Sri Lankan Tamil refugees: a voiceless, undignified existence

Abstract

Sri Lankan Tamil refugees are a forgotten group of people living in India. Since the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, Sri Lankan-Tamils have sought refuge in Europe, Canada, Australia, and India. The first wave of refugees arrived on the Indian soil in July 1983. They were repatriated when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) went to Sri Lanka after the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of 1987. The civil war resumed in 1990 and the second wave of refugees returned. In 1991, the killing of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, allegedly by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), forced the Government of India to change its policy towards the Sri Lankan-Tamils. Education was banned from 1992 to 1996. More than 52,000 refugees were repatriated from 1992 to 1995. With the resumption of the third Eelam war in 1995, the third wave of refugees started to flow into India till 2002 when the Ceasefire Agreement was signed between the LTTE and the Government of Sri Lanka. As the fourth Eelam war started in 2006, the fourth wave of refugees too started. Presently, there are about 58,000 refugees in 106 refugee camps and two special camps spread over the state of Tami Nadu. Nearly 40,000 Sri Lankan-Tamils live outside the camps. An entire generation of refugees lives in the camps without having seen their country of origin. The controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) excludes the Tamils from being eligible for Indian citizenship though there are many Tamils of Indian origin among the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. This article examines their trials and tribulations over the past four decades in confined camp conditions facing a severe restriction of movement in the face of being accused as the killers of a former Indian prime minister.