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On 15 July, a 24-member delegation of young political leaders from Sri Lanka began their two-week familiarisation programme in India. The programme comes at a time of increasing engagement between India and Sri Lanka. Indeed, the economic crisis has been a turning point for India-Sri Lanka relations across various sectors, including connectivity, people-to-people ties, and development assistance. This also raises an important question: how does young India view Sri Lanka, and its ties with India?
The Observer Research Foundation, India’s premier think tank, conducts an annual foreign policy survey of Indian youth (18-35 years), who make up 43 per cent of the country’s population. The objective is to capture how youth perceive India’s foreign policy and its evolving role in the world. The pilot edition of the survey, which interviewed over 2,037 respondents, was released in August 2021. The subsequent editions have covered 5,000 respondents annually from 19 cities in 11 Indian languages (including Tamil).
The second iteration of the survey was conducted between June and July 2022, and the third was conducted between August and September 2023. The latest iteration, “Young India and the China Challenge”, released on 8 July 2025, was conducted between July and September 2024. While this survey does not capture the events following AKD’s victory, it does offer some critical insights into the direction of relations.
Over the last three surveys, the majority of respondents have expressed trust in Sri Lanka. This trust was 65 per cent in 2022 and 61 per cent in 2023. The latest survey shows that the trust has increased to 64 per cent. Similarly, when respondents were asked about India’s bilateral relations, in 2022, 61 per cent believed that relations were good or very good. This reduced to 56 per cent in 2023 and increased to 58 per cent in 2024. In both cases, optimism increased from 2023, and Sri Lanka has emerged as the third top pick (out of 11 countries). Over 55 per cent also said that India-Sri Lanka relations have increased over the last decade, i.e., since 2014.
Increase in overall bilateral cooperation, continued push for connectivity, and Colombo’s respect of Indian concerns, specifically the moratorium on Chinese ships, have also contributed to this optimism.
Despite the complex history and politics, optimism for Sri Lanka has increased in Chennai and South India. In 2023, only 33 per cent of Chennai trusted Sri Lanka. But, this has risen to 68 per cent in 2024. Similarly, respondents from Chennai, deeming relations as good, increased from 34 per cent in 2023 to 47 per cent in 2024. Furthermore, 55 per cent said that relations have increased over the last ten years. Geographically speaking, respondents from the South (Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Chennai) have been the most optimistic about Sri Lanka in terms of trust (76 per cent), bilateral relations (68 per cent), and ties over the last decade (60 per cent). This indicates that geographical proximity, hope and benefits from connectivity projects, and increasing people-to-people ties, such as additional air routes and a visa-free regime (since early 2024), are shaping this optimism.
The recent spike in optimism can also be attributed to economic and political stabilisation in Sri Lanka, which has mitigated instability and possibilities of refugee inflow into India, especially via Tamil Nadu. Increase in overall bilateral cooperation, continued push for connectivity, and Colombo’s respect of Indian concerns, specifically the moratorium on Chinese ships, have also contributed to this optimism.
That said, youth remain anxious about China’s interactions with Sri Lanka. Nearly nine in every ten respondents are concerned about Beijing’s rise and deem it an immediate military threat to India. Border conflicts with China are seen as the biggest foreign policy challenge. Fifty-six per cent of respondents believe that the immediate neighbourhood (Indian Ocean and South Asia) is strategically the most vital region for India.
Youth continue to hope that their neighbours will be reliable in promoting India’s regional security goals, especially with defence and security cooperation.
There is immense distrust of Chinese activities in the neighbourhood. Chinese ownership of Hambantota Port is ranked as the topmost concern (81 per cent) for India. This is closely followed by debt traps and Chinese spy vessels and submarine dockings in the Maldives and Sri Lanka (70 per cent each). As such, youth continue to hope that their neighbours will be reliable in promoting India’s regional security goals, especially with defence and security cooperation.
Youth are also supportive of India’s policy to counter China in the region (75 per cent). They concur that connectivity and development aid, i.e., grants and loans (86 per cent each), and first response and HADR operations (75 per cent each) are some of the most successful aspects of India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. This demonstrates support for India’s multi-faceted assistance to Sri Lanka during the economic crisis. This need for proactive policy is also fuelled by scepticism about BRI and support for India’s connectivity. Respondents believe that India’s connectivity is adequate across various sectors such as trade and economy (90 per cent), defence and security (87 per cent), digital and technology (82 per cent), energy (80 per cent), people-to-people (79 per cent), financial (79 per cent), and political (71 per cent). Several such projects are in the pipeline with Sri Lanka.
Subsequent surveys show that while major concerns regarding Chinese influence, the Tamil issue, and the fisherman issue persist, optimism looms large for Sri Lanka. It appears that historical and civilisational interactions, expanding people-to-people relations, and not just geopolitics and foreign policy, are dictating this assessment. Media coverage has played a crucial role in shaping this positive perception. For questions regarding trust (54-67 per cent), bilateral relations (47-62 per cent), and relations over the last decade (49-56 per cent) with Sri Lanka, optimism increased with respondents’ exposure to news. The increase in positive perception could thus be credited to media coverage of the improvement of ties between both countries, and Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.
The ground thus seems ripe to build on this momentum and establish ties that are resilient to turbulent Sri Lankan politics.
The survey also demonstrates overall support for India’s Sri Lanka policy, especially since 2014, despite existing irritants and turbulent politics. Today, the youth want India to play a proactive role through its Neighbourhood First policy to counter China. There is also support for India’s role during the economic crisis. The ground thus seems ripe to build on this momentum and establish ties that are resilient to turbulent Sri Lankan politics. AKD’s increasing defence cooperation, respect for Indian sensitivities, and new approach to Tamil politics could further improve the perception. However, his backtracking/ cancellation of projects, inexperience, and balancing could damage the same. Which way the pendulum swings remains to be seen.
This commentary originally appeared in Ceylon Today.
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Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy is an Associate Fellow with the Strategic Studies Programme’s Neighbourhood Studies Initiative. He focuses on strategic and security-related developments in the South Asian ...
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