Indians confuse Mauritius with Maldives after tourism tweet: ‘Not interested, please invite China'

Maldives' newly-elected President Mohamed Muizzu's alleged “anti-India” stance may have cost the island nation some Indian tourists, however, Maldives was not the only one to suffer. Mauritius, an island in East Africa, is now bearing the brunt of India's worsening diplomatic ties with Maldives.

It all unfolded when Mauritius Tourism (India) took to microblogging site X to post, "Mauritius welcomes Indians to explore, discover, and Feel Our Island Energy in 2024! Tons of exciting adventures and experiences await you. Plan your holiday today!"

"Not interested if you disrespect us and our PM," commented an enraged Indian on X.

The comment followed another, which said, "We now found a better option in our country itself, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep".

“Ujjwal is not interested, pls go n invite China” read another tweet.

Next, a "Boycott the Maldives" comment followed the two comments from another X handle, on the same post which promoted "exciting adventures and experiences" in "a tropical tourist destination"- the Mauritius.

Evidently, the Indians on Twitter confused Mauritius -- a country that has very close and friendly ties with India -- with the Maldives .

It resulted in a hilarious exchange as representatives of Mauritius Tourism tried their level best to explain how Mauritius was different from the Maldives.

The reactions to the Mauritius tweet on X went on as "BoycottMaldives" trended on social media platforms. The trend started in early January.

India-Maldives diplomatic Row

'BoycottMaldives' was a result of a battle that started in cyberspace and became a diplomatic stand-off between India and the Maldives. It all started with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sharing photos from his visit to Lakshadweep on January 4.

Many on social media hinted that PM Modi's promoting Lakshadweep might be somehow linked to the reports of the Maldivian government's cozying up to China. The present government of Mohamed Muizzu came to power in September 2023.

China-leaning Mohamed Muizzu defeated Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who was pro-India.

Few Maldivian lawmakers, including a minister of the Mohamed Muizzu government, had made some derogatory remarks against PM Modi. Maldives Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Mariyam Shiuna, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "clown" and "puppet of Israel" on X.

While Indians were embroiled in what seemed like an apparent insult to their supreme leader, Muizzu also pressed that India removes their military aid from the island nations, in a bid to reduce dependency.