Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election is a rejection of politics as usual in Sri Lanka

For the archetypal clip successful its caller history, Sri Lanka has elected an “outsider” — from a Marxist-Leninist enactment that erstwhile led convulsive insurrections — arsenic its president. Over the years, however, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has go much mainstream, with a social-democratic agenda. The recently elected 55-year-old president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has played a important portion successful this transformation. Dissanayake was besides a cardinal fig successful the fashionable “Aragalaya” uprising against inflation, terms rise, and economical mismanagement, which led to the ouster of the Rajapaksas. That Opposition person Sajith Premadasa and incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe mislaid to a governmental subordinate till precocious seen arsenic fringe tin beryllium work arsenic a motion of however overmuch the radical of Sri Lanka are bushed of authorities arsenic usual. Given immoderate of the caller president’s positions — ideological and connected argumentation matters — determination is an apprehension that his authorities volition beryllium “pro-China” and detrimental to India’s interests. But it is important that, arsenic it deals with Sri Lanka’s caller governmental establishment, Delhi not wage heed to specified binaries.

The triumph of the National People’s Power (NPP) conjugation — of which the JVP is the large constituent – did not instrumentality India by surprise. Dissanayake visited India successful February and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Clearly, Delhi had a consciousness of the anti-incumbency temper successful Sri Lanka. A large governmental alteration similar the 1 successful Colombo will, however, inactive contiguous challenges. The JVP’s absorption to the 13th Amendment of Sri Lanka’s constitution — which provides for devolution of powerfulness to the Tamil number — arsenic good arsenic speech connected the run way of cancelling the Adani Group’s upwind powerfulness task could beryllium issues of contention betwixt the 2 countries. At the aforesaid time, Dissanayake has hinted astatine continuing adjacent ties with Delhi. India did not diagnostic prominently successful the predetermination run — unlike, say, successful the Maldives wherever President Mohamed Muizzu led an “India Out” run — and Delhi enjoys immoderate goodwill for the assistance it provided during Sri Lanka’s economical crisis. It is important, then, for Delhi to proceed to physique connected the bilateral engagement — Dissanayake has responded warmly to congratulatory messages from PM Modi. India has the vantage of a shared past and geographic proximity with the land federation and the 2 countries person overmuch to summation by deepening bilateral ties. It is important to woody with unfolding governmental changes arsenic they occur, and not over-emphasise the China factor.