NEW DELHI: India is shirking its responsibility in Sri Lanka, refusing to play its rightful role as a regional player to restore stability in its troubled neighbourhood, says BJP leader Jaswant Singh. As a former foreign minister and someone who has seen the workings of the government from “inside” Jaswant Singh should know a thing or two about foreign policy.

Singh was referring to the unstable conditions in South Asia and New Delhi’s muted response to the crisis. The transition in Nepal, the problems with Pakistan, the continuing terrorist violence in Kashmir and the situation in Sri Lanka.

Ever since the Indian military was thrown out of Lanka by late president Premadasa and the LTTE ganging up against India, New Delhi had kept the goings on in the island at arms length. Now more than over a decade has passed since the IPKF debacle “obliterated India’s self confidence” much like what happened after the border war with China, Singh said.

“It was the 1962 syndrome, all over again. India was shattered after the military defeat by China, the psychological scar remained with the nation for decades afterwards,” Sing told DNA, in an exclusive interview. He said it’s time Delhi got over this embarrassment and allowed India to realise its potential as a major power in the world. But the UPA government is unable to throw of the burden of the past.

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi effectively stopped New Delhi’s role in the messy affairs of Sri Lanka. Jaswant Singh’s NDA government also followed the same rule, though it vastly improved ties with both Sinhala parties. The ban on the Tigers continued.

But in 2001, during another crisis in Lanka, the then foreign minister, Jaswant Singh, flew to Colombo in a show of solidarity and announced a loan of $100 million. Perhaps realising New Delhi’s backing for the government, the LTTE opted for the Norwegian sponsored ceasefire next year.

Singh also lambasted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s foreign policy and criticised the government for not appointing a full time foreign minister. He dubbed the UPA governments foreign relations as fragmented and adrift without a wholistic view. “The PMO and the National Security Adviser cannot run the nation’s foreign policy.”