Sri Lanka

It was almost certain that the United National Front for Good Governance coalition would outperform the United People’s Freedom Alliance in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.

• Gulbin Sultana , Ashok K. Behuria
• September 04, 2015
• Issue Brief

For the people of Sri Lanka the choice is clear – between de-democratisation represented by Rajapakse and his supporters, and democratisation represented by Sirisena and his political allies.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• July 28, 2015
• Issue Brief

The concept of a ‘primordial homeland’ has been at the centre of Sri Lanka’s armed struggle, in which both Sinhalese and Tamil nationalisms have used claims of ancient and ethnically determined territories to justify their right to self-determination, territorial sovereignty and armed struggle.

• Thiruni Kelegama
• May 2015
• Strategic Analysis

After a successful visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Colombo in March, Indian policy elite are hopeful that the new Sri Lankan government will roll-back some of the geopolitical concessions made by the Rajapaksa regime to Beijing, thereby restoring India’s primacy in its near neighbourhood. India’s policy elite are hopeful that Maithripala Sirisena, the new president, will roll back some of the geopolitical concessions made by his predecessor to Beijing, thereby restoring Indian primacy in its near neighbourhood.

• Abhijit Singh
• May 2015
• Strategic Analysis

Prime Minister Modi’s visit is likely to improve the atmospherics to a significant extent, introduce a positive vibe into the process of engagement and serve as a stepping stone for deepening the relationship further.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• March 12, 2015
• IDSA Comments

During the Rajapaksa years, Sri Lanka experienced jobless growth, similar to the experience of many African countries where Chinese investment had increased exponentially in the last decade.

• Avinash Godbole
• January 12, 2015
• IDSA Comments

Sirisena will be expected to restore both the institutional checks and balances which saw an erosion as a result of the 18th Amendment to the constitution and the faith of minorities in the pluralistic character of Sri Lankan society.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik , Rumel Dahiya
• January 12, 2015
• IDSA Comments

It will be in India`s interest to adopt a neutral posture vis-à-vis the contestants in the January 2015 Sri Lankan Presidential elections.

• Gautam Sen
• December 15, 2014
• IDSA Comments

If the Sinhala opposition parties, the Tamil TNA, and the Muslim parties support the common candidate, there is a possibility that they may be able to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. But will these political forces come together?

• Gulbin Sultana
• December 01, 2014
• IDSA Comments

India has stepped up its efforts to cooperate on security issues in general and on maritime security in particular with its island neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). At the core of this lies the initiative to build a trilateral maritime arrangement with Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It is in this larger context that the second National Security Advisors’ (NSAs) meeting took place in Colombo in July 2013.

• P. K. Ghosh
• May 2014
• Strategic Analysis