A window to New Delhi’s mind was revealed when External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, emerging from the CCS meeting, said there is “no military solution” to this crisis and the “only lasting solution will come from political efforts to address the real concerns of the Tamil people, giving them lives of dignity within the Sri Lankan mainstream.”

“We understand that over 1 lakh civilians have emerged from the No Fire Zone into areas under Sri Lankan government control in the past three days but the lives of several thousands of innocent civilians remain threatened,” he said.

It is learnt that Mukherjee also spoke to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband late last night and Menon held consultations with heads of missions of European countries in New Delhi today.

Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Alok Prasad, who was called from Colombo, discussed the “way forward” with Mukherjee and Menon.

India, which has already dispatched 40,000 family packs for the Tamil civilians, is planning massive humanitarian assistance for “rebuilding and reconstruction” of the affected areas in the northern and north-eastern parts of Sri Lanka, home to the Lankan Tamils. A makeshift hospital which India set up in Palmoddai will be moved to Vavuniya to cater to wounded Tamil civilians.