-By Malladi Rama Rao One aspect of Sri Lanka – India relations puzzles the layman and expert alike. It relates to firing on Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka Navy in Palk Bay. Firing incidents take place at regular intervals, mostly at early morning hours, and the ‘intruding’ fishermen are nabbed and jailed, and their vessels, which are mostly small wooden boats with no navigation instruments on board, are seized. Every time the Navy opens fire on Indian fishermen, Chennai goes into hyper-tension. Delhi goes into overdrive. Indian Prime Minister telephones the Sri Lanka President and the two foreign offices go into animated discussions. By sunset, tempers cool and Colombo assures Delhi that its fishermen would be sent back after due process of law and without any harm. This ‘protest- promise’ cycle seems to be endless. Understandably, for the Indian government, safety of Indian fishermen is national concern. It cannot...