In search of normalcy: The reconstruction of north.

India played a crucial role in reconstruction of north of Sri Lanka through foreign monetary aids.

After the war victory, the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksha visited India in June 2009. During bilateral talks between two premiers, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made an announcement that India would support to reconstruct the war affected areas and rehabilitate programmes.

India concerned to assist the GOSL in her post war reconstruction rehabilitation process in several ways. India involved to assist the internally displaced persons in North and East providing financial assistance for several projects in the war affected areas. At the beginning, India government provided emergency supplies of medicine, temporary housing and cement and undertaken demining programmes in war zones with an investment of $ 110 million.

Later, India further extended her cooperation to assist for the post war reconstruction process in Sri Lanka involving with several projects. For example, in 2010 India has granted US$ 27.5 million for reconstruction projects in Northern Province.

India has been involving for reconstruction of Duraiyappa Stadium, cultural centre in Jaffna, assistance for developing health care facilities in Kilinochchi and Mulaitivu, reestablishment of the research institute of Palmyra development board in Jaffna, development of industrial zone, supplying fishing equipment, agriculture tools , buses, tractors and cement for IDPs and related development projects. 9 Further, Government of India has extended the lines of credit amounting to US$ 416.4 million to Sri Lanka for construction of the Northern railway line from Omanthai to Pallai and from Madawachchiya to Talaimannar.

A housing scheme project consists of 50,000 house set is implemented by the Indian government for resettlement families in North and East. This project is under the full grant assistance of the Indian government with a total outlay of US$ 270 million, making one of the largest grant assistance projects implemented by the Indian government in a foreign country. Setting up a coal plant project in Sampur in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka is another important development project implemented by the Indian government during the post war period. In 2010, India has contributed 15% of foreign finance commitment by major donors of Sri Lanka.

Comments

Sri Lanka's strategic role for India

Being a geographically proximate state of India, Sri Lanka assumes great importance to India. Both India and Sri Lanka are situated in the outer rim areas of the Indian Ocean and, thus, have tremendous potential to develop maritime trade with the Afro-Asian countries and the various other countries of the world. In the context of 116 Indo-Sri Lanka relations, the geo-strategic dimension continues to be as one of the independent variables. Since colonial days, naval strategists have emphasised the importance of Sri Lanka in the defence calculations of India. For the British colonialists, Sri Lanka had been an integral part to the defence of the Indian subcontinent as it served as a vital link in their sea communications eastwards. India after independence, continued to adhere to the principles of strategic importance of Sri Lanka on the lines of the British theory in the sub-continent. This is evident from the fact that in the early years, just after independence and even the years i

How it all ended: Timeline by Sri Lanka Diaries

The story of Sri Lanka India relations had its own meanderings. A tipsy-topsy ride that changed the South Asian history forever. Sri Lanka diaries bring for you a curated timeline so how it happened as it happened: In 1975 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam forms, start of the war for the rights of Tamil minority of Sri Lanka. Army blocks Jaffna routes which LTTE forays into so as to start what was next going to be called as Sri Lanka civil war. July 1987 India Srilanka go for a peace agreement which was followed by a peace accord signed between the two parties leading India to send peace keeping force in the Sri Lanka. Next came the horrendous event that shook India Sri Lanka relations were the LTTEs successful attempt in assassinating Rajiv Gandhi. A garlanding was done by a suicide bomber on May 1991 which in fact was a murder attempt. Tamil tigers kill Sri Lankan president Premdasa. May 1993. By 1995 Jaffna, the cultural capital of Sri Lanka was un

The Indo-Srilankan writers and their views on this topic.

Schwartz, waiter, writing on “The Tamils of Sri Lanka”, (London Minority Rights Group Report No. 25, 1983) said that only a few leaders men tried to strike a balance between the Sinhalese and Tamils. Kumari Jayawardena, in her article, “Aspects of class and ethnic consciousness in Sri Lanka - II” Mainstreams (Vol. XXI, No. 50, Aug. 13, 1983)4 writes : the Sinhala Buddhists, who felt economically hammed-in, politically oppressed and culturally deprived, found the racist myths and legends and in their search for identity, indulged in violence against ethnic religious minorities Wickramsinghe, Ethnic Politics in Colonial Sri Lanka describes Sri Lanka’s current ethnic conflict in terms of historical movement and incisive examination of Sri Lanka’s modem political and Social history. A book written by Wizesinha, Rajiva, Current Crisis in Sri Lanka, (New Delhi, Navrang, 1986)is also a useful addition to the existing literature. It is author’s firm view that the

Srilankan Diaries

Search This Blog