ON Sunday, the Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha called on Sri Lanka's president-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayake to convey greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi no sooner than the election result emerged. Dissanayake was yet to be sworn in. Another country to congratulate Dissanayake real-time was the US. These were, no doubt, exceptional gestures. Chinese President Xi Jinping's message came a day later, after Dissanayake was sworn in on Monday, as per protocols.
Apparently, neither New Delhi nor Washington was taken by surprise at Dissanayake's victory. In a post on X, Jha called Sri Lanka with élan as India's "civilisational twin". Greetings also poured in from the Indian opposition, including Rahul Gandhi and the CPI(M). The latter hailed Dissanayake's election victory as a historic event.
Running such a fine comb through another country's democratic election process is most certainly unwarranted, but it has become necessary because there is such a lot of angst being expressed that Dissanayake is 'pro-China', that the National People's Power coalition he leads is a Marxist alliance, that his party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has an 'anti-Indian' pedigree, and so on-none of which is wholly incorrect, of course. But simplistic notions betray a lack of awareness about the nuanced politics of Sri Lanka.
Dissanayake's victory calls attention to the grim reality that Sri Lanka's deep economic crisis continues to devastate lives. Much of the optimism generated by the youth-led movement known as the Aragalaya ('struggle' in Sinhala) two years ago that toppled the ancient regime of the Rajapaksas a decadent political and social system characterised by absolutism, deep-rooted corruption and venality, and state terrorism-has dissipated.
Denne historien er fra September 27, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 27, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
DEEP IMPACT IN RAINY AFFAIR
Pacer's twin strikes reduces B'desh to 107/3 in 35 overs before play was called off due to incessant rain on Day 1 A COUPLE of days before the second Test between India and Bangladesh here at the Green Park Stadium, Akash Deep, India's latest addition to its evergrowing pace battery, spoke about skipper Rohit Sharma explaining how supportive the latter has been to the bowler.
Resting and a bit of training: Gukesh's plan ahead of Ding clash
EVER since India won twin golds (Open and women's teams) at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, the players of both sides have been basking in the richlydeserved adulation.
Oz all-rounder Green doubtful for India Tests
AUSTRALIAN all-rounder Cameron Green's participation in the upcoming marquee five-match Test series against fierce rivals India was on Friday thrown into doubt after a back injury ruled him out of the ongoing tour of England.
B'desh superfan alleges thrashing, does U-turn later
A BANGLADESH superfan, Tiger Robi, who usually accompanies the team on its away tours, was allegedly beaten up on Day 1 of the second Test between India and Bangladesh here at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur on Friday.
ISL: Herrara hat-trick hands FC Goa first win of season
FC GOA secured their first win of their Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 campaign as they edged past East Bengal 3-2 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata tonight.
India not to buy LNG from Russia Arctic 2 project: Secretary
INDIA has decided not to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, which is under Western sanctions, said petroleum and natural gas Secretary Pankaj Jain on Friday.
Forex reserves near $700 bn, add $101.5 bn YTD
CONTINUING the gains for the sixth consecutive week, forex reserves have rallied to hit new high of $692.3 billion for the week to September 20, adding $2.84 billion in the reporting week, taking the total in the past six weeks to $22.14 billion and a $101.56 billion year-on-year.
Gold rises 29% so far this yr, may soar to ₹8,000/g by December
BULLION price continued to sizzle for the third day on the back of global rally that began since the Ukraine war and has gained an unprecedented speed since the US Federal Reserves cut the interest by 50 bps-first time in four years.
FPI inflows surge to ₹57K cr in Sept, half of CY24's total
BUOYED by the expectation and clarity of US Federal Reserves' rate cut decision, foreign portfolio investors (FPI) bought shares (net purchase) of ₹57,359 crore so far in September.
‘India to set up tel gear mfg zones'
Scindia says country wants to become the global telecommunication manufacturing hub