Critically discuss the Indo-Sri Lanka relations.

Discuss Indo-Sri Lanka relations since Rajiv-Jayawardhanne Agreement 1987.

Ans. India and Sri Lanka share many common interests in their foreign policies and have cooperated in those areas since the beginning. Both are neighboring countries, but their relationship is deeper than just neighboring countries. Sri Lanka is an integral part of the Indian subcontinent, so it has not just political importance, but industrial, economic and cultural importance as well. Both countries were shackled by the chains of colonialism and both achieved independence almost at the same time. After independence, both pursued non-alignment, peaceful co-existence and friendly relations with other countries. Therefore, the relationship between the two countries remained largely cordial, but due to international and national interests, there have been times of tension between them occasionally, though the relations have remained normal for the most part. 

To understand the India-Sri Lanka relations, we also need to look at Sri Lanka's history. Sri Lanka lies in the Indian subcontinent itself. There have been ties between Sri Lanka and India since ancient times. From Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty to the British rule, there was regular interaction between Indians and Sri Lankans. The establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka was also due to the influence of Indians. They have been inspired by the works of ancient Indian sages. Though majority of Sri Lankans are Sinhalese, the Tamil minorities wield considerable influence despite their smaller numbers, since India's southern region Tamil Nadu is inhabited by Tamils. Therefore, India's ties with Sri Lanka are unique in some ways. If any incident happens in Sri Lanka, its impact is felt in Tamil Nadu, which in turn affects India as well. So while the relations have been generally cordial, there have been times when certain events have led to differences between the two countries.

The main issue in India-Sri Lanka relations has revolved around the status of Indian immigrants in Sri Lanka. Most of the nearly 10 lakh Indian immigrants in Sri Lanka (mostly Tamils) were brought by the British to work in tea and rubber plantations and enjoyed equal rights and voting rights as British citizens until independence. But the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948 and the Ceylon Parliamentary Act of 1949 deprived them of franchise rights. So this act greatly impacted the Indians, especially Tamils, living in Sri Lanka who saw India as their own country despite living in Sri Lanka. The treatment of immigrant Indians by the Sri Lankan government was also seen as unjust and discriminatory. The Sri Lankan government now wanted to throw these Indians out of the country. The problem became more serious when the Sri Lankan government announced the policy of nationalizing plantation labor and foreign commercial organizations. It was injustice towards the unskilled Indian laborers and so India had to intervene. 

To resolve this issue, negotiations happened between the two countries resulting in the Nehru-Kotelawala agreement in January 1954 when John Kotelawala visited New Delhi and met with Nehru. 

The terms of the agreement were:

• 1. The Sri Lankan government will register the names of all people of Indian origin who want to permanently stay in Lanka.
• 2. Those who do not want Lankan citizenship will be sent back to India.
• 3. Illegal immigration from India to Sri Lanka will be strictly prevented.
• 4. Applications pending for citizenship for the last two years will be quickly decided by the government.
• 5. A separate electoral register will be maintained for Indians through which they will elect a fixed number of representatives.
• 6. Facilities will be provided to stay as foreigners for those Indians who cannot be given Lankan citizenship.

But the Sri Lankan government did not sincerely implement this agreement and rendered all Indians stateless. In March 1954, the Sri Lankan government suspended the renewal of 'residence permits' for citizens of Indian origin, thereby turning even long-term residents into illegal occupants. In response, from 1st July 1954, the Indian government made visas mandatory for Sri Lankans to travel to India, which was not required earlier. India warned Sri Lanka that it will recognize only those individuals who voluntarily apply for Indian citizenship. Such individuals will also not be allowed to work in plantations and other areas in Sri Lanka. 

There was a fundamental difference between the two governments regarding the status of stateless citizens. This resulted in a huge number of stateless people, increasing bitterness in India-Lanka relations. The bitterness increased further after the language dispute of 1956. Sri Lanka accused India of being behind these riots. However, relations improved during SWRD Bandaranaike's prime ministership (1956-59). Bandaranaike admired Nehru, believed in non-alignment and considered India a big friendly nation. After his assassination, even during Sirimavo Bandaranaike's rule (1960-77), India-Sri Lanka relations remained cordial.

This is why in October 1964, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri signed an agreement.

The main points of this agreement were:

• 1. The Sri Lankan government will register the names of all people of Indian origin residing in Sri Lanka who have not taken any citizenship so far, and give them the option to choose either Indian or Sri Lankan citizenship.
• 2. It was estimated that there were around 9,75,000 stateless people in Sri Lanka. As per the agreement, out of these, 5,25,000 people will be granted Indian citizenship and 3,00,000 people will be granted Sri Lankan citizenship. The issue of citizenship for the remaining 1,50,000 people will be resolved through other agreements.
• 3. This process will be completed in the next 15 years.
• 4. Immigrants coming to India will get all facilities given to emigrants from other countries, except they cannot remit money abroad.
• 5. Indians can take their earned capital to India, but it should not be less than Rs. 4000.

The agreement still had some shortcomings which were fulfilled when the Sri Lankan PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike visited India in January 1974.

Another issue between India and Sri Lanka has been the Kachchativu island. Kachchativu is a small 200 acre island between the shores of India and Sri Lanka which was thought to have large oil deposits nearby. As a gesture of goodwill from a large neighbor, India handed over this small island to Sri Lanka on 28th June 1974, so as not to allow the dispute to exacerbate tensions between the two countries.

When the Janata Party came to power in India in 1977, the Indian government made honest efforts to further deepen relations with Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Hameed came to India in April 1978, followed by President Jawaharlal Nehru's own visit to India in October 1978. He gave assurances to quickly resolve the immigrant Indian issue, but also expressed concern over the Rs. 35 crore trade imbalance. He welcomed Indian capital investment and hoped for maximum economic cooperation between the two nations. The foreign policies of both nations were largely similar on global issues, though Jawaharlal Nehru's government was not as critical of the Camp David agreement as India. In February 1978, Indian PM Morarji Desai visited Sri Lanka and personally monitored the process of granting citizenship to immigrant Indians. This visit by Morarji improved relations between the two nations, but there was no doubt that bitterness remained regarding the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka. Morarji advised the Sri Lankan Tamils to give up secessionism and live together with the Sinhalese. But even after so much generosity from the Janata government, Sri Lanka voted in favor of Pakistan's "nuclear free zone" proposal at the UN General Assembly.

To understand India-Sri Lanka relations during 1982-90, the main issue impacting relations was the Tamil minority community in Sri Lanka. Of Sri Lanka's 1.5 crore population, 74% are Sinhalese, 13% are Sri Lankan Tamils, 6% are Indian origin Tamils and the rest are others. Tamils live in the Jaffna district in northern Sri Lanka. The Tamils are mostly Hindu while the Sinhalese are Buddhist. 

The Sri Lankan Tamils have felt insecure, suspicious and terrified due to various reasons. The Jayawardene government adopted policies of extreme discrimination against Tamils, which led to growth of secessionist tendencies among Tamils. On one hand, the Sinhalese ruling class monopolized the economic, social and political spheres of the country. On the other hand, Buddhism was made the national religion and Sinhalese the national language. The government is plotting to make Tamils a minority in their areas by settling Sinhalese there. Discriminatory policies have been adopted in jobs, education and other spheres which has made Tamils feel insecure and humiliated, leading them to organize politically under the TULF organization to express their grievances. Some militant Tamil organizations like Eelam have even demanded a separate nation, but TULF only wants autonomy. The Sri Lankan government tried to find a military solution to the problem whereas India always advised a negotiated settlement. Sri Lanka also blamed India alleging that the separatist movement was supported by the Tamil Nadu government. This soured relations between the two nations.

India has always taken the path of cooperation to find a peaceful solution to the Tamil problem. Indian representatives have regularly visited Colombo for this purpose. Jayawardene also visited Delhi in June 1984 and June 1985 for talks with Indian PM. The first rounds of talks for a peaceful settlement of the Sri Lankan problem were held in Thimpu, Bhutan from 8th July and again from 12th August, but these talks failed. 

In January 1987, the Sri Lankan government imposed an economic blockade on Jaffna to wipe out the Tamil militants and in May 1987, the Lankan army launched a four-pronged offensive against Jaffna. India condemned this and announced humanitarian aid for the Jaffna people in June 1986. But when an Indian ship carrying aid tried to reach by sea, it was stopped by the Lankan navy. India airdropped the aid on 5th June 1987 calling it an issue of prestige, despite all difficulties, escorted by Mirage 2000 fighters. Sri Lanka criticized this. They termed it open violation of Sri Lanka's sovereignty, territory and international practice. This converted the ethnic problem into an Indo-Sri Lanka problem.

To resolve this problem, the historic Indo-Sri Lanka accord was signed between Rajiv Gandhi and Jayawardene in Colombo on 29th July 1987. Since it was signed in Colombo, it is also called the Colombo Agreement.

The main clauses of the agreement were:

• 1. Cessation of hostilities in the strife-torn Northern province within 48 hours.
• 2. Surrender of arms by Tamil militants within 72 hours.
• 3. Establishment of a joint 'Peace Keeping Force' in the Northern province.
• 4. Referendum by year-end to enable people of Northern province to decide if they want to remain there. An Indian Election Commissioner will be present during the referendum.
• 5. Elections for provincial councils within next 3 months and establishment of councils by December.
• 6. Indian observers will be invited to supervise elections for North-Eastern provincial council.
• 7. Appointment of Governor, Board of Ministers and Legislative Assembly for North-Eastern province.
• 8. India will guarantee that no activity prejudicial to Sri Lanka's unity and integrity will be allowed from Indian soil.
• 9. Indian navy and coast guard will cooperate with Lankan authorities to ensure Tamil militant activities are curtailed.
• 10. India will return any Sri Lankan citizens found engaged in terrorist activities in India.
• 11. Sri Lanka will accept back refugees sheltered in India.
• 12. Detained political prisoners in Sri Lanka will be released and granted amnesty.
• 13. India will provide training facilities and military equipment to Sri Lankan forces whenever required for implementation of the accord.
• 14. A joint consultative machinery will be set up to keep vigil on presence of foreign military and intelligence personnel from Israel, UK, US and Pakistan.
• 15. Sri Lanka will review its foreign broadcasting policies to ensure facilities provided are not used for military or espionage purposes.

The agreement was hailed as 'unprecedented' and 'historic'. Rajiv Gandhi called it the 'greatest agreement of the 20th century'. PLO chief Yasser Arafat termed it one of the most important events in Asia. The agreement guarantees Sri Lanka's unity and integrity. It has proved India's emergence as a major power in the subcontinent. It is India's diplomatic success. It has pulled Sri Lanka, at least President Jayawardene, back from leaning towards Pakistan and the West into India's orbit.

Indian Peace Keeping Forces were sent to Sri Lanka under the accord. The aim was to encircle the LTTE stronghold of Jaffna and force them to surrender. The LTTE did not accept the Rajiv-Jayawardene accord. Despite all difficulties in liberating Jaffna, an IPKF officer termed it 'a thankless task, fighting someone else's war'. Many Indian leaders criticized it, but by sending its army, India took a major step, which was perhaps necessary, because had India not taken the initiative, anti-India forces were waiting in the wings to take advantage of Jayawardene's weakness. According to Rajendra Mathur, editor of Navbharat Times, "The creative intervention made by India to improve Sri Lanka's destiny is unparalleled in the subcontinent after 1947."

Steps were taken to implement the accord despite the LTTE's continuous and often violent opposition to ethnic partition in both countries. Elections in North-Eastern province were successfully conducted on 19th November 1988, completing the process of establishing provincial councils there. The elections validated the merger of North-Eastern provinces. The constitution was amended to make Tamil an official language. Thus, many clauses of the agreement were fulfilled. 

However, bitterness returned after the election of Premadasa as President. He insisted on IPKF's withdrawal, and also tried to discredit the Peace Keeping Force to sow discord among Tamils. Hence, Rajiv Gandhi had to warn Sri Lanka that IPKF will return only after completing its duty.

But IPKF's withdrawal accelerated after V.P. Singh became Prime Minister, starting in January 1989. The Indian army has now completely withdrawn from Sri Lanka. There can be debate on whether the Indian army should have gone to Sri Lanka or not, but it did facilitate the start of a democratic process there, to which IPKF also contributed.

Chandrashekhar government also dismissed the DMK government in Tamil Nadu in response to Sri Lanka's allegation that militant training camps operated there, in order to normalize relations. But Sri Lanka's stance has not been constructive.

Even today, India-Sri Lanka relations are not normal. Premadasa has alleged that militants are being trained and funded in Tamil Nadu. Both Tamil militants and Sinhalese militants are holding India-Sri Lanka relations hostage. Many Lankan ministers are also unhappy with the accord. So normal relations are not possible until the Tamil problem is resolved. This possibility is not visible yet. The recent assassination of Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeratne has further complicated the Tamil problem. But the assassination of former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 during elections in Tamil Nadu by LTTE, and the strong condemnation of the killing by the Sri Lankan government, as well as former Sri Lankan President Jayawardene's recent statement that the Rajiv-Jayawardene accord is the basis not just for resolving the Tamil problem, but for mutual goodwill and friendship between the two nations, is drawing India-Sri Lanka relations towards a new perspective. It is hoped that the present governments of both countries will strive to strengthen relations through mutual understanding.