Maldives Freed: Independence from British Rule
The British kept a Royal Air Force base on Gan Island even after signing the papers. The Maldives gained full independence on July 26, 1965, ending 78 years as a protectorate, but Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir had to negotiate a separate agreement letting Britain maintain its strategic Indian Ocean airfield. For fifteen more years, RAF personnel lived on Maldivian soil while the country's 100,000 citizens governed themselves around them. Sovereignty came with an asterisk—independence doesn't always mean everyone leaves.
July 26, 1965
61 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on July 26
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