The first time I heard about the Maldives was in 1988. A group of mercenaries had arrived in the country by sea and had tried to overthrow the government. The then president of the Maldives, Abdul Gayoom, a great friend of India, phoned Rajiv Gandhi who was then prime minister and asked for his help. Could India send the Indian air force to repel the invasion, he asked.
I wondered how this would work. From all accounts, the mercenaries had been largely successful and Gayoom was hiding out in his palace, clutching desperately to the one international phone line that was open, talking to Delhi.
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But Gayoom insisted that an Air Force operation…
