The edited volume is an outcome of the national seminar held at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) on the theme “India-Sri Lanka Relations: Is it Time for Reorientation of Policy”? The edited volume deals with politico, economic and security developments within Sri Lanka in recent years, particularly under the Unity Government of Sri Lanka (2015-2019). The volume also examines India-Sri Lanka relations within the framework of India’s “neighbourhood first policy” and Sri Lanka’s “India first policy”. The book while examining bilateral relations in a historical context also looks at the impact of domestic political factors on bilateral relations, trade and investment opportunities and the role of foreign policy within the context of changing geo-politics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The chapters in this edited volume are written from the perspectives of former practioners, scholars and journalists from India, closely following India-Sri Lanka relations. Editor: Samatha Mallempati (Ed) Dr. SamathaMallempati is a Research Fellow in Indian Council of World Affairs. She did her MPhil and PhD from South Asian Division, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi and Masters in Political Science from JNU. Her research interests include developments in India’s neighbourhood, foreign policy with a specific focus on Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar. She has published in various journals and has been contributing to various websites on topics related to internal developments in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar. Contents Foreword Contributors Perspective on India-Sri Lanka Relations: Amb. Nirupama Rao Former Foreign Secretary, GoI and High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Introduction 1. “White Man’s Burden?”: Colonial Impact on Inter-ethnic Relations in Sri Lanka and India-Sri Lanka Relations N. Manoharan 2. Abhayagiri Monastery in Anuradhapura as a Seat of Tantric Buddhism and its Connection with Odisha Umakanta Mishra 3. Why Cultural Linkages won’t Work as a Tool for Policy-Making in Contemporary Context? N SathiyaMoorthy 4. Perspective on India-Sri Lanka Relations of the 1980s Pratap Heblikar 5. Indian Federalism and Sri Lanka: A Journalist’s Perspective T. Ramakrishnan 6. Buddhist Extremism, Anti-Minorities Violence and Buddhist Monks in Sri Lanka S. Y. Surendra Kumar 7. Contemporary Sri Lankan Politics: The Road Ahead Sripathi Narayanan 8. Bilateral Trade and Emerging Value Chain between India and Sri Lanka Kashika Arora andBiswajit Nag 9. India-Sri Lanka Cooperation in Developing Blue Economy AdluriSubramanyam Raju 10. India-Sri Lanka Relations: A Traditional and Non-Traditional Security Perspective T. C. Karthikheyan 11. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Relations (2015-2019): Implications SamathaMallempati 12. Present State of Defence Cooperation between India and Sri Lanka: Issues and Challenges Gulbin Sultana Index