INDIA BILATERAL RELATIONS Simran Chandok1

INTRODUCTION

Sri Lanka is an important neighbor for . Maintaining healthy relations with Sri Lanka has been a matter of great priority to India. From sharing the narrow to supporting the government in its military interventions in the North and East of Sri Lanka during the latter stages of the ; India and Sri Lanka have shared a long standing relationship. Geographically, India is Sri Lanka’s closest neighbor. Separated only by the Palk Strait, the distance between the 2 landmasses is as little as 12 nautical miles in some places. If it were not for the narrow stretch of water separating India and Sri Lanka, they would have been one nation. However this tiny stretch of water has resulted in the creation of 2 distinct, developing nations whose importance is increasing in the current global scenario. Historically, the link between India and Sri Lanka is as old as the Ramayana. In the epic written by Sage Valmiki in the 11th Century BC, Ram and his Vanara Army constructed the Ramasetu- a bridge made of limestone shoals- extending from the Pambam Island (near Rameshwaram) in India till the Mannar Island off the coast of Sri Lanka in order to save his wife, Sita, from the Rakshasee King, Ravana. Even though this was regarded as just a story, the Ramasetu is actually in existence. It is popularly known as the Adam’s Bridge. Just as in the story, the bridge extends between the Pambam Island and Mannar Island and divides the Palk Strait from the . Though, now partially submerged, it has been evidenced that the Adam’s Bridge was afloat until 1480 when a cyclone hit, causing it to get submerged. Thus, there is a real possibility that the Ramayana was actually based on a true incident. This would mean that India and Sri Lanka have been connected to one another- geographically and historically- for more than 1100 years now.

1 2nd Year BBA LLB Student, Symbiosis Law School, Pune

INDIA-SRI LANKA BILATERAL RELATIONS (1947-1983)

India gained independence from the British Rule in 1947 while Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. After gaining its independence, the primarily Sinhalese population of Sri Lanka was very unhappy with the favoritism attitude adopted by the British towards the Tamils. This policy of favoritism towards one ethnic background was in keeping with the famous “divide and rule policy” used by the British in India to divide the Muslims and Hindus. There was immense pent up aggression against the Tamils, and thus, when the Sinhalese Government was formed, there was blatant discrimination against them. There were various restrictive practices enforced against the Tamils, seriously hampering their rights as the citizens of the country. The Sinhalese Government adopted various policies like the Sinhalese Only Act, 19562 that openly disregarded the Tamils living in Sri Lanka. After much protest, the Government introduced the (Special Provisions) Act, 19583. However this was an inadequate legislation- meant only to appease the population and not to bring about any real legislative effect. Tired of this discrimination, the Tamils living in the Eastern and Northern - especially in the Jaffna Peninsula- started creating militant outfits to spread fear among the Sinhalese population. These outfits demanded for an independent Tamil State, free from the rule of the Central Government, where Tamil would be the official language and the Government would be elected from amongst the people of that State. The state Government and population of the time were exceptionally sympathetic towards the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and publicly supported them. Owing to sour relations between the then Indian Prime Minister, and the then Sri Lankan President, J.R. Jayawardhane, the Indian Central Government also supported these militant groups. In fact, in mid 1983, Indira Gandhi ordered RAW4 to fund, arm and train several militant groups of which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealem (LTTE), spearheaded by Prabhakaran, emerged to be the strongest. The bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka were constantly strained until there was a complete breakdown in 1983.

2 The Sinhalese Only Act, 1956 declared Sinhalese as the only national language of Sri Lanka completely disregarding Tamil and Tamilians living in Sri Lanka. 3 The Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act, 1958, declared Tamil the official language for administrative purposes. In addition to this, it also declared Tamil as the medium of instruction in Secondary and Higher Secondary education. 4 RAW- Research & Analysis Wing of India: RAW is the Indian Intelligence Agency established in 1968 after the Sino-India War, 1962 under the guidance of Rameshwar Nath Kao.

In 1983, the Sri Lankan forces killed 3000 Tamils in the Jaffna Peninsula as a reaction to some of the Tamil separatist groups killing 13 Sinhalese soldiers. This incident sent the separatists over the edge and drove them to declare war against the Central Government.

INDIA-SRI LANKA BILATERAL RELATIONS 1983-1991 (THE CIVIL WAR YEARS)

Shocked at the cruelty of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in killing 3000 Tamils, the Indian Government chose to let the Civil War pan out and not intervene. There was immense support from Tamil Nadu to help the Tamil militants, however, India did not want to interfere or influence the Sri Lankan Civil War publicly as it would be a gross violation of various provisions of the UN Charter- an organisation India and Sri Lanka are members of. All the support provided by the Indian Government to the militants was done secretly- away from the public eye. On the face of it, India remained uninvolved. Finally in 1987, the Sri Lankan Armed Forces launched a complete offensive in the Jaffna Peninsula. They blocked the entire peninsula cutting off basic supplies of food, portable water and medical facilities to the Tamil militants and the civil population in the beginning of January, 1987. Following this, a military attack was launched against North and East Sri Lanka killing approximately 200 Tamil Civilians. For weeks the blockade persisted with no access to basic amenities. Speared on by the Tamilians of Tamil Nadu and all across the country- the Indian Government decided to take its first public step to support the Tamil militants by sending 1000 tons of food supplies in boats to the Jaffna Peninsula. It was communicated to the Sinhalese Government that this move was based on “humanitarian grounds” and not a show of support by the Indian Government. However the Sri Lankan Navy did not allow the Indian Navy boats to enter Sri Lankan territory. The sending back of the boats was considered a victory by the Sinhalese and they welcomed the Navy as heroes after this incident.

The Indian Government could not take this insult silently and launched Operation Poomalai- the Jaffna Food Air Drop- the first offensive by the Indian Government against the Sri Lankan Government. The mission was that a 32 Transport Aircraft escorted by 5 Air Force planes would fly over the Jaffna Peninsula and other blocked territories and air drop 1000 tons of food and necessary supplies. Operation Poomalai was important in 2 aspects- firstly, it provided relief to the civilians and militants alike and secondly, it marked the active involvement of India in the Sri Lankan Civil War.

INDO SRI LANKAN ACCORD

After Operation Poomalai, Sri Lanka was apprehended by the fact that the Indian Government had actively entered the War. Worried of its incapability to face the full force of the Indian Military, Sri Lanka sought India’s assistance to end the war. The Sinhalese Government agreed to compromise thus resulting in the creation of the Indo Sri Lankan Accord, 1987. The Indo Sri Lankan Accord is popularly known as the Rajiv-Jayawardhane Accord- after its 2 architects- the then Indian Prime Minister- Rajiv Gandhi and the then Sri Lankan President- J.R. Jayawardhane. It was signed on 29th July, 1987 and is one of the most important agreements signed by the 2 countries. The Accord stated that the Colombo Government would undertake devolution of power in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan troupe would withdraw from these areas and Tamil would be introduced in the Sri Lankan Constitution as one of the official languages of the country. The Accord further stated that India would send its military troupes- the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to whom the Tamil separatists would surrender their weapons. This Accord was looked upon as an opportunity to end the Civil War with Indian assistance. However, since the LTTE leader- Prabhakaran was not involved in these discussions, he refused to support the Accord. Operation Pawan, the codename for the IPKF mission in Sri Lanka was to be a peaceful one. The IPKF was supposed to act in an intermediary capacity. The military contingent was not under orders to fight or attack. They were only supposed to confiscate arms and ammunitions from the Tamil Separatists such as the LTTE and enable peace talks between the Separatists and the Sri Lankan Government. However, Prabhakaran and the other Separatists leaders pledged non co-operation and launched attacks on the IPKF. The IPKF were sent into the forests of Jaffna with old and incorrect maps, while the Tamil Separatists could navigate the forests even in the dark. This resulted in a complete breakdown of machinery for the IPKF. 1200 Indian soldiers were ruthlessly murdered by the Separatists. Eventually, the IPKF turned violent and became embroiled in a full-on offensive with the Separatists. The Sri Lankan Government supported the Separatists rather than critiquing these attacks and did not extend any help to the IPKF. This seriously damaged Indo Sri Lankan relations. There was a massive loss of support for the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka across India. The fact that India lost its worthy soldiers to Tamil Separatists in Sri Lanka during the Sri Lankan Civil War did not seem acceptable to Indians- citizens and government, alike. India abandoned the Indo- Sri Lankan Accord and the IPKF

troupes retreated from Sri Lanka by March, 1990. India, fresh from the backstabbing by the Sri Lankan Government, decided to remain uninvolved. However the killings of Tamils by the IPKF in Sri Lanka angered the Separatists and revenge was taken in the form of the assassination of the then Indian Prime Minister- Rajiv Gandhi by a LTTE suicide bomber in 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was a loved Prime Minister. His assassination shook India to its very core. The Indian support for the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka reached an all-time low. Relations between India and Sri Lanka remained strained due to the IPKF incident.

INDIA SRI LANKA BILATERAL RELATIONS 1991-2009 (THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR)

After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, India maintained a policy of complete non- interference with respect to the Civil War waging on between the Tamil Separatists such as the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government in Sri Lanka. Reports about inhuman treatment shown by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces towards the Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces made headlines all over the world. Cases of sexual assault and cruelty were rampant. However the ruling party of the time- the Congress Party spearheaded by Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s widow, remained silent. Over the years, the relations between India and Sri Lanka had improved tremendously with India becoming Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner and one of the 5 largest investors in the Sri Lankan economy. Apart from this, ever since the election of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President of Sri Lanka in 2005, the China-Sri Lanka (Sino-Sri Lanka) relations had greatly improved. This proximity between China and Sri Lanka was a threat to Indo-Sri Lankan ties. China unconditionally supported Sri Lanka in its stand against the Tamil Separatist during the Civil War. India feared that if it did not support Sri Lanka, then China would have an upper hand over them with respect to relations with Sri Lanka. Thus, fear of becoming less important to Sri Lanka than China caused India to support Sri Lanka in the final offensive launched by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces on the Tamil Separatists in 2009. Also the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE suicide bomber was looked upon as a dastardly act and had almost abolished Indian support to the Tamil cause in Sri Lanka. The final showdown between the Tamil Separatists and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in March, 2009 was gruesome. While official records show that 9000 people had lost their lives, the actual estimate has been put around 40,000. Despite the Indira Gandhi government supporting armed rebellion of the Tamil Separatists, the Sri Lankans withdrawing their

support to the IPKF mid-mission and the death of the heads of both the countries- the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President, Ranasinghe Premadasa by LTTE suicide bombers, the countries managed to emerge with a positive bilateral relationship. Today, both the countries have buried the terrible memories of the Civil War that took the lives of thousands of civilians, militants, armed forces and 2 Heads of State, and are trying to create a better future for themselves with each other’s co-operation.

1974 INDO-SRI LANKAN MARITIME BOUNDARY AGREEMENT

A long standing issue that has been seriously threatening the Indo-Sri Lankan ties is the subject matter of the 1974 Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Boundary Agreement. 2 problems have arisen due to this agreement – the matter of sovereignty over the Katchatheevu Island in the Palk Strait and the ill treatment of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. As part of the 1974 Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Boundary Agreement between India and Sri Lanka signed by the then Indian Prime Minister- Indira Gandhi and her Sri Lankan counterpart- J.R. Jayawardhane, the countries demarcated territories on the water bodies separating India and Sri Lanka in order to ensure that there is no confusion with respect to fishing and other commercial and industrial activities of both countries. Ordinarily, such demarcations are made on the basis of the principle of Equi-Distant demarcation. However, the demarcations made by the 1974 agreement are not in accordance to this principle. In fact, the International Maritime Boundary Line separating Indian and Sri Lankan territory has been created in such a way that the Katchatheevu Island (situated at a distance of 11 nautical miles North East from Rameshwaram and 18 nautical miles North West from Sri Lanka’s Mannar Island) falls within Sri Lankan territory. If the demarcation was done as per the equi-distant theory, then the Katchatheevu Island would be to the east of the International Maritime Boundary line- within Indian Territory. The problem is that the Katchatheevu Island has been used by Indian fishermen since time immemorial. Since Katchatheevu has been given to Sri Lanka, although unconstitutionally (No part of the Indian Territory can be ceded to another country without ratifying the Constitution and this ratification with respect to Katchatheevu Island has never happened.), Indian fishermen no longer have access to it. Indian fishermen have been protesting stating that Katchatheevu is Indian Territory and must be taken back from Sri Lanka. However, the Indian Central Government has accepted Sri Lankan sovereignty over this island.

“KatchatheevuIsland belongs to Sri Lanka” “What had been given is given” “The agreement is solemn” “It cannot be abrogated” “It is not possible to provide security to the fishermen who transcend the borders” “Sri Lanka is our friendly Nation”5 The government has negated the fact that the constitutional ratification required to enforce the 1974 agreement never happened. In 2009, Sri Lanka declared the Katchatheevu Island as sacred property owing to the presence of a Christian Shrine built by the Sri Lankans, strengthening their sovereignty over the island. The fact of the matter is that India does not want to jeopardize its relations with Sri Lanka, especially at a time when Sino-Sri Lankan relations have been blooming. Letting go of Katchatheevu Island in furtherance of preserving cordial relations with Sri Lanka is simply collateral damage for the country. The second problem arising from the 1974 agreement is the ill-treatment of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. After the 1974 agreement, Indian Fishermen were forbidden from entering east of the Boundary Line. Any Indian fisherman who crossed the boundary was either shot, captured or killed by the Sri Lankan Navy. Even if the trespassing happened mistakenly, the punishment for the Indian fishermen was still the same. Since 1974, 503 Indian fishermen have been killed while 1000 have been permanently disabled. Over 1000 fishermen have been captured by the Sri Lankan Navy in the past 31 years. Sri Lankan fishermen have also crossed the boundary and entered into the Indian Territory from time to time, but, they have never been ill-treated by the Indian Navy. They have been apprehended by the Indian Navy and been handed over to the local police for prosecution. The cruel treatment meted out to Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankans has been a matter of great concern for the Government. The Sri Lankan perspective on the dispute is three-fold-:  The depletion of Indian fisheries is forcing Indian fishermen to cross over to Sri Lankan Territory. This is adversely affecting the business of Sri Lankan fishermen.  The bottom trawlers being used by Indian fishermen for fishing when they cross over to Sri Lankan Territory has been seriously damaging the fisheries, further harming the Sri Lankan fishermen.

5 Excerpt from available at http://katchatheevu.com/the-1974-1976-traitorous-agreements/ Words spoken by

 Sri Lanka wants to avoid another war like situation and is thus being over cautious in the monitoring of who enters Sri Lankan Territory. While recognizing their concerns, Indian Government is seeking for “reciprocal treatment” to the fishermen. Many talks between the Fishermen Associations of both countries has emphasized the need for a “solution from the below” wherein the fishermen come up with a solution without involving the Central Government and then communicate the decision to the Various authorities for implementation. Most recently, in March 2015, Sri Lanka released 116 India fishermen and has promised to release 466 more. While there is some improvement, there is still a long way to go before the fishermen dispute between India and Sri Lanka can be considered resolved.

SINO-SRI LANKAN BILATERAL RELATION (AN OVERVIEW)

One major threat to Indo- Sri Lankan relations is Sino – Sri Lankan bilateral relations. Sri Lankan and Chinese relations have dated back to the time when the Republic of People of China was first established. Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to accept its existence. In addition to this, the countries signed the “rubber-rice agreement” whereby Sri Lanka supplied rubber to Chinese states while China supplied good quality rice at cheap prices to Sri Lanka. Since then relations between the 2 countries have been favorable. China supported Sri Lanka unconditionally during the latter years of the Sri Lankan Civil War. In 2005, when Rajapaksa came to power as the President of Sri Lanka, he emphasized on forming closer ties with China. From 2005 onwards, China has become the largest investor in Sri Lanka. They have already invested US $361 million in the construction of a deep sea port off the coast of Sri Lanka, US $1.4 billion in the construction of a port city on reclaimed land off the coast of Colombo and US $455 million on the establishment of a coal power plant. In addition to this, the Chinese have also invested in the development of roads, highways and theatres. In 2014, the Chinese even docked their submarine and a warship off the coast of Colombo. This was a matter of great concern for India. They viewed this move as a furtherance of the Maritime Silk Route Project of the Chinese that would allow them to control the sea routes of ships coming from counties China trades with. This project was highly supported by Rajapaksa. If the Chinese and Sri Lankans entered into defense and security related

S.M. Krishna in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in 2010.

agreements, then it would adversely affect the Indo-Sri Lankan close ties. The Chinese would get more strategic control over the through Sri Lanka. This would allow them to control the sea routes of ships brining oil to China. The Indo-Sri Lankan ties were severely fraying due to Chinese intervention. However, the newly elected President of Sri Lanka- Maithripala Sirisena has promised to counter balance Sino- Sri Lankan ties. He cannot eliminate the ties altogether owing to the large sums of money invested by the Chinese in Sri Lanka but he can balance them. Making his first visit as the President of Sri Lanka to India was a positive step towards re-enforcing Indo-Sri Lankan relations on Sirisena’s part. The fact the Sri Lanka signed its first ever nuclear energy deal with India as opposed to China is also another positive sign. Even though there hasn’t been a very blatant turn-around in the relations between China and Sri Lanka as promised by Sirisena, the current situation is a definite improvement to the past. In addition, Sirisena has promised India to not enter into any defense or security related agreements with China or any country except India. According to S.I. Keethaponcalan, a Sri Lankan academic teacher at Salisbury University, United Sates- China is a more valuable partner to Sri Lanka than India because of the sheer volume of investments made by China to develop the economy of the country. However, what can be expected is balance. While Sri Lanka can avoid defense and other security related deals with China, they can confine them primarily to the economic sector. Thus, even though the Chinese are a threat to Indo-Sri Lankan bilateral relations, they have been unsuccessful in severely damaging them. Indo-Sri Lankan relations still remain strong.

INDO-SRI LANKAN TRADE & COMMERCE

In the current global scenario, it is practically impossible for a country to be 100% self- sufficient. With the growing demands of people, it is inconceivable for a country to survive without depending upon another country. This growing interdependence of nations on one another for commercial goods, minerals, industrial goods, textiles, food grains, etc has connected the world in a trade network. While exports have become one of the primary sources of income for the government and imports an imperative expenditure, the balance sheet of any country is incomplete without the mention of the trade undertaken. India and Sri Lanka have also been very closely connected because of the trade undertaken by them. India is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner while Sri Lanka is India’s 2nd largest trading partner among SAARC nations. India and Sri Lanka signed the Indo-Sri Lankan Free

Trade Agreement in 2000- the first bilateral free trade agreement signed by India. Since then the value of bilateral trade has increased from US $658 million in 2000 to US $3.6 billion in 2013.6 Sri Lanka absorbs 20% of India’s total exports while India accounts for 6% of Sri Lanka’s total exports. Apart from this, Indian tourists account for 27% of the total revenues earned by Sri Lanka through tourism. In addition to commercial trade, India has heavily invested in the Sri Lankan economy. Since 2003, India has invested US $1 billion and will invest another US $2 billion by 2020. India is in the top 5 investors in the Sri Lankan economy. Earlier this year, when the newly elected Sri Lankan President- Maithripala Sirisena visited India, 4 agreements were signed between the 2 countries. While the fist 3 deals dealt with culture, education and agriculture, the 4th dealt with the “Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy”. This Agreement between India and Sri Lanka on Co-operation in the peaceful use of Nuclear Energy aimed at “exchange of knowledge & expertise, sharing of resources, capacity building & training of personnel in peaceful uses of nuclear energy.” This deal is the first nuclear energy deal signed by Sri Lanka. Apart from helping in the development of infrastructure required for generation of nuclear energy, India will also sell small scale nuclear reactors so that Sri Lanka can generate 600 MW of nuclear energy by 2030. Thus trade and commercial relations between India and Sri Lanka are flourishing as of now and have a promising future as well.

6Except from available at http://www.mumbai.mission.gov.lk/index.php/trade/indo-lanka-trade-relations

CONCLUSION

“It has been China’s dream for a century to become the world’s leading nation,” wrote Liu Mingfu, in his 2010 book The China Dream7 China is a country with deep pockets and a blazing ambition to become the leading nation in the world. It has been establishing its stronghold in various developing nations by investing huge sums of money in their economy, and in return taking control over some part of their land. With China’s immense manufacturing capacity, it undertakes enormous trade with developing nations making their economy dependant on China and then manipulates economic policies of those countries for their own benefit. In Nigeria, bilateral trade between the 2 countries has been valued at US $ 26.4 billion8 as in June, 2015. China is Nigeria’s largest trading partner. Nigeria cannot afford to lose the Chinese support and thus has to introduce economic policies conducive to the Chinese cause in Nigeria. Similarly, investing huge sums of money in the Sri Lankan economy is not being done without an ulterior motive. China knows that Sri Lanka has a strategic hold over the Indian Ocean and China wants this hold to control the sea routes of ships bringing oil and other goods to China. There is always a fear of a hostile takeover by China once its aim has been fulfilled. On the other hand, India has been a peaceful country since the Bangladesh War, 1971. It has never attempted to take over any country. Maintaining good relations with India will not only help the economy of Sri Lanka in terms of trade and infrastructural investment but also preserve the “independent status” of Sri Lanka which may be at risk with China. Apart from aspects where there is already co-operation between India and Sri Lanka, listed below are some more areas where co-operation between India and Sri Lanka would benefit both countries:

Education: While certain programs like the “Memorandum for Understanding between Sri Lanka and India on the Establishment of Nalanda University” signed in February, 2015 have been signed in order to encourage sharing of knowledge between the top institutes of these countries, its implementation is seriously lacking. The proximity between these 2 nations

7 The Atlantic, 4th June, 2015, Liu Mingfu available at http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/06/china-dream-liu-mingfu-power/394748/ (Last accessed on 25/04/2016) 8 Available at http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-china-trade-volume-rises-to-23-5bn/210947/ (Last accesses on 24/04/2016)

must be exploited to set up cross border education programs for students wanting to pursue professional courses. Such programs will give the people of both countries to interact with one another in a moderated, positive environment meant for growth. The sharing of ideas and perspectives will help both countries immensely. Conferences where teachers from both countries discuss methods of teaching and train the other in certain effective techniques should be instituted.

Unani & Ayurvedic Medicines: India and Sri Lanka are stalwarts in the study of ayurvedic and Unani medicine. Sharing the knowledge with one another will help in quicker advancement in this field. Maybe some questions raised by the Indians have already been answered by the Sri Lankan doctor and vies-a-versa. Thus the Ayurvedic and Unani Medical Associations of both countries should encourage joint training and discussions to gain and impart knowledge thereby helping in the development of medicine and quality health care.

Space Missions: India has an impressive set up for space research. However Sri Lanka is still lagging in this field. If India and Sri Lanka work together on space research, India can help Sri Lanka develop the required infrastructure and expertise required while Sri Lanka may give some fresh perspective to the India scientists that may help them with their space missions and research. India and Sri Lanka are both, developing nations. They are members of organisations like the United Nations and SAARC which indicates their importance in the global scenario. While there are several threats to Indo-Sri Lankan ties, it is necessary to recognize that the countries have always managed to emerge stronger than before through everything. The relation between India and Sri Lanka is similar to that of brothers- we may fight and argue, but when the situation is dire, we will always end up on the same side.