Sri Lanka at 75 is a failed state - CBK

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has said "Despite possessing enviable social indicators at the time of Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka, at 75, is a “failed state”

Speaking to The Hindu, Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga said Seventy-five years is a long time for a nation to achieve considerable progress. 

She said that even after 450 years of destruction by colonial rulers, at Independence, Sri Lanka possessed some of the best socio-economic indicators and at 75, Sri Lanka is a failed state.

She added that widespread corruption at every level, had become the gospel of Sri Lankan politics, and had seeped down the major pillars of democratic governance, including the judiciary, the police, and the public service. 

She noted Independent Sri Lanka failed to “weld together” the diverse ethnic and religious communities to form a united pluralistic state.

She made these remarks during an online event, organised by the South Asia Foundation and the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.