New Bonding Of Old Friendship

Though India has been playing an elder brother's role and helping Sri Lanka for decades, since the election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka's president, Colombo has been moving close to Beijing since 2005. With his victory over Tamil Tigers' terrorism, Rajapaksa was confident of no opposition to him. But, he blamed India for his utter defeat in 2015. The recent victory of Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the recent Sri Lankan presidential election and the appointment of Mahinda as the country's prime minister have raised doubts about the relationship between Delhi and Colombo.

Hyderabad: India's friendship with the neighboring Sri Lanka dates back to the days of Rama Sethu. 12 percent of the country's Tamil population and the sacrifices made by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in protecting the unity and integrity of the country reinforced the bond between India and Sri Lanka.

Though India has been playing an elder brother's role and helping Sri Lanka for decades, since the election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka's president, Colombo has been moving close to Beijing since 2005. With his victory over Tamil Tigers' terrorism, Rajapaksa was confident of no opposition to him. But, he blamed India for his utter defeat in 2015. The recent victory of Mahinda Rajapaksa's brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the recent Sri Lankan presidential election and the appointment of Mahinda as the country's prime minister have raised doubts about the relationship between Delhi and Colombo.

Recognizing the ground realities, Prime Minister Modi's invitation to Gotabaya through the Indian foreign minister Jayashankar the very next day of his swearing-in, and the Sri Lankan President's visit to India, have cleared the political atmosphere. By declaring his intention to take the bilateral relations of the two countries to new heights, Gotabaya made it clear that he did not want to do anything to jeopardize the security of India and clear all doubts and misunderstandings. He also wants India and other countries to show alternatives to China's investments in his country. With the present assurance of Rs.360 crores for counter-terrorism and a soft loan of Rs.2870 crores, it is time for India to steadily revive and strengthen the old relationship.

The presidential election a fortnight ago mirrored the panic of different sections of the Sri Lankan society. The political crisis created by Maithripala Sirisena last year as the president has pushed the country to insecurity and weakened the country's defence systems. Though Vikramasinghe became the prime minister as per the verdict of the Supreme Court, the horrific Easter Day bombings have plunged the entire country into gloom. The parliamentary selection committee has blamed the inaction of security agencies on the threat of bombings from India and the United States. The Sinhala majority population believed that Gotabaya is the right person for the Presidency to suppress the newly emerging IS terrorism. The majority of Tamils ​​and Muslims in the North and East provinces favored Gotabaya's rival Sajith Premadasa, for fear of their security in the name of terrorism control. Though Gotabaya won as President with Sinhalese majority, he cannot ignore the aspirations of the Tamils ​​and relations with India -- their supporter. People in the southern part of the country fear the word 'Federal' and the northerners oppose 'Centralized' form of governance. Maithripala who professed a system that is acceptable to all did ultimately nothing. Gotabaya says that the transfer of full powers to Tamil dominated areas following the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987 is not possible against the will of the majority (Sinhala), and he will focus on integrated development. The main challenge for the Gotabaya regime is to see that this long-standing problem does not lead to a new crisis!

For a country, which suffered LTTE terrorism for twenty-five years, domestic IS terrorism is another unexpected blow. In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks of Easter Day, tourism which accounted for five percent of the national gross product suffered greatly. This is a cause of concern for Sri Lanka. The 4.5 percent growth rate during Maitripala rule in 2016, fell today to an eighteen-year low of 2.5 percent. Besides, the loan burden which reached 75 percent of the GDP is creating a difficult situation. This is an opportune time for China for its expansionism. During the Mahindra Rajapaksa regime, China secured contracts for the establishment of power stations, ports, airports, and road-rail infrastructure projects from north to south, and now it has reached a stage of keeping its submarine fleet on the shores of Sri Lanka. Though Gotabaya is proposing 'equidistance' from China and India, if other countries do not show interest in alternative investments in Sri Lanka, there is every possibility of China taking advantage of their Belt and Road projects and making further inroads. At a time when we are inviting foreign direct investments, it is difficult for India to extend the help to Sri Lanka. But in the interests of Tamils and the long-term benefit of Sri Lanka, India should positively strengthen the bilateral relationships with Sri Lanka.