Lakshadweep students group urge intervention over "deepening" unempolyment crisis
The Lakshadweep Students Association has urged the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, among other central government agencies, to intervene over what it called a deepening unemployment crisis in the Union Territory, citing more than 2,500 permanent government posts lying vacant for over a year.
In a representation dated January 26 and submitted from Kavaratti, the association said sanctioned posts across 34 departments of the Lakshadweep Administration have not been filled despite the availability of qualified local candidates. It said no interviews, written examinations or recruitment processes have been initiated, leaving educated youth in prolonged uncertainty.
A copy of the letter has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission.
In a presser in Malayalam, the group said they have launched a campaign over unemployment in the islands since October 2025, gathering data to measure the extend of the crisis.
The students’ body also expressed concern over reports that some long-vacant posts are being considered for abolition, warning that such moves have intensified anxiety among job seekers and their families.
Citing official data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023–24, the association said Lakshadweep has the highest unemployment rate among all states and Union Territories. Youth unemployment (ages 15–29) in the islands stands at 36.2%, the highest in the country, it said, ahead of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala and Nagaland.
"Though the right to employment is not an explicitly fundamental right, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has consistently held that the right to
livelihood forms an integral part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Depriving qualified youth of the opportunity
to work by freezing recruitment for sanctioned posts is a constructive denial of this right," the letter to NCST reads.
The representation argued that prolonged recruitment delays have serious social and economic consequences, including distress migration, mental health strain and weakened public services. It said freezing recruitment to sanctioned posts amounts to a denial of the constitutional right to livelihood under Article 21, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, and violates equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16.
The association called on the commission to ensure urgent, constitutionally compliant action to fill long-pending vacancies and protect the future of educated youth in Lakshadweep.
