The crisis in Sri Lanka.

Indian foreign minister Jaishankar landed in Sri Lanka on last Sunday on his two days official visit to the island nation. There he was scheduled to hold bilateral talks specifically focusing ways to eke out Sri Lanka from the ongoing economic crisis. Sri Lanka is not a newbie to crises. Its history is fully covered with dark chapters of turbulence.

Earlier a British colony, the island country got its independence in 1948 after a long struggle of 133 years. Since independence, several countries have set on their eyes upon Sri Lanka, primarily to establish their military base provided its strategic location. The island nation completely lies in Indian Ocean, divided from the Indian subcontinent by Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar. 

Formerly known as Ceylon, the country witnessed a civil war stretching from 1983 to 2009 which undid most of the hard earned economic development till date. The unrest following the prolonged civil war, threw the country into tatters. The country had barely overcome of the disaster and was once again trying to recover the lost ground, then a bombing took place in 2019 on Easter, known as Easter bombing.

The Easter bombing of 2019 not only claimed 269 lives besides injuring more than 500 innocent people but also derailed the recovering economy, completely disrupting the tourism sector the bedrock of Sri Lankan economy. Since 2019, the country has not experienced a spurt in the tourism sector till date.

The current crisis which has engulfed the entire country is predominantly associated to economy. The foreign reserve at $2 billion has seen a record low further pushing the country towards the door of IMF and World Bank. IMF has bailed out Sri Lanka a record 16 times out of its economic crisis by providing it with monetary assistance.

In this background the visit of Indian foreign minister to Sri Lanka following the visit of Sri Lankan PM to India, weaves a fully different narrative. In the past Sri Lanka had been following a Chinese centric policy where India had very less chances whatsoever to woo the nation island in its favor.

The high level visits in the recent days have handed out a golden opportunity not-to-be-missed-sort-of to India to bring Sri Lanka in its interest. Financial experts have claimed this economic crisis as the ‘worst in the country’s history’. The current turbulence has forced the Sri Lankan government to impose emergency all across the nation, a step which would only worsen the dilapidated economy.

People are hitting the street seeking employment and for a decent standard of life. The neighboring countries such as China, India and Bangladesh have done their part by ferrying humanitarian aids to the island country. Sri Lanka has fallen short on diesel too, following which the government has to announce a 13 hours per day blackout all across the country attracting more demonstrations and strikes.

The share markets are being operated only for two and half-an-hour hours against regular four and half-an-hour hours. The current crisis would have a long term impact on India as well given its close territorial proximity with Sri Lanka. The southern states of India particularly Tamil Nadu may see a huge influx of Sri Lankans in the upcoming days due to the ongoing crisis.  

It’s the time that all the neighboring countries who are just observing the developments until now join hands together to bail out the island nation out of this unprecedented ruination.