India seeks to win public trust in crisis-hit Sri Lanka

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks to its location in the Indian ocean, India and China have vied for trade and diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.

The recent economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka seems to have given India's foreign policy a fresh lease of life.

Since independence from Britain in 1948, the economy of Sri Lanka has been in a state of crisis. The country has been hit by protests as people are angry over high prices and shortages of food and fuel.

The prime minister resigned last week after his supporters clashed with peaceful protesters, sparking a deadly night of violence.

The country's economic problems would get worse before they get better, said Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as PM.

He asked for help from India.

India has never been a major lender to Sri Lanka, unlike China which owned 10% of the country's foreign debt stock by the end of 2019.

In early 2021, with the economic crisis looming, the Sri Lankan government obtained a currency swap facility from China to address its foreign exchange shortage.

India is slowly becoming one of the biggest providers of aid to Sri Lanka.

In foreign debt, the city has racked up over 50 billion dollars. This year it will have to pay $7 billion to service these debts, with similar amounts for years to come.

Emergency loans of $3 billion are needed to pay for essential imports.

The World Bank has agreed to lend $600m, but India may lend an additional 1.5 billion for imports.

More fuel shipments are expected later in May, as Delhi has sent more than 600,000 tonnes of fuel. More medical supplies will be sent.

The Trincomalee oil tank farm has been granted access to the Indian Oil Corporation.

India wants to build a power plant near Trincomalee.

There were mixed feelings over Indian help.

Many in Sri Lanka feel that India's growing presence in the island could mean a loss of sovereignty.

For the past year and a half, there has been a crisis in Sri Lanka and we believe India has used it to serve its own interests. They gave some credit, but they are not friends. Pabuda Jayagoda of the Frontline Socialist Party said there was a hidden political agenda.

Image source, Nitin Srivastava

Some people are more accepting of Indian help.

India is giving us credit in times of crisis and we should not blame them for our troubles. onion prices have tripled because of the failure of the Sri Lankan government.

The suspicion over India's intentions comes against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's ties to China.

After the election of the new president in 2005, it was thought that Sri Lanka would prefer a more reliable partner than China.

More and more infrastructure projects were awarded to China.

The first visit by a Chinese President to a foreign country was a clear signal to Delhi.

The white elephant that bled Sri Sri's economy is called Hambantota. Several expensive projects that led to Sri Lanka becoming a huge debt-cycle are also included.

Many anti-government protesters believe that the push to fast led to the current situation in Sri Lanka.

Talks are being held on restructuring the country's debt.

While China had earlier agreed to bolster Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves by exchanging the rupee for the yuan, it has since objected to the country approaching the International Monetary Fund for help.

Noora Noor and her family have been camping at Galle Face, demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa step down.

All Chinese money was never accounted for. Why did my country have to default on payments? Now all supplies are coming from India, so my question is who should we trust?

Some people feel that diplomacy will help.

Image source, Getty Images

Is Sri Lanka being placed on a collision course with China? We need to avoid such a situation due to other negative situations. Austin Fernando, the former high commissioner to India, wrote in The Island newspaper that balancing relationships is a must.

India has tried to match the Chinese power in its neighbourhood.

Modi claimed to be the "best of friends" while addressing the Sri Lankan parliament after he visited the island in the next year.

When he was in office, Ranatunga recalls India being generous.

I was handling both the petroleum and port ministries in 2015, and we were struggling to build the Jaffna airport for lack of funds. I went to Delhi to get help. PM Modi's government converted a loan into a grant. What do you want from your neighbour?

New agreements over oil and food commodities were signed hastily after the return of the Rajapaksas to power in 2019.

State visits to India and Sri Lanka did not get much response from China.

The Tamil minorities in SriLanka have a demand for rights that has been at the forefront of the diplomatic negotiations with India.

India supported the Sri Lankan government after the civil war ended.

The 1987 India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord promised to give powers to all provinces, including where the Tamils were in a majority.

The economic crisis has overtaken any other political concerns between the two nations.

There has been a shift in public perception in Sri Lanka, which was seen as anti-India and pro-China, thanks to consistent supplies from India.

India lost to China about 15 years ago, but is trying hard to make a comeback, according to a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka look to India to fight for equal rights, whereas the majority still has a mixed perception of India. The last few weeks have changed this completely.