Gulbin Sultana

If the Sinhala opposition parties, the Tamil TNA, and the Muslim parties support the common candidate, there is a possibility that they may be able to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. But will these political forces come together?

• Published: December 01, 2014
• IDSA Comments

There is no one nationalist Sri Lankan view. Among the Sinhalas, there are also the liberals who are quite realistic about their assessments and would argue that there may be a change in leadership in India, but the cornerstone of India’s policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka will remain the same. The Tamils, on the other hand, are unanimous in their view that India can and should play a major role in bringing meaningful political reconciliation to the country.

• Published: July 01, 2014
• IDSA Comments

There is a view in Lanka that CHOGM did more harm than good and many, in fact, are questioning the wisdom of the government to host the meet. However, the pro-government media is defiant with editorials strongly denouncing the threat of international investigation as interference of Sri Lanka’s internal affairs and it is expected to galvanize popular support for Rajapaksa.

• Published: January 15, 2014
• IDSA Comments

India’s nation and state building project faces challenges in the NorthEast because of the simplistic, linear, and development-centric approach that has been guiding it so far. This neglects the mind set and the psyche that is sustaining insurgency and violence in the region. The Indian Union has, undeniably, won the war against the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), and its support base has also reduced to a large extent.

• Published: July 2013
• Journal of Defence Studies

V.Prabhakaran, the man who took up arms at the age of 17 and led one of the world's most ruthless terrorist organisations to realise the dream of the Tamil Eelam, died in the final battle with the Sri Lankan forces in May 2009, leaving behind Tamils who are a disillusioned and demoralised ‘nation’. The end of the war established the writ of the Sri Lankan state and re-established Sinhala hegemony. S. Murari, in his book The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior, depicts the Prabhakaran era in the history of Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict in an objective manner.

• Published: July 2013
• Strategic Analysis

A series of anti-Muslim campaigns particularly after the end of the Eelam War is giving an impression that the Sri Lankan Muslims are becoming the next scapegoats of majoritarianism.

• Published: April 22, 2013
• IDSA Comments

Mahinda Rajapaksa has emerged as perhaps the only Sri Lankan leader who has managed to secure some strategic autonomy in conducting his country's foreign policy vis-à-vis India. He engaged India effectively during the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and simultaneously countervailed India by improving his country's relationship with India's traditional adversaries such as China and Pakistan. In the post-LTTE scenario, he has maintained a defiant posture vis-à-vis India over the latter's persuasion to evolve a political solution to the ethnic issue.

• Published: January 2013
• Strategic Analysis

The much-talked about Tamil Nadu factor in India-Sri Lanka relations has come to the fore recently again in the wake of strong reactions of the provincial government to the training of two Sri Lankan defence personnel in the state in August 2012

• Published: September 12, 2012
• IDSA Comments

The much-talked about Tamil Nadu factor in India-Sri Lanka relations has come to the fore recently again in the wake of strong reactions of the provincial government to the training of two Sri Lankan defence personnel in the state in August 2012

• Published: September 12, 2012
• IDSA Comments

India must use the opportunity to extract a commitment from Sri Lanka to initiate a serious process of dialogue aimed at evolving a political solution to the Tamil issue.

• Published: March 19, 2012
• IDSA Comments