Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Colombo reaches out” (November 21). India must be grateful to Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his gesture of pardoning five Indian fishermen, taking them off the death row and allowing them to return to India. It is also a remarkable diplomatic success for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tamil leaders in India and even some members of the NDA had pilloried the BJP-led Government for allegedly showing a lackadaisical attitude towards the fishermen sentenced to death.
It is now expected that India will show a reciprocal gesture to Sri lanka and restrain from resorting to aggressive invectives pertaining to the internal affairs of that country.