The nature of the relationship between India and Sri Lanka – Essay

India-Sri Lanka relations have generally been cordial, though there have been tensions caused mainly because of ethnic conflict between people of Indian Origin – mainly Tamils – living in Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese. Usually a small country is suspicious of a big neighbour.

But, India has never tried to play the role of a dominant big neighbour. India’s foreign policy has always been based on friendship with all its neighbours. Despite ethnic problems of Sri Lanka, India has never sought to impose its will on Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Problem

Jaffna Province in northern Sri Lanka has a large concentration of Tamil people. The problem became serious when Tamils began demanding a national homeland or Republic of Eelam in an area of about 18000 sq. km. in northern Sri Lanka.

There are essentially two categories of Tamils in Sri Lanka. There are about one million people, whose forefathers migrated from India in ancient times. They are known as Ceylon Tamils. The other category includes another about one million people, many of them without citizenship, who went to Sri Lanka during the nineteenth century. The problem of their status dominated early India-Sri Lanka relations.

The conflict with Ceylon Tamils came later. The Sinhalese fear Tamil domination, and that is the principal reason behind the conflict. After independence justice was assured to the Tamils by the then Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dudley S. Senanayeke. But after his death discrimination against Tamils started.

Although an agreement was concluded with the Tamils by Prime Minister Bandaranaike but it could not pacify the Tamils. The Tamil youth who had lost faith in non-violence organised themselves into the Liberation Tigers. The aim of the ‘Tigers’ was a sovereign.

Tamil state or Eelam. The earliest efforts made for finding a solution to the ethnic problem was an agreement signed in 1953 by the Prime Minister of India Pt. Nehru and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Kotelawala.

Tamils alleged that Nehru-Kotelawala Agreement was not implemented sincerely. Consequently, large number of persons of Indian origin could not get citizenship of Sri Lanka and they became ‘stateless persons’. This caused serious tensions in India-Sri Lanka relations which were aggravated by the 1956 language disturbances. Sri Lankans blamed India for these disturbances.

Problem of Stateless Persons –

On October 1964 after prolonged negotiations between Prime Minister of India, Lai Bahadur Shastri and Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mrs. Bandaranaike an agreement was signed to resolve the problem of stateless persons.

It sought to solve the problem of about 9 lakh 75 thousand stateless persons in Sri Lanka. About three lakhs of these people were to be granted Sri Lankan citizenship, and about 5 lakh 25 thousand persons were to be given Indian citizenship. The fate of remaining 1 lakh 50 thousand stateless persons was to be decided in future.

During her second tenure as Prime Minister, Mrs. Bandaranaike visited India in 1974 and her talks with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi resulted in a fresh agreement whereby half of these persons were to be given citizenship of Sri Lanka and the rest would become Indian nationals. Thus, this issue of stateless persons was sought to be peacefully settled.

The Kacchativu Dispute

A territorial dispute arose in regard to the ownership of a one square mile uninhabited island, called Kacchativu, off the Jaffna coast in the Palk straits. Pilgrims from both India and Sri Lanka used to go to Kacchativu Island every year in the month of March during the four-day St. Anthony’s festival for worship at the local Romart Catholic Church.

India protested over the presence of Sri Lankan police during the festival in 1968. This caused conflict. Both India and Sri Lanka were keen to avoid a serious situation. The Prime Ministers of India and Sri Lanka met twice and pending a final decision on the issue of island’s title, resolved to maintain status quo in and around the island.

Neither India nor Sri Lanka would send its policemen in uniform or custom officials, or resort to aerial reconnaissance or naval patrolling of adjacent waters during the St. Anthony’s festival. Finally, through a comprehensive agreement India accepted Sri Lanka’s ownership of the Kacchativu Island.

The Ethnic Conflict

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka between Tamils and Sinhalese assumed serious Proportions in 1983. It was described as ‘ethnic explosion’ and the ‘Sri Lankan Carnage’. During 1983-86 two lakh Tamils became refugees as they lost their homes.

Thousands were killed and wounded. Despite all-party talks, peace eluded the island Republic. Finally an attempt was made by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to help Sri Lanka find a solution to the ethnic violence.

On the invitation of Sri Lankan government, Indian Prime Minister paid two day visit to Colombo and concluded an agreement to provide for Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to be posted in Sri Lanka to restore normalcy in the strife-tom areas.

In accordance with Rajiv-Jayawardene agreement hundreds of thousands of Indian troops were sent to Sri Lanka for maintenance of peace. But the posting of IPKF proved to be costly for India. Crores of rupees were spent on Indian troops trying to restore order. Hundred of Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with the Tamil extremists.

Even then ethnic conflict could not be brought under control. Having realised the futility of IPKF, India decided to pull its troops out. By March 1990 all the Indian troops were recalled. The separatist movement in Sri Lanka had an adverse effect on India-Sri Lanka relations, although India had taken all positive steps to ensure that Indian Territory was not used for anti-Sri Lanka activities.

Nonetheless, sending of Indian troops had its fall out and during the run-up to the Lok Sabha, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in an alleged human bomb explosion. The than President of Sri Lanka, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga visited India which created an atmosphere of better understanding between the two countries.

India continues to favour a peaceful solution to ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka within the framework of sovereignty and territorial integrity of that country through negotiation and without outside interference.