India – Sri Lanka Relations – Economics – Free PDF Download

CURRENT AFFAIR

• At the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India from 8th–11th February 2020.
• The Prime Minister of Srilanka also went to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, the Maha Bodhi temple in Bodh Gaya and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh).

Tamil Issue

• India expressed confidence in Sri Lanka to carry forward the process of reconciliation of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
• India has also requested to fulfil the aspirations of the Tamils for equality, justice, peace and respect in Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND

• Tamils and Sinhalese are the two major ethnic groups In Sri Lanka.
• Many Tamils attended English language schools which were the passport to higher education and better employment in the colonial period.
• And the Tamil-dominated Northern Province had comparatively better facilities in terms of education and employment.
• Post independence Sinhalese nationalism sought to curb the Tamil presence in education and civil administration.
• The constitutional provisions in the 1972 Constitution favoring the Sinhalese language and Buddhist religion, along with their educational policies convinced many Tamils that they had been perceived as a marginal community.
• As a result of open discrimination, in 1976 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was formed to fight for Tamil rights and in 1983 Civil war started.

Indo-Sri Lankan Accord

• 1987
• Political solution to the Sri Lanka’s conflict by establishing a provincial council system and devolution of power for nine provinces in Sri Lanka.

Development in War Affected Areas

• Sri Lanka has requested India to build more houses in the north and east.
• India has so far helped build 46,000 homes in the war-affected areas.
• It has also requested to provide assistance for deep-sea fishing techniques which will help to create employment opportunities to people.

Joint Marine Resources Management Authority

• Sri Lanka has also proposed to set up a Joint Marine Resources Management Authority between two countries.
• Seven members from either side, including bureaucrats, researchers, fishermen’s association representatives.
• Expected to find a lasting solution to the Palk Bay fisheries conflict.
• The Palk Strait is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna District of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.

Debt Trap

• They also discussed countering ‘debt traps’ experienced by Sri Lanka.
• Debt-trap diplomacy refers to the strategy used by China to lure or trap developing or underdeveloped countries like in Africa to borrow money to be used for much-needed infrastructure projects. China claims it to be a simple tactic for financial strategies.

Indian Ocean Region

• Both the countries agreed to provide close cooperation for peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region and even in the IndoPacific region.
• India also reinforced the security of Indian ocean with its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region).

SAGAR

• SAGAR is an articulation of India’s vision for the Indian Ocean.
• SAGAR has elements such as enhancement of capacities to safeguard land and maritime territories & interests; deepening economic and security cooperation in the littoral; action to deal with natural disasters and maritime threats like piracy, terrorism.

Terrorism

• Both countries aimed to strengthen the contacts and cooperation between the counter-terrorism agencies of the two countries.

India – Sri Lanka Relations

• India is Sri Lanka’s closest neighbor.
• The relationship between the two countries is more than 2,500 years old and both sides have built upon a legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic intercourse.
• During the course of the civil war, India supported the right of the Government of Sri Lanka to act against terrorist forces.
• The Indian Housing Project is Government of India’s flagship project of developmental assistance to Sri Lanka.
• Its initial commitment is to build 50,000 houses for those affected by the civil war as well as for the estate workers in the plantation areas.
• India and Sri Lanka conduct joint Military ( ‘Mitra Shakti’) and Naval exercise (SLINEX).
• Recently, the Chennai (India) -Jaffna (Sri Lanka) flight service has resumed after a gap of 41 years.
• The flight operations were suspended during the decades-old civil war in Sri Lanka.

Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF

Sharing is caring!