Foreign Policy Issues Before the New Government: The Sri Lanka Problem

Sri Lanka's ethnic problem—the problem of the political and socioeconomic status and related questions concerning the large number of Tamil settlers in its northern and eastern districts—dates from the time that India and Sri Lanka (earlier called Ceylon) got their independence in the late forties, or even earlier. The Tamils in Sri Lanka have contributed greatly to the country's tea plantations and industry and have made many other useful inputs into the island's economy. But they have, for long, been subjected to innumberable disabilities—such as lack of full civil and property rights, non-assimilation into the national mainstream and even statelessness—and have been the target of periodic violence and killings. In order to protect themselves from these orgies of violence and to advance their legitimate interests, they have, from time to time, formed various associations or organizations. Of these, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) — currently led by A. Amirthalingam — has been about the most organized and well-known at home and abroad. In view of the fact that generally the Tamils had migrated from India during the past seven or eight decades, they tend to look up to India for sympathy and moral and material support during periods of crisis, severe harrassment and violence. By the same token—and also on account of its concern for peace and good neighbourly relations in the region—the Government and people of India could not be totally unconcerned about developments touching on this problem. Most recently, President Zail Singh expressed this concern in his address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on 17 January 1985: “The ethnic violence in Sri Lanka is a matter of deep concern to us. We are convinced that use of force cannot lead to a solution. A political process, in which all the concerned parties are involved, can alone lead to a just settlement. Conditions must be created in Sri Lanka to enable the return of the large number of refugees (estimated to be over 40,000) who have been forced to take shelter in India.†A week earlier, the Sri Lankan Minister of Rural Industries, S. Thondaman had met Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who reportedly took the opportunity to express his concern at the continuing violence and tension-prone situation in Sri Lanka.