Troubled Sri Lanka
The crisis in Sri Lanka could be attributed, apart from the autocratic style of the Rajapaksas, to the setback the country’s tourism industry — the mainstay of Sri Lanka’s economy — received, first by the onslaught of COVID-19 and then compounded by the Ukraine war. With the present volatile situation in the country not showing signs of abatement, the industry would take many more years to regain its past glory. Its economy is going to plummet only further. India needs to take a number of proactive steps as a neighbour. Apart from economic aid, it has a duty to safeguard the interests of the ethnic community, still treated as aliens in their own country. There is every possibility of the present economic crisis snowballing into an ethnic conflict at some time or the other. Such a situation would have a cascading effect on Indian shores. India has an unenviable task of treading a middle path.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
Sri Lanka has been a victim of both prolonged bad governance and misfortune. Deep-rooted corruption and the disastrous handling of the economy along with the loss of tourism earnings have brought the country to the brink of collapse. The country does need a new leadership which is honest and able to turn the situation around. The main lesson is that the Rajapaksas have shown how things can go terribly wrong.
Gregory Fernandes,
Mumbai
Is Sri Lanka on the cusp of anarchy? Ostensibly, democracy is being supplanted by mobocracy. Interestingly, the plight of India’s neighbours seems to have a common thread — the leadership in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar is facing difficulty, having to fall from grace and demitting office ignominiously. The long and short of the collapse of the economy in Sri Lanka is the running of the country on the whims and fancies of the rulers of the day sans sound economics. India must use its good offices to salvage the sinking Sri Lankan ship.
Deepak Singhal,
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Every chapter describing the ongoing Sri Lankan events must be a lesson for the power mongers of India in particular and those of all nations in general. Though the main theme is about the island country’s economic crisis, it only followed the tyrannical and irresponsible style of governance there that was characterised by corruption, inefficiency, selfish motives, arrogance, egoism and the rest. Unfortunately, the financial status and way of functioning of governments in India compare well with Sri Lanka. It is no silly matter that the angst of the people in Sri Lanka prevented the perpetrators of the crimes from escaping to other countries. That India is larger and more diverse is no thread to hang on. No global diplomacy can come to one’s help. So is the dependence on the oft-quoted “people’s mandate” in elections. All voters cannot be fooled all of the time.
P.R.V. Raja,
Pandalam, Kerala
Ensure food safety
The dictum ‘consumer is king’ remains more in breach than in trust. As the consumption of packaged foods and bottled drinks is on the rise, ensuring food safety concerns rests on food regulatory authorities. One has to accept that FSSAI approval remains mere tokenism. Barring the expiry date, other assimilable quality details are hardly visible on food packages.
Dr. V. Purushothaman,
Chennai
Shivkumar Sharma
In the passing of santoor maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, the nation has lost one of its most illustrious sons who placed the string instrument on a high pedestal in Indian classical music. The cascading flow of notes would send the listener into rapturous delight. The nation needs to acknowledge his gargantuan contribution to Indian classical music.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
