Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The struggle for Eelam (homeland) revolves around the notion of the Tamil nation and its traditional homeland, historically and geographically equivalent to the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka, and the inalienable right to self-determination. Following independence in 1948, the post-colonial Sri Lankan polity passed legislation on citizenship, language, and education favoring the majority Sinhalese at the expense of the minorities, particularly the Tamils comprising approximately 15 percent of the population. This led invariably to an escalation of Tamil demands, from federalism to armed struggle for a separate homeland. In the former avatar the Tamil political leadership coalesced around S. J. V. Chelvanayakam and the Federal Party (FP), which equated the rights of the Tamils to that of a separate nation. It demanded a federal state with language rights through non-violent struggle. In 1976, after the failure of successive Sri Lankan governments to adhere to promises made concerning decentralization, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was formed on a united political platform for Eelam. The shift to a call for independent statehood left the TULF vulnerable to an impatient generation of youths frustrated at the failure to gain any settlement from the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL). The origins of armed struggle can be traced to the founding in 1970 of the Tamil ... log in or subscribe to read full text