Question

What were the demands of the Tamils in Sri Lanka?

Answer 1

Hint: The situation was largely due to the effect of discrimination that the Tamil's faced in Sri Lanka. The Tamils were marginalized by the dominant community which was the Sinhalese. The Tamils living in Sri Lanka did not have much rights during that time.

Complete Answer:
The people living in Sri Lanka are mainly of two different communities. The Tamils and the Sinhalese. This division is very profound because both the communities have very distinct languages, religion and traditions. The Sinhalese community were the dominant community and the Tamils were severely discriminated against very badly. This discrimination and the trouble between them had started during the British colonial rule of Sri Lanka. Later, the strife became very violent and was resolved over a very long time through a difficult process.

Let us take a look at the demands that the Tamils had.
1. They wanted the Tamil language to be included as an official language. This was important for equal representation as only Sinhalese was recognised as the official language.

2. They wanted more regional autonomy in places where the Tamil population was higher. This was to ensure that they were able to formulate their own rules and regulations.

3. They also demanded for equality of opportunities in securing jobs and education. Since they were always discriminated against, this was a very important part of their demands.

4. Later, they demanded for the formation of an independent Tamil Elam (state) in the Northern and Eastern part of Sri Lanka.

Note: Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon when it was under the rule of the British.
- The strife led to a very long drawn out civil war in the country from 1983 to 2009.
- The government faced insurgency starting from 23 July 1983.
- Velupillai Prabhakaran led Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which was the rebelling group.
- The civil war was finally brought to an end after 26-years through a military campaign. In May 2009, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers.