The National Security Advisor of India recently made a thought-provoking statement regarding India’s neighbours. He said that, due to weak governance, public uprisings had led to regime changes in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. His statement was accurate. These uprisings occurred not only in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal, but also against Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The wave of uprisings did not spread to India. The reason was India’s people-friendly governance. Although the wave did not reach India, South Asian leaders, fearful of it, sought political asylum from India, which in turn created geopolitical challenges for India. The first to request political asylum in the face of public uprisings was Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. At that time, India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement:
‘India stands with the people of Sri Lanka as they seek to realise their aspirations for prosperity and progress through democratic means and values, established institutions, and a constitutional framework.’
Later, when Gotabaya fled to the Maldives, foreign media reported that his departure was facilitated through Indian intervention. The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka rejected this claim. However, when the uprising in Bangladesh was directed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she sought refuge in India. India granted her protection because she was a close friend of the country.
Although granting her shelter created tensions between India and Bangladesh’s interim government, India still provided her with asylum. Now, the Bangladeshi judiciary has sentenced the former Prime Minister to death on charges of crimes against humanity. The Bangladeshi government, under the extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India, has requested that she be handed over. This request has brought relations between India and Bangladesh into crisis.
In the 1980s, Indira Gandhi’s government also strained relations with Sri Lanka by granting shelter to Tamil militant groups, including Prabhakaran. Indira Gandhi provided protection partly because she opposed the pro-US foreign policy of J. R. Jayewardene’s government, but also due to her personal friendship with Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
When J. R.’s government attempted to revoke Mrs Bandaranaike’s civic rights, Indira Gandhi asked that it not do so. J. R. ignored this request, which hurt her feelings. Afterwards, Bandaranaike reported on J. R.’s pro-American policies, which further provoked Indira Gandhi.
Setting aside its neighbourhood policy, India has on two occasions supported two South Asian female prime ministers who were friendly towards India.
