Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora Research Articles

Understanding Eelam through the Diaspora's online engagement

This paper argues that a study of Diaspora's engagement with the media, especially that of ‘conflict-generated Diasporas’ is imperative to understand the dynamics of the conflict in the homeland in order to devise ways and means for conflict resolution. In the light of arguments that Diasporas often contribute to the prolonging and sustenance of a conflict, the paper takes up the example of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in Australia and makes a case for exploring the members' engagement with media, particularly online media, to understand the dynamics and the trajectory of the conflict. This is significant, firstly, in the context of the Sri Lankan Diaspora's role in the two-decade-long civil strife in Sri Lanka that is currently poised to enter another phase,1 and secondly in the context of websites having been and continuing to be one of the most sought after sources of information on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. The paper argues that the study of the reception of information on Tamil Eelam online by members of the Diaspora is imperative for an understanding of the ‘reconfiguration and remaking’ of Tamil Eelam.

Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka

This article looks at the dynamics of Diaspora groups as a possible catalyst for peace-building within violent segmented societies. With the help of two case studies, Irish-America's role in Northern Ireland and Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora's role in Sri Lanka, it locates the variable impacts of Diaspora involvement in violent conflicts within their homelands. Despite their unique histories and individual complexity, both of these cases illustrate that Diasporas have a significant role to play in peace-building, are diverse rather than homogenous communities, and that they represent an important and often underutilized resource to bring negotiated settlement to violent conflicts.

Sri Lankan Tamil Migration and Settlement

With the end of armed struggle in Sri Lanka, there will be now more pressure and anxiety among the thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil expatriates, especially living in the West. As most of them are refugees or asylum seekers, Western countries might intensity their repatriation attempts and can compel them to return home. Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, who formed the largest part of the expatriate population after 1983 Sri Lanka riots, have established themselves comfortably, particularly in Canada, Western Europe and Australia. Since the 1980s, alliance between the Colombo refugee agencies and European mafia has been reported numerous times. Though the Western governments responded with stricter repatriation policies, many Sri Lankan Tamils still managed to escape from their legal grip and continued staying in the West. Through appeals, protests and demonstrations, they tried convincing the Western governments of the human rights violations done by the Sri Lankan government. The Sri Lankan Tamil asylum-seekers also employed eccentric methods when they were detained by hard-line asylum policies in the respective countries. The multidimensionality of relations outside Sri Lanka has further helped in their migration and settlement. The post-1983 scenario created a setting to live an accomplished family and community life for the Sri Lankan Tamils by which they could constantly keep in touch with their relations, friends and culture, just like in homeland. Being born and bred outside Sri Lanka, the second generation Tamils, though curious about their traditions and customs, they are culturally more of West than Tamil. The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in the West has political and economic interests in Sri Lanka. However, not more than five per cent Tamil diaspora population is willing to return home. In such a scenario, the earlier conditions during deportation might revive. The Tamils may use their escape mechanisms to sustain in the West. In the light of this analysis, time has come to reconsider the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora’s profile, demography and settlement pattern.

From RPGs to MoUs: The LTTE and the Media. Perceptions of a ‘Terrorist’ Movement among the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora

From RPGs to MoUs: The LTTE and the Media. Perceptions of a ‘Terrorist’ Movement among the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora

Language shift and the family: Questions from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora1

Fishman's Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) emphasizes the family in maintaining the heritage languages of immigrant communities. This study uses interview data from Sri Lankan Tamil communities in the U.S.A., U.K., and Canada to explain how families account for the rapid loss of Tamil in the diaspora. It shows how the positive valuation of English since British colonization, the need to make up for past deprivations because of caste, religious, and gender inequality, the pressure for migrants to join the social mainstream, and the need to resolve intergenerational tensions influence the family to forego language maintenance goals. The findings encourage us to situate the family in macro‐social institutions, power, and history in order to understand the prospects for language maintenance. The article provides an inside view of the Sri Lankan Tamil migrant families to explain how they resolve the tensions of valuing cultural identity and yet disregarding heritage language proficiency.

From RPGs to MoUs: The Lite and the Media. Perceptions of a ‘Terrorist’ Movement among the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora

From RPGs to MoUs: The Lite and the Media. Perceptions of a ‘Terrorist’ Movement among the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora

DIASPORA INVOLVEMENT IN INSURGENCIES: INSIGHTS FROM THE KHALISTAN AND TAMIL EELAM MOVEMENTS

This article exposits and contrasts the roles of two diasporas in ethnic conflict waged in their homelands, namely the Sikh diaspora's involvement in the Punjab insurgency in north India and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora's role in Sri Lanka's Tamil insurgency. It draws out the various similarities and distinctions between the two in their use of technology, means of mobilization and identity production, and the geographical and political reach of their institutional arrangements. The article argues that the varying means by which these diasporas came into being affected the ways in which they mobilized and the positions they espoused towards homeland politics. It finds that the abilities of the two diasporas to contribute to events “back home” differed in part because of the scope of their respective institutional arrangements.

Ethnonationalist networks and transnational opportunities: the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

This article presents an empirical case study of a type of nonstate actor largely overlooked in the IR literature on transnationalism: the diaspora or transnational ethnic actor. Building upon findings from contentious politics or social movements scholarship, I highlight the nexus of domestic and transnational politics by demonstrating how actors form ethnic networks and utilise transnational opportunities to pursue political goals in various states. Specifically, I argue that the formation of ethnic networks in the Tamil diaspora has enabled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or ‘Tigers’ to engage in protracted insurgency against the Sri Lankan government army. Whereas traditional contentious politics scholarship is unable to explain the longevity and intensity of that conflict, a consideration of the transnational dimension provides new insight into how ethnic conflicts may be sustained. The combination of greater political freedom, community organising and access to advanced communications and financial resources in receiving states has allowed Tamil separatists in the diaspora to maintain ‘transnational ethnic networks’ which are in turn used to mobilise funds that have prolonged the secessionist campaign in Sri Lanka.