^{The fake tweet, purportedly from India's foreign affairs minister.}

The Indian High Commission in Colombo has issued a series of tweets slamming a “morphed image” which claims to be from India’s external affairs minister, offering to proclaim Sri Lanka “become a State if India” in response to the ongoing economic crisis.

The fake tweet, which the High Commission said is “completely fake and fabricated” claims to show a tweet from S Jaishankar, stating that “India is extending a hand of survival to people of Sri Lanka” and “will look after all the future issues of Sri Lanka too”.

The edited image had been widely shared amongst Sinhala social media, where historic anti-Indian sentiment has been brewing.  

“Such mischievous attempts by desperate parties will never succeed in affecting the close, friendly and age-old ties between India and Sri Lanka,” the High Commission continued.

As Sri Lanka enters emergency discussions with the International Monetary Fund, India has offered its support by calling on the IMF to “urgently provide financial assistance”. Whilst India has been more willing to provide aid to Sri Lanka, it has also pressed its demand to expand several projects in the Tamil homeland.

During the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva earlier this year, India further stressed the need for Sri Lanka to meet “the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community” and implement “meaningful devolution” through the 13th Amendment.

However, these demands have been met with fierce resistance from Sri Lankan outlets such as the Sunday Times LK which accused India of “diplomatic blackmail”. In an editorial they claimed that whilst Sri Lanka is “gasping for economic oxygen”, India has kept urgent economic aid “as a carrot at the end of a list of conditions” Sri Lanka must meet.