The author Avtar Singh Bhasin has served in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for three decades and has specialized in South Asian affairs. Being a former Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Historical Research (1994-1997) and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary Studies, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (1997-2001), he elucidates the internal and external development of relations between India and Sri Lanka, the trends leading to the introduction of Indian armed forces, India's mediatory role and the present indirect involvement. Sri Lanka has been in turmoil for most part of her existence as an independent nation. Tamils, whether of Indian origin or ethnic, had been at the centre of this turmoil. While the question of citizenship for the Tamils of Indian origin was resolved, the problem of ethnic Tamils continues to be intractable. India has between the contradictory pulls of sovereignty of Sri Lanka and demand for Eelam of the Tamils. India's involvement in brokering an honourable solution had an adverse impact on the ethnic problem in that it raised Tamil expectations and proportionately their intransigence. In a momentous development of events India's induction of her armed forces led to her entering into an armed conflict with the very people, whom she sought to protect. In the end, Indian intervention proved self-defeating and she came out of the Island battered and frustrated. It also brought home to India succinctly the limitations of interventionist policies in today's world.