India - Sri Lanka Relations
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Background
The relationship between India and Sri Lanka is more than 2,500 years old.
Both countries have a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic
interaction.
In recent years, the relationship has been marked by close contacts at all levels.
Trade and investment have grown and there is cooperation in the fields of
infrastructure development, education, culture and defence.
In recent years, significant progress in implementation of developmental
assistance projects has further cemented the bonds of friendship between the two
countries.
The nearly three-decade long armed conflict between the Sri Lankan forces and the
LTTE came to an end in May 2009. During the course of the conflict, India supported
the right of the Sri Lankan Government to act against terrorist forces.
India's consistent position has been in favour of a negotiated political settlement,
which is acceptable to all communities within the framework of a united Sri Lanka
and is consistent with democracy, pluralism and respect for human rights.
Geopolitical Significance of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s location in the Indian Ocean region as an island State has been of
strategic geopolitical relevance to several major powers.
Some examples that highlight Western interests in Sri Lanka’s strategic location are
the British Defence and External Affairs Agreement of 1948, and the Maritime
Agreement with USSR of 1962.
Even during the J.R Jayewardene (1978-1989) and Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-
1993) tenures, Sri Lanka was chosen to build the Voice of America transmitting
station (suspected of being used for intelligence gathering purposes and electronic
surveillance of the Indian Ocean).
It was the massive Chinese involvement during the Rajapaksa tenure that garnered
the deepest controversy in recent years.
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China is building state of the art gigantic modern ports all along the Indian Ocean to
the south of it, in Gwadar (Pakistan), Chittagong (Bangladesh, Kyauk Phru
(Myanmar) and Hambantota (Sri Lanka).
China’s string of pearl’s strategy is aimed at encircling India to establish dominance
in the Indian Ocean.
Post 2015, Sri Lanka still relies heavily on China for Port city project and for
continuation of Chinese funded infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka.
Although the Hambantota harbour is reportedly making losses, it too has potential
for development due to its strategic location.
Sri Lanka has a list of highly strategic ports located among busiest sea lanes of
communication.
Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port is the 25th busiest container port in the world and the
natural deep water harbor at Trincomalee is the fifth largest natural harbour in the
world.
Port city of Trincomalee was the main base for Eastern Fleet and British Royal Navy
during the Second World War.
Sri Lanka’s location can thus serve both commercial and industrial purposes and be
used as a military base.
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Political Relations
As a country that emerged from a civil war facing human rights allegations; the
domestic politics and international relations of Sri Lanka are heavily geopolitical with
foreign powers having vested interests.
Political relations between India and Sri Lanka have been marked by high-level
exchanges of visits at regular intervals.
In February 2015, Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena undertook
his first official visit to India, and Modi paid a return visit to Colombo in March 2015.
He was the first Indian prime minister to do a stand-alone visit to Sri Lanka in 28
years.
In June 2019, the first overseas visit of Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka, in his
second term, is an important symbolic gesture reflective of the special relationship
between the countries.
Sri Lanka is a member of regional groupings like BIMSTEC (Bay of
Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation) and SAARC in which India plays a leading role.
Recently, India has invited leaders of BIMSTEC member countries to attend the
swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his council of ministers. This is in
line with the government’s focus on its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
Sri Lanka has long been in India’s geopolitical orbit, but its relationship with China
has strengthened in recent years.
Former President Rajapaksa took Sri Lanka closer to China and sidelining Indian
concerns including over the rehabilitation of Tamils displaced by the long-running
Sri Lankan civil war.
History of Civil War
Sri Lanka has been mired in ethnic conflict since the country, formerly known as
Ceylon, became independent from British rule in 1948.
A 2001 government census says Sri Lanka’s main ethnic populations are the
Sinhalese (82%), Tamil (9.4%), and Sri Lanka Moor (7.9%).
In the years following independence, the Sinhalese, who resented British favoritism
toward Tamils during the colonial period, disenfranchised Tamil migrant plantation
workers from India and made Sinhala the official language.
In 1972, the Sinhalese changed the country’s name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka and
made Buddhism the nation’s primary religion.
As ethnic tension grew, in 1976, the LTTE was formed under the leadership of
Velupillai Prabhakaran, and it began to campaign for a Tamil homeland in northern
and eastern Sri Lanka, where most of the island’s Tamils reside.
In 1983, the LTTE ambushed an army convoy, killing thirteen soldiers and triggering
riots in which 2,500 Tamils died.
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As Ethnic ties have bound southern India and Sri Lanka for more than two millennia.
India is a home to more than 60 million of the world’s 77 million Tamils, while about
4 million live in Sri Lanka.
The Palk Strait, about 40 km (25 miles) wide at its narrowest point, separates the
southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka, traditionally the main
Tamil area of the Indian Ocean island.
When war between Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sinhalese majority erupted in
1983, India took an active role.
Indo-Sri Lankan Accord was signed in 1987 to provide a political solution to Sri
Lanka’s conflict.
It proposed the establishment of provincial council system and devolution of
power for nine provinces in Sri Lanka (also known as The Thirteenth
Amendment).
India deployed Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka under
Operation Pawan to disarm the different militant group.
IPKF was later withdrawn after three years amidst escalating violence.
The violent conflict was ended in 2009 and at that point of India has agreed to
reconstruct the war-torn areas and started many rehabilitation programs.
India voted against Sri Lanka in 2009, 2012 and 2013 at the US-sponsored
UNHRC resolution to investigate alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka.
Commercial Relations
Sri Lanka has long been a priority destination for direct investment from India.
Sri Lanka is one of India’s largest trading partners among the SAARC countries.
India in turn is Sri Lanka’s largest trade partner globally.
India’s exports to Sri Lanka amounted to $5.3 billion in 2015-17 whereas its imports
from the country were at $743 million.
Trade between the two countries grew particularly rapidly after the India-Sri Lanka
Free Trade Agreement which came into force in March 2000.
While Sri Lankan exports to India have increased substantially during the past several
years since 2000 when ISFTA came into force.
However, there has been a high growth in India’s exports to Sri Lanka, resulting in a
widening of the balance of trade. This is largely because of the lack of export capacity
from Sri Lanka to service Indian requirement and also due to increase in imports
from India because of competitiveness of our exports.
India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA)
The main framework for bilateral trade has been provided by the India-Sri Lanka
Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) that was signed in 1998 and entered into force in
March 2000.
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The basic premise in signing the ISFTA was asymmetries between the two economies,
local socio-economic sensitivities, safeguard measures to protect domestic interests,
and revenue implications so as not to impact high revenue generating tariff lines in
the short term.
In a nutshell, India sought to do more without insisting on strict reciprocity from Sri
Lanka.
This is reflected in the respective obligations of the two countries under the ISFTA
where India agreed to open more tariff lines upfront and within a shorter time span
of three years as against smaller and more staggered openings by Sri Lanka which
was provided a longer time of eight years.
In order to receive ISFTA benefits, the merchandise exported between India and Sri
Lanka should comply with the Rules of Origin criteria.
The agreement CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement)
which is yet to be signed between the countries, seeks to build on the
momentum generated by the FTA and take the two economies beyond trade in goods
towards greater integration and impart renewed impetus and synergy to bilateral
economic interaction.
The investments are in diverse areas including petroleum retail, IT, financial services,
real estate, telecommunication, hospitality & tourism, banking and food processing
(tea & fruit juices), metal industries, tires, cement, glass manufacturing, and
infrastructure development (railway, power, water supply).
The last few years have also witnessed an increasing trend of Sri Lankan investments
into India.
Tourism also forms an important link between India and Sri Lanka and India is the
largest source market for Sri Lankan tourism. In tourism, India is the largest
contributor with every fifth tourist being from India.
Cultural and Educational Relations
The Cultural Cooperation Agreement signed by the two Governments on 29
November, 1977, forms the basis for periodic Cultural Exchange Programmes
between the two countries.
The Indian Cultural Centre in Colombo actively promotes awareness of Indian
culture by offering classes in Indian music, dance, Hindi and Yoga. Every year,
cultural troupes from both countries exchange visits.
India and Sri Lanka commemorated the 2600th year of the attainment of
enlightenment by Lord Buddha (Sambuddhathva Jayanthi) through joint
activities.
The two Governments also celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Anagarika
Dharmapala in 2014.
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The India-Sri Lanka Foundation, set up in December 1998 as an
intergovernmental initiative, also aims towards enhancement of scientific, technical,
educational and cultural cooperation through civil society exchanges and enhancing
contact between the younger generations of the two countries.
Education is an important area of cooperation. India now offers about 290
scholarship slots annually to Sri Lankan students.
In addition, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Scheme
and the Colombo Plan, India offers 370 slots annually to Sri Lankan nationals.
Government of India formally launched the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) scheme for Sri
Lankan tourists on 14 April 2015 to increase the people to people contact.
Subsequently, in a goodwill gesture, the visa fee for eTV was sharply reduced.
Indian Community
The People of Indian Origin (PIOs) comprise Sindhis, Borahs, Gujaratis, Memons,
Parsis, Malayalis and Telugu speaking persons who have settled down in Sri Lanka
(most of them after partition) and are engaged in various business ventures.
Though their numbers are much lesser as compared to Indian Origin Tamils (IOTs),
they are economically prosperous and are well placed.
Each of these communities has their organization which organizes festivals and
cultural events.
The IOTs are mostly employed in either tea or rubber plantations in Central, Uva and
Sabaragamuwa Provinces though during the last decade, the younger generation has
been migrating to Colombo in search of employment.
A fair number of IOTs living in Colombo are engaged in business. According to
Government census figures (2011), the population of IOTs is about 1.6 million.
Defence and Security Cooperation
Sri Lanka and New Delhi have long history of security cooperation. In recent years,
the two sides have steadily increased their military-to-military relationship.
India and Sri Lanka conducts joint Military ( 'Mitra Shakti') and Naval exercise
(SLINEX).
India also provides defence training to Sri Lankan forces.
A trilateral maritime security cooperation agreement was signed by India, Sri Lanka
and the Maldives to improve surveillance, anti-piracy operations and reducing
maritime pollution in Indian Ocean Region.
In April 2019, India and Sri Lanka also concluded agreement on countering Drug and
Human trafficking.
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In the aftermath of the horrific Easter bombings, Sri Lankan Prime Minister thanked
the Indian government for all the “help” given.
The alerts issued by Indian agencies before the attacks had warned specifically
about the use of radicalised suicide bombers attacking churches and the Indian
High Commission in Colombo.
Issues and Conflicts
In recent years, China has extended billions of dollars of loans to the Sri Lankan
government for new infrastructure projects, which is not good for India’s strategic
depth in Indian Ocean Region.
Sri Lanka also handed over the strategic port of Hambantota, which is expected to
play a key role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, to China on a 99-year lease.
The opposition parties and trade unions in Sri Lanka have already dubbed the port
deal as a sellout of their country’s national assets to China.
China has also supplied arms as well as provide huge loans to Sri Lanka for its
development.
China also invested sufficiently in the infrastructure of Sri Lanka, which included
building of Colombo international container terminal by China Harbor Corporation.
However, the relation between Sri Lanka and India are improving. In order to
allay Indian concerns that the Hambantota port will not be used for military
purposes, the Sri Lankan government has sought to limit China’s role to
running commercial operations at the port while it retains oversight of security
operations.
The two countries have signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement which is Sri
Lanka’s first nuclear partnership with any country.
India is also investing into Sri Lanka’s infrastructure development in the Northern
and Eastern provinces.
India is also planning to build Trincomalee Port to counterweight the Chinese
developments at Hambantota Port.
Fishermen issue
Given the proximity of the territorial waters of both countries, especially in the Palk
Straits and the Gulf of Mannar, incidents of straying of fishermen are common.
Indian boats have been fishing in the troubled waters for centuries and had a free run
of the Bay of Bengal, Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar until 1974 and 1976 when
treaties were signed between the two countries to demarcate International Maritime
Boundary Line (IMBL).
However, the treaties failed to factor in the hardship of thousands of traditional
fishermen who were forced to restrict themselves to a meagre area in their fishing
forays.
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The small islet of Katchatheevu, hitherto used by them for sorting their catch and
drying their nets, fell on the other side of the IMBL.
Fishermen often risk their lives and cross the IMBL rather than return empty-
handed, but the Sri Lankan Navy is on alert, and have either arrested or destroyed
fishing nets and vessels of those who have crossed the line.
Both countries have agreed on certain practical arrangements to deal with the issue of
bona fide fishermen of either side crossing the International Maritime Boundary
Line.
Through these arrangements, it has been possible to deal with the issue of detention
of fishermen in a humane manner.
India and Sri Lanka have agreed to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) on Fisheries
between the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India and Ministry of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development of Sri Lanka as the mechanism to help
find a permanent solution to the fishermen issue.
Way Forward
As both countries have a democratic setup there is scope for broadening and
deepening the ties.
Both countries should try to work out a permanent solution to the issue of fishermen
through bilateral engagements.
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) must be signed to improve
the economic cooperation between both countries .
India needs to focus more on its traditional and cultural ties to improve relations
with Sri Lanka.
Starting of ferry services between India and Sri Lanka can improve people to people
linkages.
Mutual recognition of each other's concerns and interests can improve the
relationship between both countries.
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