The Manmohan Singh government has been sitting on the fence on Sri Lanka. It has acted with moderation on the twin resolutions criticizing the Colombo government’s treatment of the Tamil minority in the country. India voted in favour of a United Nations Human Rights Resolution which condemned Sri Lanka but stood against the more punitive sections. It has more or less dropped all of it in the proposed parliamentary resolution. This is not a well thought out policy. Short sighted domestic political goals have clouded it. On the diplomatic front, India decided to prevent international sanctions from being clamped on Sri Lanka. It was meant to be a friendly act ignoring the fact that the Sri Lankan government refuses to work out a political settlement for the Tamil minority. On the other hand, the UPA government is doing its best to prevent the DMK from turning into a hostile force. The DMK has pulled out of the UPA on the Sri Lankan issue. At the UN, India opposed UN intervention in Sri Lanka which could even be a military one. If India did not take this stand, it would have antagonized South Asia. However, electoral politics swayed New Delhi. The BJP and other opposition parties set their face against a parliamentary resolution, considering larger national interests.
Indian foreign policy has been under demagogic pressure in the past few months. Most of the ruling party members are keen on electoral calculations. Until the general election in 2014, it will be threatened by forces within. Delhi should ponder over the consequences of the Sri Lankan muddle. It should evolve a comprehensive strategy overriding regional and coalition interests.
