India-Sri Lanka Relations

India’s stand at the United Nations Human Rights Council on the resolution relating to human rights situation in Sri Lanka should be based on its long-term interests in the teardrop island.

• Gulbin Sultana
• March 19, 2021
• Issue Brief

From all angles – political, economic, diplomatic and military – India is in a position to meet the SLAF’s potential combat aircraft requirements.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• March 10, 2017
• IDSA Comments

It appears that in order to earn the trust of China and the G7 countries, Sri Lanka has de-emphasised its relationship with India for the time being.

• Gulbin Sultana
• July 01, 2016
• Issue Brief

India should play a proactive role in assisting Sri Lanka in the fisheries sector and in creating conditions in the Palk Bay for the fishermen of both countries to exploit the respective fishing potential amicably.

• Gautam Sen
• May 20, 2016
• IDSA Comments

Prime Minister Modi’s visit is likely to improve the atmospherics to a significant extent, introduce a positive vibe into the process of engagement and serve as a stepping stone for deepening the relationship further.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• March 12, 2015
• IDSA Comments

It will be in India`s interest to adopt a neutral posture vis-à-vis the contestants in the January 2015 Sri Lankan Presidential elections.

• Gautam Sen
• December 15, 2014
• IDSA Comments

Growing international concerns about human rights violations in the last phase of the Eelam war and the continued surveillance and intimidation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka have drawn the attention of their co-ethnics across the world. The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which had detached itself from the political events in Sri Lanka after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has renewed its interest. In the post-war phase, the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils has become an emotive issue.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• September 2014
• Strategic Analysis

There is no one nationalist Sri Lankan view. Among the Sinhalas, there are also the liberals who are quite realistic about their assessments and would argue that there may be a change in leadership in India, but the cornerstone of India’s policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka will remain the same. The Tamils, on the other hand, are unanimous in their view that India can and should play a major role in bringing meaningful political reconciliation to the country.

• Gulbin Sultana
• July 01, 2014
• IDSA Comments

In the years since the hostilities in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, the understandable international focus on the evidence of war crimes by both sides has diverted attention from certain other questions that emerge from the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government. Here I briefly explore three general questions that have arisen not only in Sri Lanka but also in many other modern conflicts, including those characterised by what is variously called asymmetric warfare, violent extremism or terrorism.

• Adam Roberts
• July 2014
• Strategic Analysis

New Delhi should work out an arrangement with the Rajapakse government wherein the rights of both the countries’ fishermen are protected within the respective territorial jurisdiction. If this is not done, the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils, which different governments of India have endeavoured to promote as part of a decided long-term policy, will be compromised.

• Gautam Sen
• June 18, 2014
• IDSA Comments