The Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization (TESO) was an Eelam Tamil supporters organisation founded in 1985 with Dr. Kalaignar Karunanidhi as President and

K. Veeramani Krishnasamy Veeramani (born 2 December 1933 in Cuddalore) is an Indian politician. Personal Veeramani was born in Cuddalore, South Arcot District, Tamil Nadu, his original name was Sarangapani. He had his primary education at Cuddalore and ...

and Nedumaran as members for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka.Gopalakrishnan, ''Periyar: Father of the Tamil race'', p. 54. When the Central Government of India ordered Tamil Eelam leadership to be sent out of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, thousands of Tamilians marched along the streets of New Delhi protesting against the provocative order. Five days later TESO successfully prevented movements of trains throughout Tamil Nadu as a protest against the extradition of the Eelam leadership. When the situation on the borders between India and Sri Lanka were tense, Nedumaran heroically sailed to Sri Lanka, videotaped the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and on his return, went straight to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

to apprise him of the situation in Sri Lanka. Rajiv Gandhi refused to meet him and thus showed his indifference to the sufferings of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.Gopalakrishnan, ''Periyar: Father of the Tamil race'', p. 55. When the Government of India sent an Indian Battalion to Sri Lanka as the

Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan ...

(IPKF), the Dravidar Kazhagam protested against it. The worst fears of the Dravidar Kazhagam regarding the IPKF proved true within a week or two of its functioning in Sri Lanka. The battalion had to take orders from the Sri Lanka Government and naturally that Government employed the IPKF against the guerrilla fighters of Eelam. Very soon, Indian papers reported that the Indian Government was spending at the rate of

rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

ten million per day for maintaining the IPKF in Sri Lanka. The general public then realized that making the Indo-Lanka pact was a historic folly on the part of the Indian Government awoke to the realities but stood on false prestige and did not wish to withdraw the IPKF. But the Government of Sri Lanka insisted on the withdrawal of Indian troops in May 1989 probably because this force tried to prevent the Sri Lanka army from hunting down not only the freedom fighters but the innocent Tamil civilians.

Revival of TESO

On 20 April 2012 M. Karunanidhi sought the revival of the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO). After this announcement M. Karunanidhi got severe criticism from several other pro-Tamil leaders. After several hurdles on 12 August 2012 TESO conference held as Eelam Tamils Rights Protection Conference at YMCA grounds in chennai.

References

{{reflist Tamil Eelam Politics of Tamil Nadu 1985 establishments in Tamil Nadu Organizations established in 1985 Foreign intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War Indian Peace Keeping Force

Revival of TESO

See also

References