Let me tell you a story. There is this tiny small pearl-shaped island nation in the southern part of the bay of Bengal, floating in the Indian ocean. It’s documented history going back over 3000 years, home to few of the earliest known Buddhist writings, a hub for international trade through most of medieval history, being a rich depot of spices and luxury then unimaginable to westerners and, of course, all the colonial restructuring from the Portuguese to the dutch to the British to now the independent nation of Sri Lanka aside, today, Sri Lanka is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. Okay, this is where it gets interesting. Sri Lanka is now facing the worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by the clampdown on tourism during the pandemic. This has left the country unable to buy enough fuel, with people facing acute scarcity of food and necessities, heating fuel, and gas. As protests over fuel shortages erupted across the nation, Sri Lanka deployed troops to fuel stations. As a result of the country's severe fuel shortage, motorists have had to deal with long lines to fill their tanks daily. And this is only one of the country's many problems. Sri Lanka is experiencing a full-fledged economic collapse. The situation has become highly bleak due to rising prices and the country's debt crisis. Private banks have run out of foreign exchange to finance imports, resulting in severe food shortages. Since January, even India has helped Sri Lanka with USD 2.4 billion, including a $400-million currency swap and a $500-million loan deferment. Last month, Sri Lanka signed a USD 1-billion credit line with India to procure food, medicines, and other essential items. The past week, the current party in power had to declare a state of internal emergency to deal with the mass protests being demonstrated throughout the country. But how did it get to this state? Wasnt Sri Lanka a prospering nation? Where does China come into all this? Is this the debt trap of china’s diplomacy? Is this the fate that beholds almost the entire African subcontinent in the near future? We will answer all of those in today's episode and more. As always, Thank You so much for taking the time in listening as well as reading this. Do not forget to follow the podcast on any platform you are listening to and review it if you are on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you want to get in touch with me, here is everything I am accountable for - Have a great day! > www.linktr.ee/neogyspandan