Milinda Moragoda urges Special Relationship with India

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, July 30: Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner-designate to India Milinda Moragoda says Buddhism is India’s “most precious gift” to the island nation, and is keen that a “special relationship” should be established between the two neighbours.

Moragoda pushes for exceptional relations with India in his 10,000-word report titled “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India 2021-2023” to be presented to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Though appointed early last year, he continues to be home-bound due to the coronavirus pandemic and the absence of flights between Colombo and New Delhi. The report was prepared under his guidance by Acting High Commissioner to India Niluka Kadurugamuwa and his senior colleagues at the Deputy High Commission in Chennai and the Consulate General in Mumbai.

The document notes that, being both essentially multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural countries, Sri Lanka and India have much in common. The sharing of their similar experiences is an ongoing process.

Given this backdrop, the report says the overarching goal of the Diplomatic Representations of Sri Lanka in India should be to contribute to the process of continuously maintaining the momentum of the existing partnership. This can be achieved by creating “multi-faceted platforms for strategic level dialogue and cooperation, with the ultimate objective being the elevation of the partnership to a special relationship—one marked by inter-dependence, mutual respect and affection.”

Moraguda says: “The fact that India’s greatest emperor, the Buddhist ruler Dharmashoka, saw fit to send both his son and daughter on separate occasions to our country as emissaries to introduce and spread the teachings of the Blessed One, epitomises the strong and unbreakable civilisational bonds that exist between our two nations.

“In addition, our two countries are bound by circumstances of geography, economics, culture, history, and just as importantly, our democratic values. Against this backdrop, any setbacks to our relationship, however intractable they may appear to be at any given point in time, can only be temporary.”

To achieve this overarching goal, his report suggests that the Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in India must foster political relations at all levels, through constant communication and by building trust. This process has to be carried out at the Central Government level by the High Commission in New Delhi, and by the Deputy High Commission in Chennai and the Consulate General in Mumbai at the level of states, under their respective consular jurisdictions under supervision of the High Commissioner in New Delhi.

It calls for strengthening the bilateral relationship through regular exchange of high-level political visits between the two countries, and enhancing cooperation with India at multilateral and regional level.

There should be an exchange of at least one high-level political visit, such as the Head of State/ Head of Government from either side each year, and also at Foreign Ministerial levels both ways, since it is imperative to maintain constant communication and to develop mutual trust at political level with India.

Additionally, exchanges between line ministers are also important. These exchanges need not necessarily be physical but can be by virtual means. Coordination with India in multilateral and regional fora is important to strengthen the bilateral relations. Foreign Ministry-level coordination should be facilitated for close cooperation in multilateral and regional fora, such as United Nations platforms, SAARC, BIMSTEC and IORA.

The report also suggests boosting parliamentary diplomacy. In addition to strengthening ties at the highest political level, it is important to foster relations between influential members of Parliament of the two countries, as also connectivity between people’s representatives of the two democracies. Exchanges between the Sri Lankan Parliament and the two Houses of the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) will be imperative to strengthen this relationship.

It seeks the re-constitution of a functional and vibrant Indo-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group in India’s Parliament, consisting of influential parliamentarians drawn from across the political spectrum of both Houses. This will provide the required impetus for the enhancement of political connectivity between the two countries.

The report recommends bilateral visits by Speakers of both Parliaments, a Sri Lanka-India Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Sri Lankan Parliament and mutual visits by MPs.

It seeks expansion of Sri Lanka’s footprint at the state level in India, and favours promoting greater interactions between Sri Lanka and the Indian states considered important from the Sri Lankan perspective. While enhancing political relations at both central government and parliamentary level, the island’s diplomats should endeavour to foster relations at the state level, too.

Interestingly, the cover of the document features an illustration of the Girihandu Seya stupa situated in the Eastern coastal village of Thiriyaya in the Trincomalee district. It is believed to be the world’s first Buddhist stupa, built by seafaring Indian merchant-brothers Tapassu and Bhalluka, enshrining the Buddha’s sacred hair relics.

It is believed that the Buddha gave his hair relics to the two merchants, who were his first lay disciples, and who offered him alms on the 50th day after his enlightenment. Chronicles say that soon after, in one of their trade voyages, the two brothers brought the sacred hair relics to Sri Lanka and built the stupa enshrining them.

The original stupa was built during the Buddha’s life time over 2,500 years ago. The present structure or the ruins of the ‘Vatadage’ (circular shrine house) consisting of a small stupa encircled by two concentric circles of stone pillars and a retaining wall of stone slabs, is believed to have evolved with time.

The stupa predates the advent of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and stands as an epitome of one of the earliest recorded interactions between Sri Lanka and India.