cover image: Balancing Pragmatism and Ideology in India-Sri Lanka ties

Balancing Pragmatism and Ideology in India-Sri Lanka ties

30 Sep 2024

Since Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was elected as the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka, there is speculation about the new government’s foreign policy. Given the economic and geopolitical scenario, pragmatism is likely to take precedence — Sri Lanka will continue to balance between India and China. The new dispensation’s quest for good governance and reforms will also likely benefit India in the long run. At its inception in the 1960s, the JVP was a staunchly anti-Indian organisation with its Marxist and Sinhala nationalist ideology. Fighting Indian “expansionism” in South Asia was one of its core ideological themes. Its first insurrection against the Sri Lankan State in 1971 ended quickly, with India stepping in to secure the Colombo airport and conducting maritime patrols at the request of the Sri Lankan government. However, the second insurrection, between 1987-1990, became even more anti-Indian with the JVP criticising the Indo-Lanka accord that permitted the deployment of Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.
india sri lanka china governance economic crisis foreign policy international affairs transparency soes neighbourhood sagar chinese loans jvp anura kumara dissanayake indo-lanka accord indian investments

Authors

Harsh V. Pant, Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy

Pages
6
Published in
India

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