The Warmth Between Indians and Sri Lankans

Re: # 26

The Sri Lankan Government makes life difficult for the country`s businessmen. License-Raj in its worst form is alive in the country. It is actually easier for foreigners to start a business in Sri Lanka. The average salary in Sri Lanka is really low, hence the craze to work overseas.

I doubt Sri Lanka has too many opportunities. Most Sri Lankans go to the Gulf to earn money.

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#1, Vivek {``Nice article, India-Sri Lanka ties is the only mature relationship in south asia.``}

Exactly. Once the cross-border terrorism stopped, relations improved considerably. Now, all we need is the same level of cooperation in the North.

#19...i guess you are right. my opinion was based on a vistors impression. sri lanka does not have vast areas of unpopulated lands..it does not even have large farmlands as in india. the country seemed evenly populated. its not as if there are large lands that migrants can go settle...there seem to be houses everywhere.

#18 jang

I agree about education and generally better conditions of sri lankans. But population density is quite a bit less than india.

++++++++++++++++++++
Sri Lanka

Population: 19,905,165 (2004 estimate)

Population Growth: rate 0.81 per cent (2004 estimate)

Population Density: 308 persons per sq km (2004 estimate) 796 persons per sq mi (2004 estimate)

Area: 65,610 sq km 25,332 sq mi

++++++++++++++++++++++++
India

Area: 3,165,596 sq km 1,222,243 sq mi

Population: 1,065,070,600 (2004 estimate)

Population Growth Rate: 1.44 per cent (2004 estimate)

Population Density: 358 persons per sq km (2004 estimate) 928 persons per sq mi (2004 estimate)
++++++++++++++++++++++++

India`s figures also include considerably more mountains and desert than sri lanka.

There was a time (1982?) i bought an indian railway ticket in new delhi for colombo. borad gauge from dilli to madrass central, bus to egmore, and meter guage to rameswaram, SCI ferry to tali mannar, and a rickety train to colombo from mannar next to a sleepy singhala 19 year old soldier. so the author is probably talking of that rail-bridge.

Also, sri-lanka is actually very densely populated. it however does not have the ugly, dirty, urban sprawls like in india. the fundamental difference is 100% high-school level education.

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Ajay:

Your article seems to be too much on the luvy-duvy side. There are some potential problems on the horizon, like the Indian plans to develop sea-lane for navigation purposes, which might affect Sri Lankan trade.

In general, Indo-Lankan relations have come a long way from the time when Rajiv Gandhi was hit by a Sri Lankan soldier during a guard-of-honour inspection on a visit to Columbo. This is partly due to free trade, partly because a number of Indian industrialists have interests in the Columbo free-trade industrial zone and partly because of the high literacy rate in Sri Lanka which makes for a more rational approach to a bigger neighbour.

Urstruly#15:

There`s a reason you are everyone`s favourite Mullah ;)

BTW. does your Suryavanshi Ram qualify as one of the unnamed prophets mentioned in the qur`an?

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thorn_bird,
Thanks pal.

ajay78 #13,
Illegal immigration could be a serious issue. One can make a lot of money in Colombo, atleast more than in Bihar. Also the radical monks are there to stay. Things are good but there`s always a possibility of things going bad, although I think SL politicians are sensible enough not to make politics out of ties with India.

Re: # 12 Ilegal Immigrants

This article just deals with the present.

As for illegal immigrants, Sri Lanka is basically a transit point in the human smuggling business. People try and sneak into the west through ships from the Colombo port. There have been detailed discussions about how many South Asians misuse Sri Lanka`s visa on arrival (v-o-a). The money that the ``good`` Indian tourists bring is enough incentive for the SL government to keep the v-o-a system.

As for the radical monks, they have serious issues with the LTTE but they are eager for better relations with ``Bharat-mata.``

Biharis can make a lot more money in Bombay, Delhi or Bangalore than Colombo. Immigrating to Lanka isn`t very lucrative for anyone. If there was such good money in Colombo, there would be a flood of Bangladeshis there. They also enjoy a v-o-a facility in Sri Lanka.

The analysis is a little weak here and stays too much in the present. It doesn`t point to any potential flash-points in the future or areas where india and sri lanka may need to be careful and develop policies.

Sri Lanka is less densely populated country than india. If road and rail links are available there will be an issue of illegal indian immigration (not everyone in india is working in IT!) -there are 50 million people in North India with nothing to do and nowhere to go. If Bombay is full of biharis why wont Colombo go the same way?

Sri Lanka also has an extremist buddhist clergy (sounds like a contradiction but true) which is quite influential in the country. They are one of the reasons why the govement has been unable to settle with moderate tamils. How will they react to greater integration with hindu/muslim/christian/sikh india?

Re: # 10 Harimau

I was under the impression that there was an operating railway bridge when both countries were British colonies. Thanks for pointing out the mistake. The error is regretted. :)

The author wrote [While the two countries still haven`t restarted a ferry service or rebuilt the railway bridge, flight connections have increased tremendously.]

There was NEVER a railway bridge between India and Sri Lanka so there is no question of RE-building it.

Re: # 3 B Babu

The Indian High Commission in Colombo and the Deputy High Commission in Kandy are very lenient with issuing visas. Many Sri Lankans work in India on a 1 year multi-entry business visa.

Of course Tamils from the North or the East of the country have a tough time getting Indian visas. There is a long waiting period. Sinhalese and Tamils from other parts of Colombo are given visas in 1 day.

Re: # 6

``If your post includes words or masked references that are offensive, crude, repugnant, or obscene, your post will be duly deleted``

>>such ingrates! namak harami

????

dharma...

voh baat saaray fasanay mein jiss ka zikr na tha
voh baat unn ko bahut na gawaar guzri hai

...for every rahul there are ten arjuns...

``Abhimaan (a Hindi film) is our national film and we all grew up listening to (India`s great singer) Lata Mangeshkar.``

pakistanis grew up listening to Lata Mangeshkar too and how do they pay back?
such ingrates! namak harami

Nice article.

@vivek:- well said!

bbabu #3,
Valid point. Hopefully Singhalese will realise that Tamils have to be given equal opportunities, including removing reservation in govt. jobs for singhalese, etc. We should help Sri Lanka as much as we can, its our only sane neighbour other than Bhutan.

India should issue visas to Sri Lankan professionals to work in India especially Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. It will go a long way in reducing any mistrust people of both countries have with each other.

Indian politicians can voice support for the territorrial integrity of Sri Lanka. But it will boil down to whether Sinhalese and Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka can work out their differences.

The historic contact between Sri Lanka and India started when god Hanuman became the very first long distance jumper from KanyaKumari to Sri Lanka. I am afraid no one can beat that record. It has gone down in history!

Nice article, India-Sri Lanka ties is the only mature relationship in south asia.