By Ameer Ali –
Dr. Ameer Ali
Never in the history of independent Sri Lanka (SL) had its economic ties with neighbouring India grown so strategic and deep as during Prime Minister Modi’s decade from 2014 to the present. During that decade, SL had seen seven prime ministers and four presidents of whom a couple had been re-elected or appointed to those positions more than once. But what made Indo-Lanka economic connections so strategic and deep is the island’s rapid descent into financial bankruptcy and economic chaos in 2021 because of systemic mismanagement over several decades. Even then and historically, although India’s economy is a giant in comparison to that of tiny SL, in terms of GDP per capita and measures of economic development and welfare the island had an enviable record in comparison to her neighbour. In other words, SL did not have the necessity to beg for economic assistance from India as long as the doors of trade and commerce were kept open. Partly because of this relative economic strength and partly because of a more enlightened Indian political leadership in addition to the fact that any threat to India’s security never originated from the south but always from north, Indo-Lankan relations until the Modi era could best be described as one of Laissez-faire. However, on occasions when SL approached for security assistance India always responded positively. For example, Sri Lanka could not have eliminated the LTTE and won the civil war had it not been for Delhi’s calculated betrayal of the Tamils.
Having assisted Sri Lanka to win the civil war in 2009 India went back to her policy of non-interference and failed to help the …read more
Source:: Colombo Telegraph