Critically evaluate the important factors of India-Maldives relations on the eve of sixty years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. (Answer in 250 words)

- Critically evaluate the important factors of India-Maldives relations on the eve of sixty years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. (Answer in 250 words)
Introduction
Sixty years after diplomatic ties began in 1965, India-Maldives relations are structurally close and politically brittle. India supplies the security, the essentials and much of the money, and Maldivian politics periodically monetises resentment of exactly that.

Body
1. The first-responder record: Operation Cactus in November 1988 defeated a coup against President Gayoom, and tsunami relief in 2004, Operation Neer during the 2014 water crisis and vaccine supply in 2021 built on it.
2. The India Out cycle: Yameen's tilt to Beijing and the free trade agreement of 2017, followed by Muizzu's 2023 campaign, forced the withdrawal of 76 Indian military personnel operating two Dhruv helicopters and a Dornier by May 2024.
3. The reset: Muizzu attended the swearing-in of June 2024, then made a state visit in October 2024 producing a joint vision on economic and maritime security, a 400-million-dollar currency swap and treasury bill rollovers; the July 2025 visit as guest of honour added a fresh line of credit and free trade talks.
4. The development footprint: the Greater Male Connectivity Project, the largest infrastructure scheme in the country, with Hanimaadhoo airport, the police academy at Addu and four thousand social housing units.
5. Structural dependence: India is the largest trade partner, the assured source of essential commodities under a renewed five-year quota, and a principal destination for medical treatment and higher education.
6. The vulnerabilities: external debt near 120 per cent of GDP, a reserve crisis, Chinese loans of about 1.4 billion dollars, and per-capita radicalisation figures among the highest in South Asia.

Conclusion
The asymmetry is simultaneously India's leverage and its liability. The lesson of 2023 to 2025 is that Indian presence buys most when it is economic and least when it is uniformed.