Rathindra Kuruwita

Journalist at The Diplomat Magazine

Individualism is the opiate of the masses

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Articles

India-Pakistan Crisis: Sri Lanka Navigates Neutrality Amid Strategic Anxieties

2 weeks ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty has hit Sri Lankans hard. They are calling for caution in negotiating agreements with India. Subscribe for ads-free reading Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka usually suffers the least from conflicts between India and Pakistan, due to its island status and consequent geographic separation from the rest of South Asia. However, India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has caused great unease in Colombo.
India-Pakistan Crisis: Sri Lanka Navigates Neutrality Amid Strategic Anxieties - Tribune Content Agency

2 weeks ago | tribunecontentagency.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

Among South Asian countries, Sri Lanka usually suffers the least from conflicts between India and Pakistan, due to its island status and consequent geographic separation from the rest of South Asia. However, India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) has caused great unease in Colombo.
NPP Sweeps Sri Lanka’s Local Elections, But Vote Share Plummets

4 weeks ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

Different issues determine electoral choices in national and local government elections. Subscribe for ads-free reading Sri Lanka’s local government elections on May 6 have thrown up interesting results.
India Tightens Grip Over Sri Lanka with Defense Pact

1 month ago | island.lk | Thilina Walpola |Rathindra Kuruwita

Sri Lanka’s JVP-led NPP government has made a dramatic pivot towards India, even utilizing legislative changes it once vehemently opposed. On August 19, 2023, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, then an opposition leader, criticized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe had signed with India.
Why Sri Lanka’s Rejection of a Land Bridge With India Is the Right Call

1 month ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

Physical connection to India could dissuade other countries from deepening ties with the island, as it will be seen as New Delhi’s client state. Subscribe for ads-free reading The Sri Lankan government has reportedly informed India that it is not ready for physical land connectivity between the two countries, despite long-standing interest from sections of Colombo and New Delhi policy circles, and rapid progress made in that direction during the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration.
Why Sri Lanka’s Rejection of a Land Bridge With India Is the Right Call

1 month ago | flipboard.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

4 hours agoHeavy exchange of fire lasts two hours as Indian Army neutralise terrorists, recover massive arms cacheBaramulla - April 23, 2025 Following a recent terror strike, Indian Army personnel launched a search operation and uncovered a significant weapons cache. They took down two terrorists and recovered AK-series rifles, multiple magazines, a pistol, 10 kilograms of RCIED (Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device), and various war-grade supplies.
India Tightens Grip Over Sri Lanka With Defense Pact

1 month ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

On August 19, 2023, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, then a Sri Lankan opposition leader, criticized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe had signed with India. “We must have the freedom to freely move our hands and legs! But with this agreement, we will be in a situation where we are unable… to take any political or economic decision” independently, he said in a speech to National People’s Power (NPP) affiliated ex-military personnel.
Breaking Decades of Silence, Sri Lanka Revisits the Batalanda Legacy - Tribune Content Agency

2 months ago | tribunecontentagency.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

Lenin once said: “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.”This quote quite aptly describes recent developments regarding the Batalanda torture camp and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s involvement in the brutal counterinsurgency campaign against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the late 1980s. Wickremesinghe was then the Minister of Industries in the United Nationalist Party government led by Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Breaking Decades of Silence, Sri Lanka Revisits the Batalanda Legacy

2 months ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

An interview with a former President that led to public calls for a probe into the Batalanda Commission Report has finally prompted the government to reopen a dark chapter.
Sri Lankan Defense Budget Grows Despite Troop Reductions

2 months ago | thediplomat.com | Rathindra Kuruwita

In its 2025 budget, the Sri Lankan government has allocated its 442 billion Sri Lankan rupees (around $1.5 billion), a 3 percent increase from $1.45 billion in 2024, and up 15 percent from $1.3 billion in 2023. Only the Ministries of Finance, Planning and Economic Development ($2.41 billion), Health and Mass Media ($1.71 billion), Public Administration, and Provincial Councils, and Local Government ($1.68 billion) received bigger budgets.