Anura Kumara Dissanayake sworn in as Sri Lankan president. What does it mean for India?- The Week

Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in on Monday as the ninth President of Sri Lanka. At a ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, he was sworn in as the president by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. Anura emerged as the winner in Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Sunday with a decisive mandate.

“It is very clear that the people wanted a change in the political and economic set-up of Sri Lanka. He is a pragmatic leader who is both mentally and physically fit to do the job entrusted by the people of this country,” professor Anil Jayantha told THE WEEK over phone from Colombo.

Anura's emergency

Anura’s ascent to the Sri Lankan executive presidency is meteoric as he secured a mere 3.2 per cent votes in 2019 election. The people have resonated with Anura because of his anti-corruption rhetoric, social justice and his call for economic reform. Unlike Ranil or Sajith or Namal, Anura doesn’t come from a wealthy political dynasty. Anura is no new to Sri Lankan politics. He was part of Chandrika Kumaratunga’s SLFP government in the early 2000s as an agricultural minister. He is an MP from Colombo and leads the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or the People’s Liberation Front. JVP is the main constituent in the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, which has three seats in the 225-member parliament. In 2019 he contested against the powerful Rajapaksas and Sajith to win only three percent votes. His prospects improved impressively in these five years due to an impressive grassroots campaign.

It all began in 2021, when Gotabaya came up with a new fertiliser policy. Since then Anura and his team began working with the people and also participated in the Janatha Aragalaya or the people uprising in 2022. “We became part of that struggle, not as leaders or planners, but as participants. As a political movement, the NPP recognised the significant challenges in fulfilling the aspirations of that struggle. While anarchy is not a solution, and some form of constitutional authority must be maintained, the core demands of the people were not fully addressed in the resulting political framework. However, the people have entrusted us  the responsibility of carrying their hopes forward through the election. We benefit from the momentum of that uprising and the people’s desire for change,” Anura told The WEEK in an exclusive interview.

Born on November 24, 1968, at Thambuthegama in Anuradhapura district, Anura’s early life in politics began during the JVP insurgency in 1987. Born to a daily wage labourer father and a housewife mother, Anura was the first to get into a university from Thambuthegama Central College, where he did his undergraduate. He became active in student politics and later got into full-time politics in 1987, with the onset of the JVP insurrection during 1987-1989. Later he got into the University of Peradeniya and left due to threats and then studied at University of Kelaniya and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical science. In 1995, he became the national organizer of the Socialist Students Association and was appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP and later into the polite bureau in 1998. And later when Chandrika Kumaratunga came to power, the JVP revamped itself only to get back into mainstream politics under Somawansa Amarasinghe.

“I believe only Anura and the NPP can bring in a change in Sri Lanka. I am for a change. Corruption has to go for the economy to be thriving. All the other contenders are from the same old guard,” says Chandani Karunaratne, a student from Jayawardenapura university. Chandani and her classmates were part of the Aragalaya in 2022 only to get inspired by JVP’s people policies.

What does Anura’s emergence mean to India?

His victory might alter the geopolitics in the region as he is considered to be close to China. Though Anura says that he will maintain cordial relations with India, the JVP’s idea of continuing with the IMF with certain amendments and their stance on the investments made by the Adani’s in Sri Lanka are indications of Anura’s plans to alter the existing relations with India.

From its inception, JVP has always been anti-India. JVP staged the 1987 insurrection, as the prospect of Tamil autonomy in the North-East and the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) stirred up a wave of Sinhalese nationalism. Once the JVP denounced Indian-origin estate workers, or the hill country Tamils, as a “fifth column instrument of Indian expansionism”. For decades JVP voiced against various deals like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which opened up possibilities for greater trade and investment between India and Sri Lanka. In 2008, he voiced in Sri Lanka’s parliament against the handing over KatchaTheevu back to India.

However in his exclusive interview to THE WEEK, just ahead of the voting day, Anura sounded positive in engaging with India. Incidentally, he was one of India’s guests in February this year and called on External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and other MEA officials. “Our approach to India will reflect its close proximity and significant role in geopolitics. India has made impressive strides in both economy and technology, and it is crucial to our development and regional security. We will ensure that our sea, land and airspace are not used in ways that threaten India or regional stability. Additionally, we will carefully consider how our economic measures impact our country, recognising the importance of India’s support in our development efforts,” he added.

On the apprehensions about his close proximity with China, he said, “It is well known that there is competition between India and China in our region. India, being a country in the Indian Ocean, understands the strategic significance of our region’s political and economic positions. Meanwhile, China is actively working to consolidate its economic and political influence here, and we are aware of this as well. Our approach will be to safeguard regional security while leveraging economic opportunities to our advantage. However, we are committed to maintaining our sovereignty and will not become subordinate to any power in this geopolitical race. We believe in adopting a strong foreign policy that aligns with the global conditions and serves our national interests effectively.”

How Anura’s emergence can alter the Sri Lankan polity?

Though the JVP-NPP combine is popular among the people, particularly the youngsters, there are two apprehensions against Anura and his party. Anura’s popularity and his revolutionary ideas doesn’t go well with the Colombo elitist and the rich in the country. In 2019 the people voted for Rajapaksas because there was a fear factor about terrorism returning to the country. Though the country has come out of terrorism, JVP’s revolutionary ideas and their insurrections in the 1980s are the two issues that still linger in the minds of the people. “In 2022 when Aragalaya was at its peak, the houses of MPs were burnt. Many places were set on fire. Who did that? Do we have an answer? The JVP was well entrenched in Aragalaya. So this fear factor is there this time,” a senior officer close to Ranil Wickremesinghe told THE WEEK, during the election campaign.

On the other side, the Tamils look at him as yet another version of the Rajapaksas who celebrate the Sinhala majoritarianism. Anura is clearly against the 13th amendment and unlike Ranil or Sajith he did not utter a word on devolution of powers to the people in the North and the East. During his campaign in the North, he told the Tamils that he did not come to ask for votes in exchange for a promise to implement the 13th Amendment. “We didn’t come here to ask for your vote. We didn’t come here to tell you that we’d offer you the 13th Amendment and you can vote for us in exchange. I didn’t come here to offer you federalism so I can ask for your vote. I came here to discuss how we can help Sri Lanka emerge from its crisis.””

Apparently, the JVP’s rise to power will also ensure that the traditional SLFP and the UNP votes which got divided this time split further and shift to the JVP. However, it remains to be seen how the JVP-NPP combine will perform in the ensuing parliament elections.