Sri Lanka: The Pearl Of Indian Ocean

Needless to say, owing to the decades-long civil war and political instability, the Sri Lankan economy is in a very bad state.

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Just a few kilometres away from the southern tip of India lies this beautiful Island, called Sri Lanka. It is close to India for many reasons. The southern part of India even shares a strong social and cultural connection with this Island.

The Island nation recently witnessed a regime change. Putting a sudden end to political uncertainty, the Rajapaksa family re-entered the corridor of power. Solider-turned politician Gotabaya Rajapaksa sworn in as the President of the Island, and his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa inducted as the Prime Minister.

The newly elected Sri Lankan President was quick to reach up to India. He selected the world’s largest democracy as his first official trip destination.

The preliminary signs indicate that what is about to come is the glorious period of the India-Sri Lanka relation.

Sri Lanka has a bitter past – the past of a brutal civil war. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives during the civil war and several people are still missing. Though the war officially ended with the fall of the LTTE in the year 2009, the wound it inflicted has not yet been healed.

The Island country is yet to fulfill many assurances it has made to the global community – including the assurance of bringing the war-devastated northern region back to its glorious past – at least, to normal. Though the induction of a war hero as the top leader of the country is like advising the affected population to ditch their hope that the country will serve justice to them someday, the President’s promise that he will be the President of all Sri Lankans strengths the hope of the affected.

Anyway, only the future can tell whether the President will act more than his lip service or not.