Sri Lankan Tamils in India mainly refer to

Tamil people The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

of Sri Lankan origin in India and non-resident Sri Lankan Tamil. They are partly who migrated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and their descendants and mostly refugees from Sri Lanka because of the concluded Sri Lankan Civil War. In general socio economically they are living below poverty line, except few people who settled in India during early times, rich businessmen, and professionals. In

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

they are also known as Ceylon Tamils or Jaffna Tamils.

History

Early arrivals

During 19th century and early 20th century some

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...

especially from Jaffna migrated or settled in

for various reasons such as

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, employment in the British Indian government, business and other reasons. Among them were Hensman family, who migrated to

Chennai 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 ...

from Jaffna during late 19th century.

1960s

In 1948, immediately after the country's independence, a controversial law labelled the Ceylon Citizenship Act was passed in the

Sri Lankan parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

which deliberately discriminated against the Tamils of South Indian origin, whose ancestors had settled in the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. This act made it virtually impossible for them to obtain citizenship and over 700,000 Tamils (consisting of up to 11% of the country's total population) were made stateless. In 1964, a pact was signed between Bandaranaike and the then Indian Prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to repatriate much of the population of the stateless Tamils. Over the next 30 years, successive

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...

s were actively engaged in deporting over 300,000 Tamils back to India. It wasn't until 2003, after a state-sponsored pogrom against Tamils and a full-scale civil war, that Indian Tamils were granted citizenship but by this time, their population had dwindled to just 5% of the country's population. Tamils repatriated to India were assimilated with location population after taking Indian Citizenships, except a few pockets in Tamil Nadu, where they are still called as Ceylon Tamils. Most of the Tamils, who were repatriated, settled in various parts of

, while a few hundred families have settled in Punalur taluk of

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

, and in Sulya and Puttur taluks of

Dakshina Kannada district Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

where a majority of them work in tea and rubber plantations.

1980s

Following the events of the Black July riots, and later the outbreak of the Sri Lankan Civil War, tens of thousands Sri Lankan Tamil refugees arrived in

in four waves. The first wave on 24 July 1983, after

Black July Black July ( ta, கறுப்பு யூலை, translit=Kaṟuppu Yūlai; si, කළු ජූලිය, Kalu Juliya) was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated,T. Sabaratnam, Pirapa ...

, to the 29 July 1987 up until the

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling t ...

, 134,053 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived in India. The first repatriation took place after the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in 1987 and between 24 December 1987 and 31 August 1989, 25,585 refugees and non-camp Sri Lankan nationals returned to Sri Lanka. The second wave began with the start of Eelam War II after 25 August 1989, where 122,000 Sri Lankan Tamils came to Tamil Nadu. On 20 January 1992, after the assassination of

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 ...

54,188 refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Sri Lanka, until March 1995. Eelam War III commenced in April 1995 starting the third wave or refugees. By 12 April 2002, nearly 23,356 refugees had come to Tamil Nadu. The flow of refugees had stopped in 2002 because of the cease fire agreement.

Demographics

in India number in the hundreds of thousands, mostly in the state of

, the closest state to Sri Lanka and the easiest to get to. There is also a considerable amount in the state of

with around 700 refugee families. There are also a number of Sri Lankan Tamils in the eastern regions of

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

and

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

. Highest number of Sri Lankan Tamil families living in KK Nagar,

Thuvakudi Thuvakudi is a town in Tiruchirapalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is an industrial town housing more than 250 industries and is located in the National Highway NH 65 between Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur. The town has a dry w ...

Trichirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with be ...

Neelankarai Neelangarai (literally "blue shore") is a census town and is a locality in the south of Chennai. it is situated in Chennai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu about seven kilometers south of Adyar, Chennai. The former name of the city was ...

Valasaravakkam Valasaravakkam is a neighbourhood in the Chennai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and a residential suburb of the city of Chennai. It is located in the Poonamallee Taluk at a distance of approximately 15 kilometres from the Kilometer ...

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on ...

in Kanniyakumari, R.S puram,

Valparai Valparai (originally known as Poonachimalai) is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It consists of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP) and ...

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbat ...

Refugees

The

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...

refugees in

have three different kinds of shelter. The first is the camp refugees or those who took shelter in camps mostly located in the rural areas. They were sent from the Mandapam transit camp to different locations. The second group is non-camp refugees are those living in tented house with relatives and friends without any assistance from the government. Nearly fifty thousand refugees lived outside camps; most of them are staying in big cities. The third group consisted of those who supposedly posed security threats since they were involved in subversive activities in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. They were sent to special camps where they had to live under constant surveillance. These special camps came into existence in 1991.

The camps

Camp for Sri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu

When the first wave of refugees entered India in 1983, they were divided into three groups. Besides the camp and non-camp refugees, there were the militants in special camps. The

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature ...

had to welcome the refugees in the emergency situation. The Indian government did not like to send the refugees to other states because of the language barriers. India's continued refusal to sign protocols and also the ban on NGOs prevent any international help from reaching the refugees. There are nearly 80,000 refugees 132 camps in Tamil Nadu and one in Orissa. All refugee camps are registered. This entitles them to government assistance-cash, shelter, health facilities, clothing and provision of essential items. The refugees from Sri Lanka have been the recipients of one of the most advanced systems of education in the world, but since 1991, this privilege has been withdrawn. Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated with some degree of suspicion by the Indian government. It is due to the assassination of former Indian Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 by a suspected member of the LTTE. After that some refugee camps were moved away from coastal areas to isolated interior regions of Tamil Nadu state so as to prevent contact amongst the refugees belonging to different camps. Refugees also have strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and are treated as third grade citizens. If anyone disobeys the rules, they may have their monthly stipend and rations cut off as punishment. As India has not signed the international convention for refugees, the plight of the Sri Lankan refugees in India is not brought to the scrutiny of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and no other major human rights organisation has taken note of the suffering of the Tamils languishing in the "special camps" in India.

Militant refugees

Militant leadership has always been elitist and there is a clear line of distinction between them and the mass of refugees. The leadership drew its support and recruited its forces from the refugee camps. These camps no longer exist. They were all closed down after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, but their legacy continues to haunt the refugees.

Non-camp refugees

These are the refugees who do not receive financial assistance from the government. They are mostly rich businessmen and professionals. Most of the Sri Lankan Tamils lives in the pockets of

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

and

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland Ind ...

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its List of renamed Indian cities and states, former name Trivandrum (), is the Capital city, capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as ...

, Punalur in

Recent developments

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr.M.Karunanidhi assured that the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in and outside the camps would be granted Indian citizenship soon. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has backed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s call to give Indian citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India.

Prominent people

* V. Kanakasabhai *

Balu Mahendra Balanathan Benjamin Mahendran (19 May 1939 13 February 2014), commonly known as Balu Mahendra, was a Sri Lankan-born Indian cinematographer, director, screenwriter and film editor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. Widely regarded as ...

* S. C. C. Anthony Pillai was a trade unionist, politician and Indian Member of Parliament. * H.S.Hensman * J.E. Hensman * Mona Hensman *Major Willie Hensman *Rohini Hensman * Raibahadur Williamspillai * Paul M. Jayarajan aka Marcus Jayarajan Paul * E. M. V. Naganathan *

Arumuka Navalar Arumuka Navalar (; 18 December 1822 – 5 December 1879) was a Sri Lankan Shaivite Tamil language scholar, polemicist, and a religious reformer who was central in reviving native Hindu Tamil traditions in Sri Lanka and India. Navalar's bir ...

* * Donald Rutnam * E. M. V. Naganathan * J. K. Rithesh

References

* *

External links

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees stage hunger strike

OFERR

Sri Lankan refugees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lankan Tamils In India Tamil diaspora in Asia Sri Lankan Tamil society Refugees in India Immigration to India Sri Lankan diaspora in Asia History of Tamil Nadu (1947–present)