30 October 1964 marks a landmark agreement by Prime Minister of then Ceylon, Sirimavo Bandaranaike & Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. It was formerly known as the Sirima-Shashtri Pact and was signed to solve the issue of citizenship of Indian workers living in then Ceylon.
Sirima Shastri Pact
Is a bilateral agreement deciding the citizenship of persons of Indian Origin granting 525,000 Indian citizenship and 300,000 Ceylonese citizenship.
Who are persons of Indian origin living in Ceylon
This question takes us back to the period of colonial rule and how indentured laborers were brought from India to work on plantations on the island.
The colonials completely changed the native and heritage cultural and administrative practices. Capitalist economic system & private entrepreneurship was introduced and land belonging to the natives was confiscated via Wasteland Ordinance Act of 1840. Falsely acquired land was sold to foreign private planters. Plantations needed workers and the vacuum was provided by bringing in South Indian workers in the central hill area.
They were brought down because they afforded cheap labor and mostly on account of Sinhalese refusing to work on plantations.
What is important to understand is that at the time of independence these indentured laborers were more than the so-called new nomenclature of Ceylon Tamils coined in 1911.
However, the question of what was to be their future when Ceylon gained independence was an issue. They did not come on their own free will. They were not invited by the Ceylonese – these Indians were forcibly brought to Ceylon to work by the colonial rulers. Ideally, it is they (Portuguese – Dutch and mostly British) who should provide them citizenship in their countries without demanding Ceylon provide citizenship to them. These colonials brought people from other countries to work for their personal profits and it is they who should have looked after them not dump them upon the country they brought the workers to work on. This debate continues!
Firstly, these workers brought in by the colonials were not citizens to be given citizenship & claim their rights were denied via citizenship act of 1949. If anyone had to solve the problem it was the creators of the problem. These were the colonials in particular the British. Having brought natives from other countries to work on plantations for their profit, the British & other colonials dump these people on the newly independent nations and demand they give them citizenship. This is the crux of the situation vis a vis Indians brought from South India and settled down in Sri Lanka.
It is true that while the same Tamils got termed as Ceylon Tamils on the one hand from 1911 the rest became simply Indian Estate Workers.
The Portuguese-Dutch-British used them, dumped them and then went off to their nations & demanded the newly independent colonies look after them. This was another phase of divide & rule. These Indian Tamils were made stateless not by Ceylon but by the Colonials. 
The gist of the 1964 Sirima-Shashtri Pact was to afford a choice for those who were neither citizens of India nor Ceylon to choose where they wished to be citizens.
This number was 975,000 and excluded illegal migrants from India.
300,000 were to be given Ceylon citizenship while 525,000 were given Indian citizenship.
The status of the remaining 150,000 was to be decided later.
India was to accept repatriations within 15 years from date of agreement (up to 1979)
Ceylon agreed to allow people employed to continue until 1979 repatriation and Ceylon agreed to repatriate with all assets (provident fund/gratuity etc but not exceeding Rs.4000)
It is via these Indian estate workers that Sri Lanka’s tea industry thrives as a major economic contributor. Ceylon tea has become world famous.
Yet the immigrant factor was always an issue and an irritant between the two nations. Many illegal immigrants posed off as Hill Country Tamils. There was always the question of loyalty. Were they loyal to India or Sri Lanka. How far could India ‘influence’ them – then and even now. How would that pose a threat to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Yet, why were they dislodged even from the upper caste/class Tamil society. Mano Ganeshan would be able explain this treatment only too well.
Why was the fate of 150,000 not solved and how many has this number today increased to?
The 1964 Sirima-Shashtri Pact was amended against by the 1971 Sirima-Indira Pact and another in 1986 and in 1988 a law was passed to Grant Citizenship to Stateless Persons.
In the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord (2.16d) repatriation of illegal Tamils was one of the 5 main clauses which India did not uphold and was a prerequisite condition to the validity of the accord.
The debate surrounding the issue of Tamil illegal immigrants, Tamil indentured labor, origin of Ceylon Tamils and the role of western divide & rule will continue but the facts cannot be kept under politically correct stalemate.

In using the term neutrality, none of the QUAD states or any other partnering the Indo-US Pacific strategy with intent to go to war with another country, can use Sri Lanka’s territory. With the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka clearly defined under Hague Convention, the GoSL is bound to withdraw from ACSA with US. ACSA was signed on 4 August 2017 in secret, amidst much controversy. It has not been tabled in Parliament. No one knows the contents of it. Only 180 days’ notice is required for Sri Lanka to exit from the agreement. Sri Lanka should exit from ACSA.

We are well aware that the QUAD nations are signing defense pacts and engaged in maritime exercises in preparedness for a confrontation with China. This is certainly not to exchange roses with each other. Sri Lanka wishes to engage with all nations for development but not to be used as a platform to engage in rivalries or to have Sri Lanka used to launch attacks against other nations.
2017 United States National Security Strategy paper 

clearly identified China as a competitor to
“American power, influence and interests”.

Sri Lanka’s Government & Foreign Ministry must make this clear in the 2-2 Ministerial Dialogue scheduled for 2021 decided after Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka. No US-Sri Lanka military training or naval training should be with intent to be used against China or any other country. Obviously 2021 is planned to rope in Sri Lanka to signing pacts with US along the Indo-US-Pacific Strategy and Sri Lanka must remain unfettered by the coercions at play.

Having weathered 2 insurrections by JVP, 3 decades of terror by LTTE – NO SRI LANKAN wishes to have Sri Lanka enter into any confrontations with external parties or have Sri Lanka used for interventions or skirmishes between countries. We are not willing to have Sri Lanka as a punching bag by powerful nations for their petty political games. We have always wanted to have good relations with all nations and that must continue to be the basis of our diplomacy.
What also needs to be added is that while NEUTRALITY is simply a stand taken, Sri Lanka is by signatory a Member of the Non-Aligned Charter and that membership is powerful and therefore Sri Lanka must continue to nurture ties with the Non-Aligned Members.
We have had ties with China & India when countries like USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore did not even exist. Our ties are long and old and we cannot forget the richness of those ties simply because we are living in the ‘modern’ and ‘development’ dictates ‘olden cultures and traditions’ to be taboo. When the world find itself returning to fundamentals and basics, Sri Lanka is ever reminded that old is gold and the past cannot be buried or forgotten.

We want to be friends with all and enemies of none.

It is ironic that Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka’s ‘Avoidable Crashes: Economics and External Affairs’ was published on 15 October. Exactly 30 years ago to this date, the LTTE began its brutal campaign of evicting Muslims from the Northern peninsula. Over the next two weeks, the LTTE targeted different areas of the peninsula and systematically forced the Muslims out of their homes at gunpoint. By 30 October 1990, all Muslims were forced out. 

They were robbed of their valuables, dignity and heritage. Those who accuse the Sri Lankan military of ‘credible war crime allegations’ never speak of this atrocity, which includes the kidnapping of wealthy Muslim entrepreneurs. While some returned to their families after paying a hefty ransom, others have disappeared to thin air. D.B.S. Jeyaraj’s “LTTE’s Mass Expulsion of Muslims from the North 30 Years Ago” is a worthy read. 

As revealed at the LLRC, the Sinhalese had been ethnically cleansed long before this date. Forcing Sinhalese out began as far back as 1977. By 1987, out of the 5,684 families recorded by the 1981 census, there was not a single Sinhalese living in the north. 

This is how the north became exclusive to Tamils. The east, despite its violent past and brewing extremism, continues to home almost equal proportions of the three communities. The Muslims though may soon overtake the other two communities. Even with a near 100% Tamil population in the north, more than 52% of the Tamils continue to live outside the Northern and Eastern Provinces. For the first time since 1975, the Northern and Eastern Tamils have expressed their confidence in the incumbent administration via the August 2020 General Elections.

Premier Narendra Modi faux pas

Indian Premier Narendra Modi ignored all these glaring facts when he reiterated the long hackneyed demand for ‘Tamil aspirations’ at the virtual bilateral summit with Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa on 26 September 2020. It is just not possible to devolve power to the Tamils in the north and east. Before any political solution can be considered, the grave injustice to the Sinhalese and the Muslims who were living in these areas must be corrected. As attorney-at-law and author Dharshan Weerasekera reasons, to ignore this fundamental step “would in effect be validating ethnic cleansing as a tactic for gaining ‘self-determination’”. 

Dr. Jayatilleka warns that if the incumbent administration does not improve its image and continues to project itself as ‘hawkish Sinhala supremacists’, Sri Lanka will suffer economically. However, it is noteworthy that even when the country was under siege from terrorism, it was not the supremacists but the nationalists that stood for the country’s interests. As nationalists, Sri Lankans fought for a country that belongs to all communities. As supremacists, the LTTE terrorised all for an exclusive homeland for ‘only’ the Tamils in the north and east. 

In their quest, they terrorised the Tamil civilians the most. Those who could escape from the physical reach of the LTTE’s terrorism and fascism did do so. Many resettled outside the north and east and only returned after the LTTE was annihilated. Others in Western countries can now enjoy their comfortable lives in peace as the extortionists who used to regularly visit have disappeared. Those who escaped to Tamil Nadu too would like to continue with the lives that they had rebuilt in India. However, most are still confined to refugee camps and subject to strict regulations. 

Thus, for PM Modi to speak of ‘Tamil aspirations’ without addressing this anomaly is questionable. However, the greater concern is that for over four decades Sri Lanka has been unable to convince the world that the issues before the Tamils are not exclusive to the minorities or the privileges are not only for the Sinhalese. Just as there are very wealthy and successful Tamils, many Sinhalese are poverty stricken. When the LTTE was enjoying ‘the upper hand’, the Tamils preferred to live amongst the Sinhalese.

Yet, this has not been communicated to the world. Dr. Jayatilleka’s article may hold the clue to this abysmal failure. It appears that he is intimidated by the ‘colossal asymmetry of power’ wielded by India. He is aghast that a State Minister dared to state the obvious that the Indian Premier was out of line. Yet, as the subject minister, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera was correct to point out that implementing the 13th Amendment or to change the unitary status of the country to a united nation is a decision solely for the people of Sri Lanka. As a subject expert, Minister Weerasekera was also correct to note that the 13th Amendment is not a solution for Sri Lanka. 

Surely, as a seasoned political analyst and a former diplomat, Dr. Jayatilleka cannot find the Indian Premier’s focus on one ethnicity acceptable. This was a bilateral summit and as such, was between nation to nation. Thus, neither country can address the concerns of only one community as artfully demonstrated by Premier Rajapaksa. The very implication that arises by doing so is undiplomatic and therefore unacceptable. In fact, PM Modi committed quite a faux pas by calling on the Sri Lankan Government to ensure equality, justice, peace and respect to Tamils. By doing so, he accused Sri Lanka of maltreating Tamils. 

Yet, even India knows that this is not the case as visible from the controversial India’s Citizenship Amendment Act. By excluding Sri Lankan Tamils from this Act’s eligibility list, India acknowledges that Tamils are not under any sort of persecution or discrimination in Sri Lanka. 
Small is no reason to be scared

It is true that territorially Sri Lanka is a small landmass. As Dr. Jayatilleka notes, “Sri Lanka is no longer simply on the doorstep of the regional sub-super power; it is now located on the doorstep of a member of ‘The Quad’, a quasi-military, strategic alliance covering the Indo-Pacific vastness, with implications for the global balance.” 

On this basis, if we are to silently concede to India simply because it is a larger force and a member of an even greater force, what should be our position if the Muslim nations collectively impose on us to deliver on the ‘aspirations’ of the Muslims? The ‘extremist’ Tamil youth fought for an exclusive Tamil homeland while the ‘moderate’ Tamil elders worded it as ‘devolving power’ for Tamil areas. The Easter attack by the ‘extremist’ Muslims was to rid the non-believers. Can we even allow a ‘moderate’ wording of this ‘aspiration’? 

Clearly, Sri Lanka cannot afford to cower in fear or nod to every diktat in silent submission just because we are small. It means that we need to learn to speak up and articulate our position clearly. We need to be a lot more politically savvy than we are presently. 

Therefore, we must analyse the geopolitical implications behind PM Modi’s call for the 13th Amendment. As an Amendment it has utterly failed. It failed to disarm the LTTE. In fact, the ill-advised Indian intervention resulted in strengthening the terrorist organisation. The teacher could not control the student and India that trained, armed and financed the LTTE ended up with over 1,300 dead Indian soldiers and twice as many casualties. India’s foreign policy blunder vis a vis Sri Lanka came crashing down on India with former Premier Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by an LTTE suicide bomber. 

Nalini Sriharan is currently the sole surviving member of the five-team squad accused in connection of the assassination. After Sonia Gandhi’s appeal for clemency, her death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. Rotting away for the last 29 years in jail, she is India’s longest serving female prisoner. Those who fight for Easter attack suspect Hijaaz Hisbulla’s release are silent over the torture and indignity Sriharan is said to suffer. According to her mother, Sriharan is not even allowed access to her own lawyer. These allegations, if true, are a testament of India’s bitterness over the episode. 

India’s cost is however not remotely close to that of Sri Lanka. The IPKF left abandoning the crucial satellite military camps. These were promptly taken over by the LTTE. Over the next 19 years, the LTTE grew in strength and ferocity. The LTTE was not only a threat to Sri Lanka, or the region but to the whole world. Its ships provided logistics to other terrorist organisations and smuggled people and narcotics that mostly ended in the Western streets. Sri Lanka must be saluted for defeating the LTTE against all odds.

Who wants the 13th Amendment?

Presently, the Provincial Councils ushered by the 13th Amendment are defunct because of the mess created by the Yahapalana Government, in which the TNA was a significant partner. Yet none of the minority politicians are worried over the PCs’ fate. TNA’s proposed constitution attempted to turn PCs into power centres and render the Central Government powerless. This would have adversely affected the minority communities living outside the north and east. The minorities therein will be under the rule of that province’s majority community. They would be without an overriding power to redress any communal injustice. In this context, the outcome of the east will be interesting, where the Tamil and Muslim communities vie for dominance. 

The two provinces – north and east – cannot and should not be merged without a referendum. It is unlikely that the Muslims in the east would agree to a merger that would bring them under Tamil dominance. Without the merger, the Eastern Tamils would be under the Muslim dominance, which would be disagreeable to them. 

Therefore, it is very clear that unless force is used the 13th Amendment is not feasible. Even then, it will not resolve any real or perceived grievance, but likely create problems of unmanageable proportions. Yet, as observed by Dr. Jayatilleka, “Prime Minister Modi only reiterated what he had said many times before”. The reasons for India’s continued interest in an unattainable objective ought to pique political analysts’ interest.
‘Good Governance’ as elusive as the 13th Amendment

The unhappy truth is that the West bludgeons Sri Lanka on imaginary human rights allegations. Likewise, India uses the 13th Amendment to keep Sri Lanka off balance. Both the West and India scheme to manipulate Sri Lanka’s governance. Dr. Jayatilleka’s argument that the Western investor/buyer is morally conscious is illogical when the worst violators are the West and have been so for the past so many centuries. West is more adaptable as obvious with their relationships with countries with terrible political and humanitarian track records.

We must not repeat Yahapalana Government’s mistakes. Instead of standing firm on the ground that we had not committed war crimes nor engaged in systematic discrimination, we timidly scrambled to measure up to ‘good governance’. This exposes our failure in foreign relations. Our attempt to please the ‘asymmetrical powers’ resulted in dismantled intelligence networks, incompetent officers, a confused chain of command, politicised commissions and the worst terrorist attack on Sri Lankan soil. 

Interestingly, not a single Western Government or agency nor India for that matter has expressed an opinion over any of these failures. On the other hand, grave concerns over the ‘draconian measures’ taken over the COVID-19 pandemic and the 20th Amendment were prompt. The Gotabaya Rajapaksa Administration’s success in containing the pandemic and managing associated social costs was impressive. Furthermore, the Administration’s quick responses and timely safeguards protected and strengthened the economy to outperform even pre-pandemic days. Studiously ignoring all these achievements, serious doubt is now being cast over Sri Lanka’s ability to meet its financial commitments. This is clearly to dissuade investors and lenders.

Towards a peaceful coexistence with all stakeholders

To be pro-nationalist does not make one an antagonist of another nation or a xenophobic. Therefore, speaking on behalf of Sri Lanka does not make one anti-Indian, anti-West or an isolationist. In fact, if we are to enjoy robust relations with the world, Sri Lanka must learn to speak up and have the courage to call a spade a spade. 

This is especially important as the US gears itself to defend their interests against China’s rise in power. Most of our neighbours have already picked a side. Sri Lanka on the other hand has taken the challenging but noble path to maintain a zone of peace for all to trade and engage in commercial activities. 

In this context, PM Modi was wrong to reiterate his call for the 13th Amendment’s implementation – especially when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had already articulated his position on the matter. In the past, this has been a bait for the Tamils in the north and east to turn antagonistic to their own Government. This kind of interference on Sri Lanka’s internal affairs had not only led to the destruction of innocent lives, but had been catastrophic to India as well. Therefore, it behooves India also to move out of ‘traditional politics’ and partner with Sri Lanka towards a peaceful coexistence with all stakeholders. 

(The writer can be reached via [email protected].)

We have a team of 4 led by US who are going around Asia trying to build alliances against China and signing defense pacts with each other, conducting naval exercises and even chiding China for being undemocratic, calling China a predator and a violator of human rights & the list of insults goes on. If all that is true, why do these nations have China as their largest trading partner? While China trades with them and calls it exercising mutual goals & objectives, the Quad nations while going to China to forge trade ties and deals have no hesitation in building blocks to go to virtual war with China. Why spend so much on defence pacts, weapons etc when all that they need to do is to simply stop trading with China. They must match rhetoric with action. It looks rather silly blowing hot & cold at China and then going to China for trade or being dependent on China for trade! The Quad should not be jealous of China’s rise.
China is one of the world’s fastest growing countries producing 9.3% of global GDP. China is also the largest exporter of goods. In 1978 China’s GDP equaled that of Zambia. It raised its GDP from $155 in 1978 to $7590 in 2014 and lifted 800million people out of poverty. China’s population equals the total population of North & South America, Australia, New Zealand & Western Europe.
If China could do it, so can other countries and China will not stop them.
China also has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves of 3.21 trillion US Dollars.
China owns about $1.1 trillion in U.S. debt
Over 1million Chinese are working overseas. Over 1million Chinese students are studying overseas. Over 131million Chinese tourists travelled overseas in 2017 alone.
US-ChinaOver 41% of imports to US are by China with a 2.6% increase since 2019.
In short, US imports from China more than US exports to China.
Almost 80% of US imports from China are telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks
As for US exports to China – Aeroplanes and other aircraftaccount for 9%
The U.S. trade deficit with China in 2019 was $345.2 billion. The trade deficit exists because U.S. exports to China were only $106.4 billion while imports from China were $451.6 billion.
Americans of Chinese descent, including those with partial Chinese ancestry constitute 1.5% of the total U.S. population – 3.8million Chinese Americans.
Nearly 400,000 Chinese students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in 2019 – more than one-third of the country’s international students.
In 2018, there were almost three million visitors from China to the U.S,

China is India’s second-largest trading partner after the US. And two, it accounts for nearly 12% of India’s imports across sectors such as chemicals, automotive components, consumer electronics and pharmaceuticals. 70% of India’s drug intermediary needs are fulfilled by China(Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance)
Chinese companies Alibaba and Tencent are pumping billions of dollars helping Indian startups such as Zomato, Paytm, Big Basket and Ola.
More than 90 Chinese investments have helped Indian startups, most of them made over the last five years.

China’s share in India’s total export and import are 9% and 18% respectively in 2019-20.
327 items form 3/4th of imports from China
India imported goods worth USD 62.3 billion from China during April – February FY20 out of a total import of $442billion (Dept of Commerce)
More than 14 per cent of India’s total imports come from China. India still imports 41 of 96 major items from China. Growth in imports in some cases has been over 200% and going up to 5,400%.
Chinese firms supply about 80 per cent of solar cells and modules to India.
The 4G network of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea is largely built by Huawei and ZTE
India’s imports of arms and ammunition parts and accessories from China were to the tune of Rs 3.24 lakh last year and this year till June, it has been Rs 52.3 lakh, an increase of over 1,500%.
China is also a major destination for India’s exports.
India earns over $15 billion by exporting its goods to China. During April-February FY20, India exported goods worth $15.5 billion to China, which was 5.3 per cent of India’s overall exports. Mineral fuel, mineral oil, and aquatic products are the main products that India exports to China.
Japan-ChinaTrade has increased from $1 billion to some $317 billion over the past 45 years and now represents more than 20% of Japan’s total trade
Japan exports to China was US$134.68 Billion during 2019,
Japan imports from China was US$169.22 Billion during 2019
70% to 80% covid masks are produced in China
Australia-ChinaChina exports to Australia was US$47.55 Billion during 2018
Australia’s main imports from China are manufactured goods, which were worth more than AUD 21 billion in 2018
Australia imports from China was US$56.95 Billion during 2019
In 2018, annual two-way trade between China and Australia reached almost AUD 215 billion.
China is also the largest foreign buyer of Australian agriculture, forestry and fisheries products, with imports totalling around AUD 13.5 billion in 2017-18.
China is Australia’s largest source of international students with the services export market worth AUD 11.7 billion in 2018.
China is Australia’s second largest inbound tourist market (as measured by arrivals), and the largest when measured by tourism expenditure. More than 1.4 million Chinese visited Australia in the year ending September 2018 and were the largest source of tourism expenditures (AUD 10.9 billion) into the Australian economy.
Chinese investment in Asia and Oceania was $38.01 billion in 2017.  From 2005 to 2017, Chinese firms invested $324 billion into Europe, which constitutes 31.03 percent of China’s global outbound FDI. Over 43 percent ($238.2 billion) of these investments were concentrated in the UK, Switzerland, Russia, Italy, France, and Germany.
Europe and North America (excluding Mexico) has received $544.5 billion of China’s total global FDI outflows from 2005 to 2017.
According to Harvard Business Review Chinese state and its subsidiaries have lent about $1.5 trillion in direct loans and trade credits to more than 150 countries around the globe turning China into the world’s largest official creditor surpassing World Bank & IMF.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/03/this-is-what-the-us-imports-from-china/
https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-china-trade-deficit-causes-effects-and-solutions-3306277
China share in India imports up 5% points in April-July over last year, despite overall decline
‘India still imports 41 of 96 major items from China’
https://asialinkbusiness.com.au/china/getting-started-in-china/chinas-imports-and-exports?doNothing=1
https://hbr.org/2020/02/how-much-money-does-the-world-owe-chinaWhile all of the Quad nations are nicely trading with China, they demand other countries not only stop dealing with China but allow Quad greater stakes in their countries on the premise that they are nicer than China & they would protect their nations from China. While the Quad may want to drum war notes, none of these countries want to be at war with China. What the situation looks like, is a sheepish attempt to use China as an excuse to get a foothold into countries and build up their economies – China is just a convenient scapegoat!