- JVP’s second visit to India followed by AKD’s second annual Dilli Darshan
With the nearly back-to-back high-level visits to India by the powerful General Secretary of the JVP, Tilvin Silva, and the second annual Dilli Darshan (sightseeing in New Delhi) by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake this week, the Kautilyan (a reference to the political theorist Kautilya) strategies of Delhi succeeded in scoring over China in the regional superpower politics.
Sri Lanka strives to balance great power relations with care and there is no secret that Sri Lanka wants practical support and high-priority engagement from India, given the geographic proximity and immediate logistical support needs and at the same time, the need to maintain strategic ties with China for longer-term infrastructure, economic cooperation and political support in multilateral forums.
India emphasised solidarity in crisis by appearing as the first responder during a crisis and is a long-term partner beyond short-term relief. It also offers to strengthen economic cooperation and investment ties. The near-consecutive high-profile visits by India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi to Sri Lanka within the last eight weeks reflect a strategic confluence of humanitarian urgency and geopolitical diplomacy.
Together, these visits show how Sri Lanka is at the intersection of regional power engagement, balancing short-term needs with long-term strategic partnerships. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to President Dissanayake to attend the high-profile Artificial Intelligence Impact Summit and the visit of Silva reflect India’s deeper political and operational partnership, positioning Delhi not just as a partner in rhetoric but as an active collaborator with the highest political leadership of Sri Lanka. India’s approach, by engaging the top leadership, shapes short-term priorities and policy planning, often concretely and visibly.
Soft power: The Maha Sangha
The rift between the Sri Lankan Government and sections of the Buddhist clergy is not merely political friction. It is a contest over moral authority, national identity, and the direction of post-crisis reform. Sri Lanka’s history shows that when the State and the Maha Sangha (Buddhist clergy) move in harmony, political stability strengthens. But, when they diverge sharply, it reshapes the national debate.
The challenge ahead is to preserve Buddhism’s spiritual influence while ensuring that governance remains inclusive, accountable, and forward-looking. Buddhist monks possess a unique moral authority in Sri Lanka. Realising this after a few initial hiccups when the Maha Sangha was ignored by some of the JVP-National People’s Power (NPP) leaders, both President Dissanayake and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya started to maintain cordial relations with the Maha Sangha through temple visits, patronage, and ceremonial engagement. These visits, together with the scarcest Dalada exposition and the recent Devnimori Buddha relics display, the Government proved its commitment to the Constitutional provision of the Buddha Sasana (the doctrine).
But, the attempt to woo Northern and Eastern Tamils by President Dissanayake’s ill-advised comment that Buddhist pilgrims visit shrines in the North not with compassion but hatred has shattered the symbolic pro-Sasana image the Government had created initially. It has worsened with the ‘yellow robes and tribals’ comments made by the maverick Minister K.D. Lalkantha. The monk Dambara Amila has alleged that a coordinated campaign is underway to mislead Generation Z youth by using social media and modern technology to launch what he described as a large-scale defamatory drive against the Buddhist clergy.
Addressing the media, the monk claimed the current Government, which he characterised as aligned with Marxist ideology, was attempting to transform Sri Lanka into a communist State and ultimately abolish religion. The JVP leaders who believe in Marxist ideology must realise that when monks publicly criticise State leaders, it carries moral weight among rural voters and there could be damaging media amplifications leading to political consequences.
Conversely, governments sometimes attempt to marginalise outspoken monks and engage selectively with supportive clergy. They also try to frame critics as politically motivated. This mutual suspicion transforms religious disagreement into political confrontation. Hence, JVP-NPP leaders should cautiously react to the vociferous accusations and allegations likely to be made at today’s (20) meeting of the sangha at Bauddhaloka Mawatha.
IMF praises SL
As expected, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised the Government on the economic recovery and gave a green-light for post-disaster assistance and the next phase of the IMF-supported reform programme. She expressed solidarity with Sri Lanka following recent natural disasters, noting that just as the economy was recovering, a devastating cyclone had affected several regions. Georgieva observed that affected rural communities require renewed economic dynamism and emphasised the importance of timely assistance for housing, land rehabilitation and improved livelihood opportunities.
The IMF statement signalled a shift in emphasis from crisis stabilisation towards higher growth, governance reform and rural economic transformation, as the country moves beyond immediate macroeconomic repair to a broader development agenda. However, Georgieva highlighted the importance of achieving higher growth rates of around seven-eight per cent to meet the aspirations of the public, alongside strengthening disaster preparedness through improved early warning systems.
President Dissanayake, in his meeting with Georgieva a few hours before his departure for Delhi, expressed appreciation for the continued support extended to Sri Lanka during a period of severe economic hardship. He noted that international cooperation had been instrumental in stabilising the economy and improving the living conditions of the public, particularly vulnerable groups affected by recent crises. He reaffirmed that extending the benefits of economic recovery to every citizen stands as a paramount priority of the Government.
Together with the visit of Georgieva, the Government received another morale booster when the private think tank Verité Research announced its independent poll results that over 65% of the people are satisfied with the progress made by the Government during the course of last year (2025).
But, all is not cosy for Sri Lanka in the international front. Multiple United Nations Special Rapporteurs have responded to the Government’s call for comments on Sri Lanka’s revised anti-terrorism Bill that is set to replace the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1979 (PTA) (as amended) by expressing concern over the continuation of what it labeled as “substantive deficiencies” that make the said draft Bill fall “significantly short of conformity with international law.”
The draft “Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTA)”, published by the Justice Ministry in December 2025, aims to replace the PTA and was opened for public comments until 28 February. The detailed joint communication argued the draft Bill’s current framework is “significantly vague and overbroad”, making it prone to both unintended consequences and deliberate abuse, which could be used to target the civil society and human rights defenders. The Opposition also protested over the possibility of using the new regulations to suppress the opposition.
The law and order situation got worsened with the killing of a lawyer and his wife in broad daylight within a kilometre’s distance from the Army Headquarters. Walking on a tricky ground, the Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala rejected claims the death of attorney-at-law Buddhika Mallawarachchi and his wife signifies a breakdown in national security or the rule of law. He dismissed what he described as attempts to frame the shooting as a broader security crisis.
"This is an isolated incident and does not pose a threat to national security or the rule of law," Wijepala stated. Acting Cabinet Spokesperson, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath, when trying to defend the position taken by Wijepala, ran into rough weather when journalists gave him a clear lesson on the meaning of national security. Similarly, the Bar Association Chief, Rajeev Amarasuriya also had to eat his words when he said that representing any criminal is a Constitutional obligation of lawyers. He himself appeared for the victims while no lawyer was there to represent the suspects. Amarasuriya’s theory that ‘no person is a criminal until proven guilty by court’ seems to be applicable only to a selected few.
The student protests are continuing with the Kelaniya University having decided to suspend all student activities within the University premises and student centres after 10 p.m., based on a Supreme Court order. The decision was taken by the Anti-Ragging Committee on 16 February and came into effect on Tuesday (17).
The statement further noted that legal action would be initiated against any attempts to act in violation of the directive. However, addressing the media, the Inter-University Students’ Federation Convenor Sasindu Perera condemned the move by the University administration. Perera said that student unions at the University level would continue to protest until the decision is withdrawn. He further claimed that students would disregard the administration’s directive and continue their activities as previously.
Another railway strike was averted in the 11th hour much to the relief of school students attending the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Examination on Wednesday (18). The Locomotive Operating Engineers Union has called off the strike that was scheduled to commence from Tuesday midnight. The Union Secretary Dimuthu Edirisinghe said the decision to suspend the strike was taken following the Government’s move to temporarily halt the plan to provide train driver training to Army officers. The strike was announced in protest against a move to begin training a group of military officers as train drivers, during a meeting held for newly recruited trainee train drivers. Locomotive operators opposed the decision to include the proposed military officers in the training program.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Transport Minister Prasanna Kumara Gunasena stated the decision to provide train driver training to 20 Army officers has been temporarily suspended. The Government decided to train Army men to run trains in an emergency situation and the trade unions (TUs) have strongly protested against the move. While the public supported the move, it became difficult for the radical JVPers to defend the move as they had continuously supported the TUs that opposed the move in the past. Former TU leaders now in the Government are faced with a dilemma of its own creation.
The writer is a journalist, diplomat, and media professional with extensive experience in public communication and international media relations
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication