By Deepak Joshi Pokhrel The agitated Sri Lankan last Saturday stormed the presidential palace and torched the Prime Minister’s residence in the capital city, Colombo. Unhappy over the rulers’ handling of the country’s economy, which left their lives in the doldrums, the disconsolate Lankans sent the ruling into hiding. The frustrated Sri Lankans from across the country arrived in the capital city in hordes to stage a protest against the rulers’ mismanagement of the economy. The members of the Rajapaksa cabinet including President Gotabaya  Rajapaksa, finance minister Basil Rajapaksa and other Rajapaksa brothers such as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa fled the capital to save themselves from the wrath of the people. The absconding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to step down on July 13 to facilitate an all-party government. Having experienced decades of Tamil insurgency, this Island nation of South Asia has been facing the worst economic crisis. There are shortages of essential goods including life-saving drugs. The price of daily commodities has skyrocketed and people have to stand in queue for hours to buy groceries if they are available. The nation is experiencing 14 hours of power outage causing a massive downfall in industrial production. It is really very surprising to see that the nation with the strongest economy, highest per capita income and higher education level among the South Asian nations has suffered the worst economic crisis since it got its independence from Britain in 1948. It is understandable how an one time economically prosperous country has been passing through a rough phase compelling people to come to the street to stage a protest. The Island nation was earning huge foreign exchange through tourism which was keeping the economy afloat. In plain words, it can be surmised that tourism was one of the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy. However, the tourist arrival nosedived following the bombings in churches and luxury hotels by unidentified groups in April 2019.  As if this was not enough, the COVID outbreak also adversely affected the smokeless industry of the country adding to its woes. In addition, the decision of President Rajapaksa to turn the agriculture sector into an organic one is also considered a blunder. The economists argue that the decision to adhere to organic agriculture forced authorities to import agriculture items from abroad by paying foreign currency. With passage of time, the foreign exchange depleted, laying the ground to breed economic crises in the nation. The observers argue that heavy borrowing from abroad, even at higher interest rates, caused the country's economy to suffer. It signed the Belt and Road agreement paving the avenues to receive loans from China. The Rajapaksa rulers received loans from China but were unable to pay them off. As a result, they were forced to hand over their Hambantota seaport to China on lease for 99 years. Another factor that led to the existing situation of the island nation is its decision to reject the US offer of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). According to analysts, the government's denial of accepting the MCC must have angered the USA which has been a development partner of Sri Lanka since long. For many, the two events - heavy loans to China and denial of accepting the MCC - have played their part in further depleting the foreign exchange reserves, inviting serious economic and other crises in Sri Lanka. Everyone agrees that the economic mismanagement by the Rajapaksas is the leading cause that put the island nation into its worst economic crisis Back home, many hint that there are many similarities between the economy of Sri Lanka and Nepal. Both nations depend heavily on tourism to sustain their economy. The economists caution that our authorities must take clues from the Sri Lankan crises that will enable us to save from facing the similar economic crises. Nepal faced similar crises as that of Sri Lanka after the COVID pandemic that resulted in decline in the arrival of tourists. Like in Sri Lanka, we are also struggling to tackle the rising fuel prices as a result of the Russian-Ukraine war. At the same time, an alarming trade deficit, heavy spending, rising debt and rampant corruption have also posed a threat to our economy. The economists think that our economy is stronger than that of Sri Lanka. They argue that Sri Lanka’s present economic crisis is the result of Rajapaksa brother’s mismanagement of economy due to their rigidity and autocratic way of handling governance. Nepal leaders must not act in the way of Rajapaksa brothers and relatives in the face of the growing crisis. Our leader’s unwillingness to learn from Lanka's crises will only lay the ground to experience a similar situation in Nepal. Like Sri Lanka, our economy has limited production and export of certain goods and services. Sadly, these economies do not have the ability of Chinese or Indian economies and thus cannot survive risks created by external or international events. If media reports are any guide, Sri Lanka seemed reckless in making its economy risk-free. No doubt, Sri Lankan rulers were successful in decimating Tamil rebels, But, sadly, they transformed into an arrogant and autocrat in recent times. They thought that if they could wipe out the dreaded terrorists, they could well handle any crisis facing the nation. Nevertheless, they failed to notice that managing the economy is a completely new game. After failing to address the fallout from the pandemic, rising international debts, skyrocketing fuel prices, declining agriculture products and bad tax policy - they made another mistake. They took suggestions and inputs provided by their 'yes-men' while handling the looming worst economic crisis that ultimately left a telling blow to their hopes of clinging to power for long. Their immature behaviour and poor governance led Sri Lanka to face the worst economic crises ever. We hope our leaders learn from them and save the nation.