Dr Manmohan Singh wisely kept awake while Tamils were killed in Sri Lanka: R Rajagopalan

Political analyst and 'Vaartha' bureau chief R Rajagopalan joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on Rajapaksa visit protest.

Q. India in a Catch-22 situation? Asked by: vinny

A. Yes. All due to UPA-2 failures. In UPA-1 the Indo-Sri Lanka policy was given a burial. Centre did not ask State government which was ruled by DMK. India was a witness to the Tamils in north eastern province being killed. India's foreign policy was a flop show, hence it is in a Catch-22 situation.

Q. Do you think sentiments for the Tamil cause still are strong in TN? Asked by: R Mukundan

A. Yes certainly. it is like a wild fire, but not visible.. outside it looks smoke, but fire is certain. In other words, under current is certainly there.

Q. Now that China is aggressively wooing Sri Lanka, do we have any option but to cozy up to Rajapaksa? Asked by: Sashi

A. Failure of UPA-2 vision on international relationships. It is a direct blame on Indian foreign ministry. Yes, there is a way out to contain China influence in Sri Lanka. But that needs political will power.

Q. Do you think India could have used strong arm tactics against Lanka when they went about killing Tamil civilians? Is it true that the Rajiv Gandhi incident strengthened India's decision not to intervene and allow LTTE to completely die out? Asked by: Kalpana

A. UPA had no will power to take on Sri Lanka. Through diplomatic channels. Bring pressure on Sri lanka from super powers. Intentionally, India witnessed the killings of Tamils. This accusation is prevalent in entire Tamil Nadu. Many political parties in Tamil feel that UPA failed to protect Tamils in Sri Lanka. Rajiv Gandhi killing was a great stumbling block for autonomy for Tamils in northern parts of Sri Lanka.

Q. While sentiments for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka run high in Tamil Nadu, India does not have any other option but to be on the good books of Colombo. How can the game be balanced? Asked by: eega

A. I do not think so. India has many options. But Indian political leadership needs will power. Not a lame duck South Block. There were occasions when India could have kept Sri Lanka on sanctions. Game can be balanced - as long as LTTE was around it was a balancing act. India need not indulge in their internal struggle. But brave type of approach as Indira Gandhi did, is now the need of the hour. But unfortunately we do not have a tall leader like Indira Gandhi in 21st century.

Q. Should India not follow a uniform policy on Sri Lanka? They should either completely support Sri Lanka or vehemently oppose them.Has this dithering on foreign policy not caused the pathetic situation where India is worldwide completely irrelevant even in our backyard? Asked by: supratik

A. I do not think so. India can still play a key role. But not with the present defunct Government in New Delhi. My understanding is that Indo-Sri Lanka policy is directly related to Tamil Nadu. For past twenty years, DMK and ADMK were in power. Where as in Centre NDA and UPA. During NDA regime, due to MDMK and Vaiko Atal Bihari Vajpyaee NDA gave support to Tamils. No massacre of Tamils taken place during Vajpayee regime. There was no vengeance with NDA approach towards Sri Lanka and even Sri Lankan Tamils.

Q. So what would be the next step of Central Govt. of India in regard of Sri Lanka Tamil's political solution to resolve 30 yrs prolonging ethnic Issues? and what would be a determination of India in forthcoming HRC meeting will be held in Geneva on March? Asked by: RajRuba

A. With the entire Tamil race being wiped out, I do not think there is a new approach to Indo-Sri Lanka issues. One top Congress leader jokingly told me and that is the truth. That P V Narasimha Rao cleverly settled Ayodhya issue by sleeping, and Dr Manmohan Singh wisely kept awake while Tamils were killed. Thereby Indo-Sri Lanka issue is settled. This is the view of a senior Congress leader. I tend to go with this.