the
Haveeru
Online report.
As of today four other men have been apprehended by police
in connection with this Islamic terrorist attack. The accused
and two of his suspected accomplices are reputed to be vocal
advocates of Saudi-style Islamic grooming and attire. One
of the alleged accomplices is a Koran-school teacher and the
other is the nephew of a
Shariah court judge.
Was
Bhutto a champion of democracy?:
1
January 2008 A death is always tragic, particularly
when it is untimely and brought on by acts of criminals. A
family has lost a mother and wife in such manner and that
is a colossal misfortune. Does that make Pakistan’s Benazir
Bhutto a champion of democracy? The short answer is no.
>>more
A decade:
31 December
2007 We are about to mark the beginning of our tenth
year of web presence. As usual, we have cleaned up our home
page by removing news and current items entered in the old
year. We have retained items of historical and cultural significance
from 2007 and earlier years, either below or accessible via
the links on the left. Dated items are still in our archives.
In 2008 we will make an effort to keep this page clutter-free
by more timely removal of dated items. Happy New Year!
Historic photographs :
8
July 2007 New additions to a collection of rare historical
Maldive photographs of the last two centuries. There are two
pages of photos
>>click
to view the first new page
The Máldive Islands by C.W. Rosset
(1886):"They are very ingenious and expert in their manufactures,
and display great aptitude in the imitation of any European
articles they may come across, such as knife handles, scales,
and other small articles of daily use amongst us."
>>more
Fua Mulaku genealogy: A solitary island in
the Equatorial Channel, Fua Mulaku was where important royal
and political prisoners were exiled. The last head of government
to be transported there was the Prime Minister Ahmed Zaki
in 1975, after he was dismissed and the office of prime minister
was abolished. Before that the Sultan Mohamed Shamsuddine
III Siri Kula Sundura Katthiri Bavana and his son the Prince
Henveyru Ganduvaru Manippulu were exiled there in 1933. In
the early 19th century the Prince Ibrahim Faamuladeyri Kilege,
son of the last monarch of the Diyamigily Dynasty was sent
there. A large majority of Fua Mulaku islanders of today are
descended from him.
Click
here to view a comprehensive and rare genealogy of that line
on the island today.
Historical photographs:
Click
to view new additions to a collection of rare historical
Maldive photographs of the last century. Velaanaage family
photograph and coronation proclamation.
Other recent
additions were
Kakaage
and
Ibrahim
Habeeb Manippulu etc.
Kakaage family photographs. The Kakaage were
among the most powerful political families in the Maldives
in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The
Kakaage have a reputation of being totally honest and loyal
with a pathological aversion to corruption. Most recently
the trademark Kakaage integrity was displayed by Arif Hilmy
who served the current Maldive regime as its minister of finance
until resigning in order to choose integrity over position.
>>album
Fish of Minicoy: Some decorative fish found
in Minicoy island and northern Maldives, with their English,
Divehi and scientific names
>>more
Historical photographs:
Click
to view new additions to a collection of rare historical
Maldive photographs of the last century
From our archives:
A structure built
on loose sand: In September 2001 we predicted that
the then much-heralded constitution of the Maldives was doomed
to fail. All sides now acknowledge that it has failed
>>more
Beginning of the Fall: In July 2004 we stated
the obvious by saying that "Established institutions,
political maturity, and strong leadership would prevent structural
disintegration." Has it happened, or did we really herald
the beginning of the Fall? We concluded the article by saying
that "Those who advocate democracy ought to conduct themselves
in accordance with the democratic traditions that they seek
others to embrace."
>>more
Muslim by law- right or violation of rights?
In a 59-page dissertation, Shirley Jory (email:
jory2616@hotmail.com)
examines this question. Chapter one introduces the discussion
about the universality of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) and relates this to the Maldive context. Chapter
two portrays the Maldive government’s concerns and position
on human rights issues. Chapter three presents the research
findings into potential human rights violations mainly of
Article 18 but also of Article 19 of the UDHR in the Maldives.
Chapter four is a critique of the Maldive government’s
position by using evidence from recent cultural research and
contemporary Islamic literature. Chapter five identifies the
implications of the findings of this research for the Maldive
context, discusses the validity of cultural relativism in
relation to the UDHR and gives personal recommendations for
people involved in the reform process in the Maldives and
the wider community.
>>read
summary page or
>>go
straight to pdf file
Some practical steps to preserve peace and harmony
in the Maldives: Recently Islamic terrorists struck
again in Bali. They killed innocent tourists and bystanders
just when the people in Bali thought that tourism had finally
recovered. Now all those whose livelihoods depend on the tourist
industry face an uncertain future there. Let no one think
that this does not affect the Maldives. At any time Islamic
terror could strike. The militants are already there and tourists
are visiting its many beautiful resorts, unaware of the extreme
level of Islamic militancy in the Maldives. On 31 October
2005, the Maldive authorities bowed down to militant demands
and, for the fist time, allowed a woman clad in the barbaric
burqa to appear as the anchor on state TV. Find out
the seven danger signs of Islamic militancy
>>more
Maldives
Culture publishes translation of the the state approved and
sanitised version of Maldive history: "In 1902,
during the reign of King Mohamed Imaaduddine VI, the monarch
wanted a 'History of Maldives' written in Divehi tana script,
so he assigned a committee to the task. The chronicles started
by judge Hassan Tajuddine and afterwards compiled by various
Islamic judges writing in Arabic, along with other records
written in Divehi at different times, were given to that committee.
This book is the result."
It is worth having a look
| Preface
| Part
1 | | Part
2 |
Slavery in the Maldives: Slavery was never
abolished in the Maldives and is still legally enforceable
by Maldive courts. This web site calls upon the Maldive ruling
mullahs to abolish slavery formally by Act of Parliament.
We also call upon the Maldive President of the Republic, his
fellow mullahs, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party
(MDP) and any other political party to be registered soon
to condemn the practice of slavery and the ideology that legitimizes
it.
>>more
Maldive Name Nazis: By insisting that a child's
name registered at birth be changed, the Republic of Maldives
may be contravening Paragraph 1 of Article 7 and Paragraph
1 of Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
which it ratified on 13 March 1991.
>>more
Freedom
of Religion- a timeline: "I announce that I
will respect the traditions, customs and religions of the
nations of my empire and never let any of my governors and
subordinates look down on or insult them as long as I shall
live. From now on, while Ahura-Mazda lets me rule, I will
impose my monarchy on no nation. Each is free to accept it
, and if any one of them rejects it, I shall never resolve
on war to reign.......Today, I announce that everyone is free
to choose areligion."
-Cyrus the Great, King of Persia (580-529 BC)
>>more
"....machchah mi lavva
hutti boaga imaaraaiy kulha konme mu u min mus limaku
saalihu shaheedu naai eh hen suvaruga vadhuna hu....."
An extract
from a royal grant to build a mosque dated AD 1696
|
Divehi (Divess) script: was in use until
early in the 20
th century. The phasing out of the
script began in the 17-18
th century, to be gradually
replaced by the modern Gabuli Thaana script. Unlike Divehi,
Thaana is written from right to left, and was a compromise
with the Islamic mullahs who wanted to abandon the Maldive
heritage and adopt the Arabic script. For a long time the
agenda of the mullahs have been to make the Maldives a cultural,
ideological and spiritual appendage of their Arab heartland-
to be reduced to an "Arab Republic" like the once-proud
civilisations of Egypt and Syria.
>>more
The Bank Notes of the Maldives:
On
12 August 1947 the People’s Majlis passed Bill No. 2/66
......concerning the Maldivian monetary system. The committee
consisted of Government Ministers and Members of the People’s
Majlis.
>> Article
by Peter Symes and Murray Hanewich
Maldive flags: Before the beginning of the
1900's a real national flag of the Maldives didn't exist.
The colour of the royal house was red since very old times,
a colour that was selected as the ensign because of its visibility
when contrasted with the blue backdrop of the sea. Thus the
royal flags were plain red.
>>more
Maldives- Ethnography: A new web site strongly
recommended to our visitors:
"The language spoken in the Maldives is Divehi, belonging
to the group of Indo-Aryan languages, but having many affinities
with the Dravidian languages of the geographical area in which
the country lies. Present-day Divehi has borrowed many words
from Arabic. Besides the main form of Divehi, known as Malé
Bas, this language has three markedly different variants which
are located in the second group, in the South. The people
of the third group live in great isolation, for Minicoy is
totally off-limits for Maldivians since 1957. Only Indians
are allowed to travel to Minicoy. Thus, Minicoians are steadily
undergoing a process of acculturation owing to lack of contact
with the remaining Divehi people and pressure to use other
languages (Malayalam, English and Hindi)."
>>more
Maldive national anthem: Until the late 1940s
the state anthem of the Maldives was a melody with no lyrics.
It was called the Salaamathi.....and then came Auld Lang Syne.
>>more
Veiled women: The old Maldive word for the
women's veil is
dholhi, the same word used for the
piece of cloth tied around the head of a human corpse to prevent
the mouth from opening. This probably indicates the oppressive
view of the garment held by early Maldivians.
>>more
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