India’s Foreign Policy towards Sri Lanka during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Regime

Abstract

Foreign policy of India has always been focusing on the behaviour of her neighbours in South Asia. India and Sri Lanka have maintained mutual relations over the years, especially due to their geographical proximity. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime is considered important as Civil War which prevailed around three decades of time in Sri Lanka was ended during his time India has also paid their frequent attention to that. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime, from 2005 to 2014 is characterized by the element of civil war. India paid its attention to Sri Lanka in their foreign policy, especially during the post-war period. India’s foreign policy and behaviour during the time of President Mahinda Rajapaksa had influenced Sri Lanka in a variety of aspects, yet the political impact seems to be the most significant. Hence, the purpose of the study is to analyse the political impact of India’s foreign policy on Sri Lanka during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. Concerning the methodology, qualitative methods were applied for the analysis whereas secondary data collected from previous books and researches were used. The study reveals that one of the most visible impacts which India’s foreign policy had on Sri Lanka during that time is that Sri Lanka being inclined towards China deviating from her immediate neighbour India. The study concludes that India’s foreign policy towards Sri Lanka during the tenure of Mahinda Rajapaksa had negative effects on the Indo-Sri Lanka relations.