Connecting with India by land: Political dilemma for Colombo

The recent official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi represented a momentous turning point in the diplomatic relations of the two South Asian neighbouring states. Modi is the first foreign head of government to be hosted by President Anura Kumara Disanayake since he took over presidency last September. The visit was characterised by noteworthy developments in terms of enriching the cooperation between the two countries in many spheres.

Perhaps the most striking outcome of the Indian Premier’s visit was the Memorandum of Understanding signed on Defence Cooperation, which intends to enhance and institutionalise bilateral defence cooperation for a period of five years, between the two governments. Although the NPP administration pledged to usher a style of governance based on transparency, the bilateral pact is guarded in secrecy. Few days ago, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa had remarked the Government needs the consensus of its counterparty to reveal the contents of the landmark defence cooperation agreement. Most of the NPP leaders were extremely anti-Indian in respect of their political views; however, the latest developments suggest that the administration has realised the significance of the relationship with the giant neighbour particularly in the context of the critical assistance extended by New Delhi to Sri Lanka at the height of the 2022 economic crisis as well as India’s growing political and economic might.

Notwithstanding the rising engagement of the two nations in many spheres, encompassing strengthened defence ties, energy cooperation, and providing Indian expertise to improve Sri Lanka’s digital infrastructure, Colombo has visibly demonstrated a reluctance to comply with its giant neighbour’s willingness to undertake a land connectivity project. According to the reports, President Disanayake during his visit to New Delhi last December had declined the idea of connecting the two countries by a potential land bridge. Nevertheless, Modi during the bilateral talks had been enthusiastic about realising land connectivity between the two South Asian countries.

The idea of a land bridge was first mooted by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe during his two-year premiership stint from 2002 to 2004. Again he reinforced his proposal as President during his state visit to New Delhi in 2023. Back in 2015, the Indian Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari came up with a plan to establish a 23-km sea bridge linking India’s Dhanushkodi with Sri Lanka’s Talaimannar. Enhanced land connectivity would offer significant economic and trade benefits to Sri Lanka, including reduced transport costs and increased access to the Indian market. Similarly, a land link via a bridge across the Palk Strait could enable Indian traders to use road/and rail transport that are both time and cost-effective compared to sea/air transportation.

In spite of the predicted economic benefits that could materialise through a land linkage between India and Sri Lanka, a considerable number of islanders are weary or even scared of getting physically connected to the world’s most populous state. For an island sovereign, which has remained geographically disconnected forever, the notion of getting linked via land with a politically and economically powerful emerging superpower with which there had been serious clashes at certain points of time in history could be a frightening feeling psychologically.

Regular fishing disputes between Tamil Nadu and Colombo have caused a trust deficit between the citizens across the Palk Strait. The patronage provided to the Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka during the past by political leaders in Tamil Nadu has not disappeared particularly from the nationalistic-minded individuals of the country’s majority community. Some might even ponder that getting linked to another country geographically could pave the way for unwarranted conflicts.

The Modi-led union government might be passionate about land connectivity across the Palk Strait. But forging such a geographical linkage would pose a huge geopolitical dilemma to Colombo in light of the complexities associated with the socio-political dimensions of the Indo-Lanka relations.