Sri Lanka : on the Up!

Sri Lanka has always been a challenge for India. Historically, Politically & Ideologically!

It is said that in earlier times Sri Lanka,  Maldives etc were part of the Indian land mass. It was only a few thousand years ago that it broke away and became different land masses with their own languages.

This is seen in the similarities in culture, beliefs and the lifestyles. It is because of the troubled past, political militancy and extreme poverty that it has always ben challenging for Indian government to support the lankans; especially so, after the assassination of prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In my recent visit to Sri Lanka, I was surprised to find the super smooth highways, great tourist transport, good transport infrastructure, port development and Casinos running in the city. Also big real estate developments are taking place in Colombo at a hectic pace.  !

Funny thing is : 80 percent investment is Chinese.

The local guide couldn't stress more on the subject about how chinese investment has changed lives of scores of Lankans in past 3 years. They could never imagine such tourist traffic, neither the amount of work happening around them. In next 5 years, it wont be surprising to see Colombo rivalling Macau.

It is clear India lost a huge advantage in spite of the close proximity to Sri Lanka in the last decade.

However all is not lost yet, and the current government is working overtime to ensure this. The invitation of their new president to Narendra Modi's swearing in was a master stroke and change a lot of perceptions about India in lanka.

Also, it seems several projects since then have been taken up by Indian companies. Atleast China's growth has been curtailed in the country and going forward we can expect an equivalent position to China in our relationship with Sri Lanka.

But the Indian government has to move fast, very fast; if we want to steal the momentum from the Chinese as they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure India is unable to break into the space.

Sri Lanka, being the crown jewel in their "String of Pearls" strategy vis a vis India, Needs to be quickly turned around to the Indian side in order to break Chinese stranglehold over their infrastructure at the earliest.