I wanted to thank this post... the second half, especially the quote by Kennedy.
Frankly I have grown up in a time when sanctions were imposed on Pakistan for its nuclear tests while none such were imposed on India including that on the Smiling Buddha test which was the precursor to this nuclear arms race. A few years ago they signed a nuke deal together and this same nuke deal was refused to Pakistan despite crippling electricity shortages and Pakistan's interest in such a deal.
It is believed to be the reason Shah Mehmood Qureshi quit PPP and he is one of the few Nationalist politicians I have ever heard of. The book this link led to showed another side of the picture I haven't seen in my entire life. An India and a US that are hostile. It seems that US is as unreliable as a cheating wife secretly involved in the adult industry.
However I believe despite a "neutral person's" constant trolling and support for RSS type forces it is not right to insult Hindus. Do remember we have a large number here at home in Pakistan too and they make up 8.5% of the population of Sindh. I believe it is a responsibility for this forum to attract people with varying views-that includes beliefs. We should do everything to separate Nationality from religion to ensure this and make them feel welcome.
Rest of your post is perfect and updated my knowledge.
The reasons were stated in the article too. Also there are ways to prevent the ocean from swallowing Maldives. Some of the islands are higher and can be used in case sea levels rise. Another thing is there are things that can be done. Dykes can be built, soil erosion can be stopped. Floating islands are already being produced.
My contact is mostly with secular modern Maldivians and that also I have not met them personally... so its online. What I have seen is they are extremely worried about is indeed the rise of Wahabism. All secularists are worried about it but I guess there are reasons behind it too. For example if you look at the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan you will notice there is a proportional rise in terror attacks worldwide since these invasions.
I am not speaking in support of the Wahabi's. quite contrary as I am from the secular camp albeit with a lot of Nationalist ideology and sentiment. The thing is the entire issue has sparked terrorism worldwide-the number of major terror attacks increasing year by year in various nations. Now there are 2 types of people that are born. 1 are the liberals and the other Islamists. Its opened a chasm that has always been there but somehow dormant. Now our ideologies are at loggerheads. You see the same thing in Maldives.
When Ibn Batuta traveled to Maldives (and was appointed Qazi ending up giving hard justice
) even in the 14th century what he saw there was a passive form of Islam where people called themselves Muslim but barely abided by most of the rulings. The women traveled half naked, people barely prayed and religion was barely observed. Historically Maldives has always been secular and largely disengaged from religion.
However the war on terror has turned fanatics of lots of people. I have seen it in the family too with an aunt joining the Jamaat-E-Islami, a friend turning religious suddenly. So basically I think this is global. People are either fighting for religious freedom or getting closer to Islamist thought. The Maldivians I have talked to are very worried about the changes on that island nation brought by people who are turning to Wahabism. It has to do with the history and culture of the island. Examples of growing fanaticism would be the blasphemy case that resulted in flogging of a 16 year old and a mob that tried to stone a man for alleged blasphemy, furthermore dance which is a part of ancient Dhivehian culture was actually banned but the Islamic minister. So Maldivians fear creeping Islamicization.
Also I was trying to explain this to our favorite troll on PDF, @KS but he didn't understand... there is a guy named Mohammed Shaheem Ali Saeed who is the minister for Islamic affairs. He called for "Jihad against India". You can google it and find out. So basically people don't know about Maldivian sentiment when they make the suggestion.
Even the secular guys I talked to didn't have a favorable opinion towards India. I believe it may have to do with no country likes to be dependent on another. Pakistan on US, Bangladesh or Maldives on India, Afghanistan on Pakistan... you will notice a lot of people in each of these cases with negative thoughts about the other.