Talk:Maldives

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Contents 1 Water? 2 Height of the tsunami? 3 Merge 4 oppose revert by SEWilco 5 Geography 6 Religion 7 Theoretical Republic? 8 Maldives' linguistic substrata 9 New Island 10 THE MALEDIVES IN WWII 11 OFFICIAL NAME 12 Reverted 13 Removal of external link 14 Wildlife of Maldives 15 Tourism number: 467,1548767869 16 Language of Maldives. 17 The article is inconsistent in the country's/island's name(s) 18 Mahal Dibiyat 19 Portuguese Empire 20 Maldives Scouting 21 Restructure this sentence and move to the article Maldives 22 Man-made Islands

[edit] Water?

The box says about the water area that it is negligible. But on http://www.spiegel.de/reise/fernweh/0,1518,509357-3,00.html it says that only 0.3 percent of the total area of the maldives is land. 130.91.109.51 19:19, 5 October 2007 (UTC)lucas

[edit] Height of the tsunami?

On December 26, 2004 the Maldives were devastated by a 10 metre high tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Was that tsunami really 10 metre high? The height of a tsunami is case-specific. It depends on the nature of the wave, geography of the sea floor and many other factors. Reports of 10 metre high tsunamis from India or Sri Lanka do not imply waves of the same height could also hit the Maldives. Did they really report a 10 metre high tsunami in the Maldives. -- Toytoy 09:35, Dec 27, 2004 (UTC)

a 10 meter high tsunami would have devastated everything. First hand accounts tell of a 1 meter(or a little more) wave.

Tide marks on walls and reports from Meemu atoll show the height of the wave that hit several of the islands I visited varied from 1/2m to 2-3 m. As the water continued to rise for several mins people reported the water filled the rooms of their houses to the ceilings SER 18.1.05

The unique geography did not give rise to 10 meter high waves in the Maldives. The atoll/island formation looks more like huge peaking underwater mountains with deep valleys. This caused the energy of the waves to whirl within the deep sea valleys and the tsunami did not push upwards. Tides of about 1 to 4 meter in height were seen across the country. A 10 meter wave would have destroyed everything and most probably everyone. primary0

[edit] Merge

Contend added from Employment & Labour in Maldives by primary0

[edit] oppose revert by SEWilco

I strongly oppose this revet by SEWilco. Wikipedia surely is not a link repository. The only thing about internet directories, I found there, is Wikipedia articles are not: Internet directories. It doesnt say you cannot link an internet directry to a Wikipedia article. Besides by listing this, we can actually elminate the link repository, since all (well almost) the Maldives related pages can be found there, for anyone who is interested. Therefore I am reverting the edit back, to the way it was. --Oblivious 12:19, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

It is not difficult to find a link directory. Having one requires allowing any, or replacing the single one with someone else's favorite. Removed entry again. (SEWilco 16:42, 18 August 2005 (UTC))

I still oppose this revert of yours. However, I do not wish to end up in a "revert war"... so have it your way :) --Oblivious 16:57, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Geography

Does the channel down the "middle" of the double row of atolls have a name? Does it have any significance culturally or geographically? rodii 00:00, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

About sea levels: According to the Wikipedia entry on Sea levels linked to, the sea level was nearly 130 meters lower at the height of the last glaciation, about 20,000 years ago, and has been rising continuously ever since then. Maximum rates of rise have been >10 times higher than today for several thousand years of that period. This does not agree with the statement in this section that "Sea levels are at the lowest since the Permo-Triassec boundary 250 million years ago."

A better discussion of the sea level challenge to the Maldives would reference the ability of coral islands to change height with sea level by means of growth (rising sea) and erosion (falling sea), and to handle rates an order of magnitude greater than seen today. In addition, the mechanism of land formation (waves depositing sand -- eroded coral -- onto the island) limits the maximum altitude of the islands to a few meters regardless of the present or past sea levels.

A problem truly exists, however, in that the coral around some of the populated islands is currently suffering from both pollution and the use of barrier structures blocking the natural nutrient cycle, and its ability to grow is being threatened. This is, indeed, threatening some islands with flooding, but it has nothing to do with rising sea levels, as dead coral islands will sink through erosion regardless of the sea level change direction. Bcormack 04:23, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Religion

The article has conflicting information claiming that the island was buddhist before it converted to Islam and later that it was Hindu.

Without knowing any of the history, I would guess that it was Hindu, then Buddhist. If someone else has a clue, ... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.239.54.186 (talk • contribs)

According to this source (and few other I found) its buddhism and therefore I've changed it. --Oblivious 12:18, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Oblivious, you reverted out 66.174.92.164's edits recently. I assume that it was accidental that you went back that far (sinec the edit immediately afterward by a different IP was clearly a mess-up), so I changed Sheria back to Sharia and re-added the r in "undertaken."

As for their government, I added some cautionary notes at the top. The Maldives are still not entirely a Republic in the usual sense of the word; if it had been 2 years ago, we probably could have said "One-party Republic" and the sense of politics could have been portrayed accurately succintly. However, clearly things are in something of a shade of grey right now; I don't know of any way around that but to add some more details up top to give proper context. If anybody can shorten or improve that- or know of a better term for the current Maldives governmental structure- help would definitely be appreciated. SnowFire 05:08, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Theoretical Republic?

"...Maldives declared its independence from Britain, and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a theoretical Republic."

What, exactly, is a theoretical republic? Is this a mistake? Unless someone provides a compelling reason for me to do otherwise, I am going to change this on Monday.--128.186.13.112 20:16, 7 July 2006 (UTC) (aka smallwhitelight)

[edit] Maldives' linguistic substrata

The following text was found in the History section of Maldives:

The early inhabitants of Maldives were from present day Kerala and probably spoke an archaic form of Tamil, a Dravidian language [1]. In fact people in the neighbouring Lakshadweep islands speak a form of Malayalam that is an off shoot of archaic Tamil.

...and...

According to Clarence Maloney, a noted anthropologist, "There is a clear Tamil substratum in the language, which also appears in place names, kin terms, poetry, dance, and religious beliefs. This is actually Tamil-Malayalam, as, up to about the 10th century when the Malayalam language acquired a separate identity, what is now Kerala was considered to be part of the Tamil area. There are numerous references in the Tamil Sangam (1st–3rd century) and medieval literature to kings of Kerala having ships, conducting invasions by sea, and ruling the northern part of Sri Lanka. People of Kerala settled the Lakshadvip Islands, and evidently viewed the Maldives as an extension of them. There is a Maldivian epic about Koimala, who is said to have come from Sri Lanka, bringing with him his royal lineage, landing on a northern atoll, and then making Malé his capital. But the name koi is from Malayalam koya, son of the prince, which is also the name of a high caste group in the Lakshadvip Islands. Koimala has now become a generalized eponymous ancestor of the pre-Muslim Divehis. The medieval settlements from Sri Lanka were strongest in the southern islands, and this gave rise to the Divehi language, Buddhism, and the ideals of kinship."

According to most any other source, the language of the Maldives is Indo-Aryan and not Dravidian (Tamil, in this case). For those unacquainted with the nuttier side of linguistics, linking anything and everything to a Dravidian substratum is a sport unto itself. The above edits, performed by 64.201.162.1 (Talk) between July 20, 2006 and July 26, 2006, are just that until proven innocent. Additionally, the second piece text was copied an pasted from a copyrighted source (link). --Adamrush 20:00, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] New Island

I heard they're building a brand new Island or something? Or am I confused with another country? 84.69.196.108 12:57, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Thats Hulhumale' and you are not confused. --Oblivious 21:03, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Thilafushi, the garbage island is also a brand new island. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.21.176.43 (talk) 12:49, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] THE MALEDIVES IN WWII

During WWII (February 26, 1941) a little naval battle took place close to the Maledives: the cruiser "Leander" (New Zealand) (Cap. Bevan) intercepted the Italian auxiliary cruiser "Ramb I" (Cap. Bonezzi), which tried to reach the Japanese allies: the "Leander", much stronger,sunk the "Ramb I". The wreck of the Italian ship (3,667 T.)lies still there, SW of the islands.

[edit] OFFICIAL NAME

Everywhere I looked is Republic of Maldives and not Democratic Republic of Maldives Abbott 15:20, 25 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reverted

I have reverted the article to a pervious version basically removing this and this external link. The former is removed becuase it asserts without citing and has POV issues - like → Moldavians see even MDP like Maumoon, a power hungry rather than campaigning honestly for the better future for Maldives. Please include everything reverted if you have references and try to keep it neutral. Thanks. --Oblivious 14:35, 31 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of external link

This is posted per Viceone request in edit summary of this inclusion.

There is no question about the website's usefulness and that is not disputed here. There is a guideline about including and excluding external links in articles. There isnt symmetry between the article in question and the external link. Although i see symmetric relation between this (which is not what's been repeatedly included in the article) and the article. The article is mainly about the Maldives and the link predominantly contains material promoting toursim (except this part). Therefore its is more relavent for this link to be included in Tourism in the Maldives and it already is. (see this answer for a question following the removal of similar links from this article).

In addition to the 'usefulness' of the link there are other factors considered when external links are included. For instance , this is a reversion of one useful link - a website directory of the Maldives. Even though the very nature of this link makes it useful, it still fails the inclusion criteria and therefore is, reasonably, removed. Thanks. --Oblivious 01:24, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wildlife of Maldives

Kindly contribute to this article when you get time, and request others too.

Thanks

Atulsnischal 00:47, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

check out www.environment.gov.mv too. the article is not completed yet. so please complete it. thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by Metalsifay (talk • contribs) 03:09, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tourism number: 467,1548767869

First the number of tourist is not properly stated. Second, I don't believe the number. Third there needs to be a citation. George O'Connor

Is it necessary to state in the introductory paragraph such a blatant absurdity that: "...the country's name may stand for "Mountain Islands" (malai in Tamil, meaning "mountain" and teevu in Tamil meaning "island")" in a country where there is not a single mountain?Mohonu

[edit] Language of Maldives.

Hi, I am from Maldives and our language is Dhivehi also known as Mahl. It is our own language which arose from different languages. Check out the dhivehi wikipedia for more information on the subject. But its in our language.. don't think that you guys would understand.

[edit] The article is inconsistent in the country's/island's name(s)

This article goes back and forth in the use of "Maldives" and "the Maldives". If people want to use "the Maldives" for the islands and "Maldives" for the country, I suppose that it would be okay, but the article is inconsistent in that respect as well, although it does usually use "the Maldives" when referring to the islands. -- Kjkolb 13:07, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

The Maldives is the right term for the country as it is a Nation of Islands. See the Netherlands and the Philippines.Lustead 14:14, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mahal Dibiyat

The article claims that Some medieval Arab travellers such as Ibn Batuta called the islands "Mahal Dibiyat" from the Arabic word Mahal ("palace"), but Emblem of Maldives says Ad-Dawlat Al-Mahaldheebiyya (Arabic: الدولة المحلديبية) means the State of The Thousand Islands. Which is correct? Jpatokal 04:00, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

The name inscribed in the scroll has the name Ibn batuta used. "Laccadives" or "Lakhsadweep" is derived from "hundred thousand islands", but "not Mahal Dibiyat." According to certain scholars, like H.C.P. Bell, "Mahal Dibiyat" is apparently derived from the Arabic word "Mahal" (palace), but it could also be a corruption of the original Sanskrit name of the country (Maale Divehi Raajje).

The Arabic motto "ad-dawlat al mahaldībīyat" means "government of the Mahal Dibiyat" which is the name Ibn Batuta and other Arab travellers used to refer to the the Maldives.Mohonu 03:12, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

i am also from maldives/ fuvahmulah, dont forget that we have our own dialect which is fuvahmulaku bas, somebody please mention it too.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Metalsifay (talk • contribs) 03:07, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Portuguese Empire

Why is there such a bulky reference to the Portuguese Empire at the end of the article? The Maldives was not one of the traditional Portuguese colonies in Asia and Portuguese hold on the country was at best tenuous. A short reference or link would be enough. Mohonu 05:00, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Maldives Scouting

Can someone render "Be Prepared", the Scout Motto, into Divehi? Thanks! Chris 03:47, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Restructure this sentence and move to the article Maldives

Islands housing hotels, antennae, fuel tanks, and other such premises, are not counted as inhabited islands by the administration. Lustead 15:32, 17 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Man-made Islands

Thilafushi island

Hulhumale' island

Can someone write about this