Indo-Lanka relations

(Bottom Trawling) by M. A. Sumanthiran. The issue of poaching by Indian trawlers in Sri Lankan waters has over the years become an increasingly contentious one, seriously threatening the livelihood of Sri Lanka’s fishing community. Fishers being among the poorest communities in both Sri Lanka and India, it is an issue of national concern to […]

By P.K.Balachandran COLOMBO: Buddhist heritage is emerging as a major plank in Asian diplomacy. South, South East and East Asian countries are using Buddhism and their Buddhist heritage to build bridges with each other, going beyond traditional parameters like geographic proximity and strategic and economic necessity. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first […]

Gauri Bhatia | Special to CNBC. Situated almost in the middle of the Indian Ocean, there is no escaping Sri Lanka’s centrality. The country lies just a few nautical miles away from the super-busy east-west shipping route, through which an estimated 60,000 ships pass every year, carrying two-thirds of the world’s oil and half of […]

Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha (left) said he was “surprised” to come across criticism of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) as it was the latter’s government that negotiated with India an earlier trade agreement. File photo: Special Arrangement Indian High Commissioner Y.K. Sinha (left) said he was “surprised” to come across criticism of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa […]

(A worker looks on at the Colombo Port City construction site, which is backed by Chinese investment, Feb. 2. © Reuters) TOKYO — Sri Lanka has reversed its earlier decision and decided to allow Chinese investment in a port development project near its capital, Colombo. Situated off India’s southern tip, Sri Lanka serves as an […]

(A  protest launched by several professional organizations against the ECTA  in Colombo) The Ceylon Chamber has reaffirmed  its fullest support towards an agreement that widens and deepens our economic engagement with India, while reiterating the need for systematic stakeholder consultations, clear and coherent communications, and firm commitment to tackling issues faced by businesses. The statement issued […]

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that instead of being grateful to India for having given the majority of Sri Lanka “their great religion, Buddhism,” such persons feared India the most. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has criticised “neo-fascists” in Sri Lanka for opposing closer ties with India. Pointing out that there were certain “misguided […]

India is set to build a sea bridge and tunnel connecting Sri Lanka while a pact has been inked with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal for seamless flow of traffic and passenger vehicles, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. “The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to fully finance a bridge-building project […]

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday reiterated his government’s position that it would not sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India but it would enter into a pact on economic and technology collaboration with the neighbour. Expressing his government’s reservations about allowing Indian professionals into Sri Lanka under any new agreement […]

Delhi joins Sri Lanka probe into ‘sexual favours’ for houses;The project is funded by India and implemented through a MoU with Sri Lanka. The Indian High Commission in Colombo and the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS) have launched a joint investigation into a complaint by a war-displaced widow against a Red Cross official for […]

NEW DELHI, September 15: Visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday said his government is looking at devolution of power to the island’s ethnic Tamils under the provisions of the Constitution, an issue India has been pursuing with the island nation. “We are looking at how power-sharing and devolution takes place within the […]

With the government looking at UAE’s commitment on terror as a snub to Pakistan, it had another reason to rub its hands in glee Tuesday as former Sri Lankan leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid to make a comeback in the parliamentary elections fell through. The results have validated the outcome early this year of the presidential […]

General Election 2015: Estimated Results by TK Research & Solution (Pvt) Ltd. First of all, we would like to thank all the respondents who participated both online and offline surveys. Total no of registered voters for presidential election, will be 15,044,490 and it is expected that 66.18% (9,956,443) voters will cast their vote in upcoming […]

New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) India plans to convey to Sri Lanka its concern about the “very provocative” statements emanating from Colombo on the fishermen’s issue, which can “vitiate” the atmosphere for talks on the subject, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference here on the NDA government’s completion of […]

By Kadira Pethiyagoda. The changing fortunes for the two emerging global powers in Sri Lanka offer some interesting lessons. John Kerry’s visit to Sri Lanka, the first by a U.S. Secretary of State in 11 years, recognizes country’s geopolitical importance. It also highlights the outcome of the recent tussle over the island state by two […]

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake today charged that President Maithripala Sirisena was behind the statements made by Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka and MPs Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and Nimal Siripala de Silva against the 19th Amendment. “The silence of President Sirisena reflects that he is behind the attempts against the 19th Amendment. […]

The ruling Bharathiya Janatha Party ( BJP) and the Congress Party in India were shocked by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement to the Indian media that Sri Lanka would shoot Indian fishermen who poached into Sri Lankan waters. Ranil portrayed himself as a close friend of India in recent times and campaigned in favour of […]

By Indo Asian News Service – New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) India on Monday criticised Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for justifying the firing on fishermen from India and sought a “permanent solution” to the dragging row. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told parliament that she was in Colombo when Wickremesinghe made the controversial […]

(PTI) India today took up with Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe the “humanitarian” issue of fishermen’s rights as controversy raged over his remarks that Indian fishermen may be shot if they intruded into Sri Lankan waters. On a two-day trip ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit here next week, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also […]

[Sit back to setback: Mahinda Rajapaksa ruled Sri Lanka for a decade; he now faces allegations of corruption and attempted coup. AP Photo] By Frances Bulathsinghala/Colombo – Though defeated in the presidential poll, Mahinda Rajapaksa can still become the prime minister Sit back to setback: Mahinda Rajapaksa ruled Sri Lanka for a decade; he now […]

[Sri Lanka FM visits India: Image Credit: Narendra Modi via Flickr.com] India may be celebrating the election result in Sri Lanka, but China is in the region for the long haul. By Kabir Taneja- On January 18, a Reuters reported claimed that Sri Lanka’s now former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had expelled the station chief of […]

[Mangala Samaraweera] by S. Enkat Narayan– NEW DELHI, January 20: Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs Mangala Samaraweera has outlined a series of steps President Maithripala Sirisena’s Government will undertake to achieve national reconciliation in the civil war-ravaged island-nation. Talking to a select group of journalists here on Monday, he said the new government will […]

[ Fisherman’s issue one of the main issues] Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a meeting in Delhi on January 18, 2015 Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera met his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj in Delhi on Sunday Papers back India and Sri Lanka’s renewed bid to resolve […]

While seeking to extend the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government told a tribunal that the banned outfit nurtures an idea of “greater Tamil Nadu, which includes the state of Tamil Nadu, part of Kerala, part of Karnataka, part of Andhra Pradesh and northeastern provinces […]

[ The fishermen — P Emerson, 40, P Agustus, 32, R Wilson, 42, K Prasad, 30, and J Langlet, 22 — were arrested on November 28, 2011 on charges of smuggling heroin from India.] A member of the international advisory panel of experts, appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to probe alleged war crimes committed by […]

[LTTE female fighters, File photo] India and the issue of independent Tamil Eelam: Q & A with Col. R. Hariharan- Q: It is well known that the official position of the government of India never advocated for the separation of Sri Lanka with Tamil Eelam but operations in the 80’s were conducted via the External […]

By R. Sampanthan. MP– Sir, non-alignment has been the cornerstone of our Foreign Policy. It may be that there were times when we deviated from this policy, but that has been rare and has had its own consequences. Generally, we have been steadfast in our adherence to the policy of non-alignment. We have maintained an […]

Honourable Chairman, distinguished guests, my dear Bharathian brothers and sisters! We are gathered here today to remember one of India’s greatest human rights’ leaders and jurist – the late Mr.K.G.Kannabiran. He was the President of your People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) from the year 1994 to 2008. ……….. All too often human rights’ advocates […]

[Protests in Tamil Nadu against the death  sentence ] Editorial- The death sentence imposed on five Indian fishermen by a Sri Lankan court for drug trafficking has added an unfortunate dimension to relations between the two countries. The issue has roiled Tamil Nadu, where it is being seen as one more atrocity by Sri Lanka […]

By Neelam Deo and Karan Pradhan- ”India has tried to address the concerns of Sri Lankan Tamils through projects such as the recently-inaugurated railway between Jaffna and Colombo. But their aspirations for autonomy in the North and East remain unfulfilled, and New Delhi faces a dilemma—pushing Colombo on political issues can drive it closer to […]