India–Sri Lanka landmark Accord: 39 Years On, still a Blueprint for Proximity and Power

  •   Sun, Aug 02 2026
  •   By Anwith G Kumar

Aug 2, 2026

Thirty-nine years ago, on July 29, 1987, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J. R. Jayewardene signed the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord in Colombo. It was not merely a peace agreement; it was an ambitious effort to reshape the grammar of South Asian diplomacy. The accord aimed to end Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict while positioning India as a guarantor of stability in the Indian Ocean. Nearly four decades later, its influence still endures. The agreement remains a reference point in bilateral relations—less for what it accomplished than for the lessons it compelled both countries to absorb.

At its heart, the accord promised devolution. By affirming Sri Lanka’s unity and territorial integrity while requiring provincial councils, it offered a constitutional route toward minority rights. The 13th Amendment, which emerged from this accord, still serves as the legal foundation for provincial autonomy. Yet it has never been fully implemented. Successive governments in Colombo have resisted meaningful power-sharing, while Sinhala nationalist forces have viewed devolution as an external imposition. For Sri Lankan and other Tamil leaders, the amendment represents the bare minimum for reconciliation; for critics, it is a Trojan horse that threatens sovereignty. As a result, the 13th Amendment persists not as a resolution but as a permanent arena of contestation—evidence that constitutional pledges without political commitment are little more than paper guarantees.

The military side of the accord proved even more consequential. India’s deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was intended to stabilize Sri Lanka. Instead, it pulled New Delhi into a bloody conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The IPKF lost thousands of soldiers, alienated Sri Lankan public opinion, and generated resentment at home. The lesson was harsh but lasting: India cannot secure influence in its neighbourhood through coercion alone. Sovereignty matters, legitimacy matters, and patience matters. The IPKF debacle hardened India’s caution in later crises, pushing policy toward diplomacy, economic leverage, and quiet engagement rather than military intervention. 

Fast forward to the present, and India’s Sri Lanka policy looks distinctly different. The emphasis is now on development assistance, credit lines, energy cooperation, and maritime coordination. During Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022 and 2025 cyclone Ditwah devastation, India was the first responder—providing fuel, food, medicines, and financial relief under its Neighbourhood First and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrines. This was not altruism alone. A destabilized Sri Lanka posed risks to India’s security and the wider Indian Ocean balance. Aid became strategy: humanitarian relief doubled as geopolitical investment. Defense cooperation, disaster-response mechanisms, and engagement through BIMSTEC reflect a maturity absent in earlier decades.

Yet the relationship is not free from competition. China’s deep presence in Sri Lanka—ports, loans, and infrastructure—has turned Colombo into a node of great-power rivalry. India cannot afford complacency. Its response has been to expand maritime surveillance, conduct naval exercises such as SLINEX, and deepen infrastructure partnerships. The message is unmistakable: India will not surrender its strategic neighbourhood. But Colombo’s balancing act between Beijing and New Delhi ensures that the island remains contested rather than securely aligned.

Meanwhile, persistent irritants continue to complicate ties. The fishermen’s dispute in the Palk Bay remains a recurring source of public anger. Arrests, accusations of illegal fishing, and threatened livelihoods keep the issue unresolved. Even as strategic coordination deepens, everyday grievances can still erode trust. Without a lasting settlement, this dispute risks becoming the emotional fault line of the relationship. Still, the broader trajectory points toward structured partnership. The relationship is no longer defined only by crisis management; it is increasingly shaped by routine coordination and economic interdependence.

So how should the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord be judged? It was neither a triumph nor a failure. It was an audacious experiment: linking domestic conflict resolution with regional diplomacy. Its constitutional legacy—the 13th Amendment—remains disputed but indispensable. Its military misadventure—the IPKF—remains a cautionary tale. And its strategic lesson—that proximity cannot be managed through coercion—remains timeless. In South Asia, geography is destiny. Neighbours cannot be subdued; they must be engaged. The accord’s unfinished business reminds us that patience, cooperation, and restraint are not optional—they are the price of stability in a neighbourhood.

As India and Sri Lanka navigate economic recovery, Chinese competition, and maritime security, the 1987 accord continues to offer its warning: power without legitimacy is unsustainable. The blueprint it proposed—devolution at home and cooperation abroad—may be incomplete, but it still frames the debate. Thirty-nine years on, the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord is less a relic than a mirror, reflecting both the possibilities and the pitfalls of managing proximity in South Asia.

 

 
By Anwith G Kumar
Anwith G Kumar is a research scholar in the department of political science, Mangalore University, Konaje.
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Comment on this article

  • Kiran kamath, Puttur/Mangalore

    Sun, Aug 02 2026

    Fantastic content

  • Janardhana Poojary, Sheshadripurim/Bengaluru

    Sun, Aug 02 2026

    Great article Anwith 👏 👍 May God bless you 🙏


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Title: India–Sri Lanka landmark Accord: 39 Years On, still a Blueprint for Proximity and Power



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