ECONOMYNEXT – In a diplomatic maneuver that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, Tilvin Silva, the General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the ideological heavyweight behind Sri Lanka’s ruling National People’s Power (NPP), concluded a landmark 8-day official visit to India this week.

The visit, from February 5-12, marks the first time the veteran Marxist leader has set foot on Indian soil, signaling a definitive end to the party’s decades-long anti-India stance.

Accompanied by a high-level delegation, Silva was hosted under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations’ (ICCR) Distinguished Visitors Programme. The current Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also was an invitee under the same programme two years ago before he became the president.

Silva’s itinerary, covering New Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Thiruvananthapuram, was carefully curated to showcase India’s digital, agricultural, and industrial prowess.

The Beijing Prelude

The timing of this visit is strategically significant.

It follows Silva’s high-profile tour of China in June 2025, where he sought to study the “Chinese Model” of development and party discipline.

By following a Beijing expedition with a New Delhi “reset,” Silva is executing what regional analysts call strategic hedging.

For a party that once viewed Indian intervention as an existential threat to Sri Lankan sovereignty, the shift is stark.

Historically, the JVP spearheaded two bloody insurrections, with the 1987 uprising specifically targeting the Indo-Lanka Accord.

Today, however, Silva is seen engaging with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss growth opportunities and mutual benefit.

But local geopolitical analysts say Silva’s move could be due to the current geopolitical chess game with higher uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

They say there is hardly any change in anti-Indian sentiment within hardcore JVP supporters.

From Protests to Partnerships

In New Delhi, the delegation was briefed on India’s Neighbourhood First policy and the ‘MAHASAGAR’ vision.

Beyond mere rhetoric, Silva’s visit to learn about the Unique Digital Identity Authority of India (Aadhaar) and the Gati Shakti infrastructure plan suggests a government eager to modernize Sri Lanka’s bureaucracy using Indian technical blueprints, analysts say.

Silva, who himself along with his party criticized private-public partnerships and foreign monopolies, visited AMUL and the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

The delegation also studied the “Gujarat Model” of inclusive development, a move that underscores the JVP’s transition from a revolutionary movement to a pragmatic governing force, analysts say.

The De Facto Power

While Dissanayake holds the presidency, Silva’s position as General Secretary in the JVP’s politburo structure makes him the de facto ideological compass of the state.

Analysts see his visit to the Vizhinjam Deep-Water Container Transshipment Port in Kerala, a project developed via a PPP model, as a move of NPP’s willingness to move away from rigid Marxist dogma toward a developmental realism that welcomes regional cooperation.

As Sri Lanka continues to navigate a path out of its economic crisis, Silva’s Indian tour serves as a clear message that the “Red” party of the past has been replaced by a government that recognizes New Delhi as a trusted partner, successfully balancing the scales between the two Asian giants.

The Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) held a high-level and forthright engagement with the visiting delegation of the European External Action Service (EEAS), led by Director for Asia and the Pacific Paola Pampaloni, at the EU Delegation in Colombo, hosted by Ambassador Carmen Moreno.

The TPA delegation was led by MP Mano Ganeshan. Also present were TPA Vice President – International Affairs Barath Arullsamy and Up-Country People’s Front General Secretary and TPA Politburo Member Prof. Vijayachandran.

Ganeshan stated that while the TPA supports the continuation of Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) trade concessions for Sri Lanka, preferential market access must be tied to measurable guarantees of justice, equality, and dignified citizenship rights for historically marginalised communities, including secure land rights for the Malayaga Tamil people.

He emphasised that the credibility of the GSP+ depends not merely on ratification of international conventions, but on real, verifiable implementation, including: secure land rights for Malayaga Tamil families, elimination of entrenched discrimination in plantation regions, protection of labour dignity and eradication of exploitative, modern slavery-like conditions linked to plantation supply chains, and inclusive development and equal national integration. Without tangible progress, the spirit and governance logic of the GSP+ risk being undermined.

The TPA placed before the EEAS the continuing structural exclusion of the Malayaga Tamil community, highlighting persistent landlessness, intergenerational poverty despite sustaining key export sectors such as tea and apparel, systemic socio-economic inequality, and longstanding development neglect compared to national averages.

The delegation also noted with concern the continued silence of the Government of Sri Lanka despite repeated calls for dialogue and resolution on these matters. Independent policy evidence has consistently documented disproportionate vulnerability, unequal recovery, and structural exclusion affecting plantation communities.

Ganeshan conveyed grave concern over the exclusion of Ditwah-displaced Malayaga families from the Government’s Rs. 5 million per unit national housing scheme, while redirecting them to the Indian-assisted Rs. 2.7 million program.

He stated that separating plantation communities into inferior recovery frameworks risks institutionalising segregation and perpetuating systemic apartheid-like discrimination, incompatible with principles of equality and non-discrimination.

The delegation called for equitable and non-discriminatory disaster recovery for all affected Malayaga families.

The TPA reiterated its non-negotiable position:

1. Immediate inclusion of all Ditwah-displaced Malayaga families within the national housing framework.

2. International assistance cannot substitute the Sri Lankan State’s obligation to its own citizens.

3. Housing solutions must recognise land-based livelihoods, social structure, and safety needs of plantation communities.

The TPA emphasised that continued denial of land security and persistent structural discrimination raise serious questions regarding effective implementation of international obligations linked to the GSP+, particularly concerning non-discrimination and minority equality, adequate housing and land security, labour dignity and protection from exploitative conditions, and inclusive governance and development justice

Ganeshan stressed that recognition of land rights for the Malayaga Tamil community would constitute a concrete and measurable step towards demonstrating genuine compliance with the principles underpinning the GSP+.

The TPA called upon international partners, including the EU, to ensure that trade partnerships promote justice and inclusive national development, not merely economic exchange.

Resolving the longstanding marginalisation of the Malayaga Tamil community is essential for strengthening democratic inclusion, ensuring social stability, advancing equitable development, and upholding the credibility of Sri Lanka’s international commitments.

The TPA remains committed to constructive engagement, while affirming that justice, land rights, and equality are fundamental prerequisites for sustainable partnership and national progress.