Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism

Last updated

Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism is the conviction of the Sri Lankan Tamil people, a minority ethnic group in the South Asian island country of Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon), that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This idea has not always existed. Sri Lankan Tamil national awareness began during the era of British rule during the nineteenth century, as Tamil Hindu revivalists tried to counter Protestant missionary activity. The revivalists, led by Arumuga Navalar, used literacy as a tool to spread Hinduism and its principles. [1]

Contents

The reformed legislative council, introduced in 1921 by the British, was based on principles of communal representation, which led the Tamils to realize that they were the minority ethnic group and that they should be represented by a member of their own community. It was under this communal representation that Tamil national awareness changed to national consciousness—a less passive state. They formed a Tamil political party called the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). In the years leading to Sri Lankan independence, political tension began to develop between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities as the ACTC, citing the possibility of the majority Sinhalese adopting a dominant posture, pushed for "fifty-fifty" representation in parliament. This policy would allot half the seats in parliament to the Sinhalese majority and half to the minority communities: Ceylon Tamils, Indian Tamils, Muslims and others.

After Sri Lanka achieved independence in 1948, the ACTC decided to merge with the ruling United National Party (UNP). This move was not supported by half of the ACTC members and resulted in a split—one half of the party decided to merge with the UNP and the other half decided to leave the party altogether, forming a new Tamil party in 1949, the Federal party. Policies adopted by successive Sinhalese governments, and the 1956 success of the Sinhalese Nationalist government under Solomon Bandaranaike, made the Federal Party the main voice of Tamil politics. [2] Increased racial and political tension between the two communities led to the merger of all Tamil political parties into the Tamil United Liberation Front. This was followed by the emergence of a militant, armed form of Tamil nationalism. [3]

Before independence

Early beginning

Percentage of Sri Lankan Tamils per district based on 2001 or 1981 (italicised) census Sri Lanka Native Tamil.svg
Percentage of Sri Lankan Tamils per district based on 2001 or 1981 (italicised) census

The arrival of Protestant missionaries on a large scale to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon), beginning in 1814, was a primary contributor to the development of political awareness among Tamils. [4] The activities of missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Methodists and Anglican churches led to a revival among Tamils of the Hindu faith. Arumuga Navalar led a Hindu religious revivalist and reformist movement as a defensive response to the threat to their native culture posed by the British colonial and missionary activities. [4] He translated literary works to encourage the use of the Tamil Language and spread Hindu Saiva principles. Navalar's efforts to revive Hinduism, the predominant religion of the Sri Lankan Tamil people, influenced Tamils who built their own schools, temples, and societies, and who published literature to counter that of the missionaries. Thus, by 1925 nearly 50 schools, including the Batticotta Seminary, were fully functioning. [5] This revival movement also set the stage for modern Tamil prose. [6]

The success of this effort led the Tamils to think confidently of themselves as a community and prepared the way for their awareness of a common cultural, religious and linguistic kinship in the mid-nineteenth century. [4] [7] For these contributions to the Tamil people, Arumugam Navalar has been described as a leader who gave his community a distinct identity. [8]

Communal Consciousness

Great Britain controlled the whole island by 1815, and unified the country administratively in 1833 with a legislative council that acted as advisor to the Governor. The council was composed of three Europeans and one representative each of the Sinhalese, the Sri Lankan Tamils, and the Burghers. [9] But this situation changed in 1919 with the arrival of British Governor William Manning, who actively encouraged the idea of "communal representation". He created the reformed legislative council in 1921 and its first election returned thirteen Sinhalese and three Tamils, a significant loss in representation for the Tamils when compared to the previous council based on direct appointment by the governor. [10] [11] Because of this, the Tamils began to develop a communal consciousness and to think of themselves as a minority community. They focused on communal representation in the council rather than national representation, and decided that their delegates should be leaders from their own community. [10] This new sense of community identity changed the direction of Tamil nationalism. Starting in the mid-1920s, their developing national awareness transformed into a more active national consciousness, with a heightened determination to protect the interests of the Ceylon Tamil community. [8] Influenced heavily by political history and, perhaps more importantly, Colombo-centered developments of the British administration, this emerging Tamil national consciousness led to the establishment of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress headed by Tamil politician, G. G. Ponnambalam. [8] [12]

Development

Historic changes occurred in 1931: the reformed legislative council was eliminated, and the Donoughmore Commission, which rejected communal representation, was formed. Instead, the Commission introduced universal franchise, in which representation was proportionate to percentage of population. The Tamil leadership strongly opposed this plan, realizing that they would be reduced to a minority in parliament. Many Sinhalese were also against the idea of universal franchise for all castes.[ citation needed ] G.G. Ponnambalam publicly protested the Donooughmore Commission and proposed to the Soulbury Commission, which had replaced the Donooughmore Commission, that roughly equal numbers of congressional seats be assigned to Tamils and to Sinhalese in the new independent Ceylon being planned, but his proposal was rejected. From the introduction of the advisory council, through the Donoughmore Commission in 1931, to the Soulbury Commission in 1947, the primary dispute between the elite of the Sinhalese and Tamils was over the question of representation, not the structure of the government. This issue of power-sharing was used by the nationalists of both communities to create an escalating inter-ethnic rivalry which has been gaining momentum ever since. [12]

Ponnambalam's advocacy of Tamil nationalism was paralleled by a similar Sinhalese nationalism of Sinhala Maha Sabha, led by future Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike. This created tension between the two leaders and caused the exchange of verbal attacks, with Ponnampalam calling himself a "proud Dravidian". [13] This interethnic and political stress led to the first Sinhalese-Tamil riot in 1939. [14] (see Riots and pogroms in Sri Lanka )

After independence

All Ceylon Tamil Congress

All Ceylon Tamil Congress's flag Bandera All Ceylon Tamil Congress.svg
All Ceylon Tamil Congress's flag

The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), founded by G. G. Ponnambalam in 1944, was popular among Tamils because it promoted the preservation of Tamil identity. [8] The ACTC advocated a "fifty-fifty" policy, in which fifty percent of the seats in parliament would be reserved for Tamils and other minorities, the remaining fifty percent going to the Sinhalese. Which means 50% of the opportunities [education (university seats), employment, etc.) should be allocated to minorities. According to the ACTC this was a necessary defensive measure to prevent unwarranted dominance by the Sinhalese. In 1947, Ponnambalam warned the Soulbury Commission about this potential problem, and presented the ACTC's solution, which he called a "balanced representation". This fifty-fifty policy was opposed by a Muslim minority and sections of the Tamil community. [12] D. S. Senanayake, the leader of the Sinhalese political groups, allowed Ponnambalam full control over presentations before the Soulbury Commission, prevented Sinhalese nationalists such as Solomon Bandaranaike from taking the stage, and avoided the eruption of acrimonious arguments. [6] But the Soulbury commission rejected the charges of discrimination against the Tamils, and also rejected the fifty-fifty formula as subverting democracy. [15]

Later the ACTC decided to adopt a new policy: "responsive cooperation" with "progressive-minded Sinhalese". [8] Yet in 1948, Ponnampalam decided to merge the ACTC with the ruling United National Party (UNP), although he had stated earlier that the UNP was not progressive-minded. The merge was not supported by the entire party, and it ended up splitting the ACTC in half, with one faction merging with D.S. Senanayake's UNP and the other, led by S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, deciding to leave the party altogether and advocated for equal rights, 100% opportunities for Tamils without any racial barrier. In 1948, Ponnampalam voted in favour of one of several bills, later known as the Ceylon Citizenship Act which disenfranchised Indian Tamils ("Hill Country Tamils"). [8] [16] Although he did not vote for the other bills in the Ceylon Citizenship Act, because of his silence in parliament the Tamil public believed that he was not committed to Indian Tamil rights. [8] The ACTC remained the major Tamil political party until 1956, when the Federal Party took over that position. [17] The Tamil Congress still held parliamentary positions, however, and continued to be a force in Tamil politics. In 1976, the ACTC merged with other Tamil political factions to form a new party called the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). According to A.J. Wilson, it was the legacy of Ponnampalam that the consciousness of the Tamil people was raised, and they were inspired to see themselves as a separate Tamil national identity rather as merged in an all-island polity. [8] : 80–81 

Federal Party

In 1949, a new Tamil party, called the Federal Party ("Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi"), was organized by the people who broke away from the ACTC. Led by Chelvanayakam, it gained popularity among the Tamil people because it advocated Tamil rights. Its popularity was also due to the party's opposition to the Ceylon Citizenship Act and the Sinhala Only Act. [16] [18] As a result, the Federal party became the dominant party in the Tamil districts after the 1956 elections. Despite this, the Federal Party never asked for a separate Tamil state or even for self-determination. [17] Instead they lobbied for a unified state which gave Tamil and Sinhalese equal status as the official language and provided for considerable autonomy in the Tamil areas. [8] : 82–90  [17] It was against this backdrop that the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact was signed in July 1957, but pressure from the opposition and extremist groups forced Bandaranaike to abolish the pact. After the assassination of Bandaranaike, another pact was signed in 1965 between Chelvanayakam and Dudley Senenayake called the Dudley-Chelvanayakam Pact, but this agreement, like the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam pact, was never implemented. [8] : 81–110  The UNP was defeated in the 1970 election and replaced by the United Front (UF), led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the widow of Solomon Bandaranaike.

The new government adopted two new policies that discriminated against the Tamil people. [8] First, the government introduced a double standard for admission grades to universities, requiring the Tamil students to achieve higher grades than the Sinhalese students. [9] [19] Secondly, the same kind of policy was adopted for jobs as public servants, which were held by less than ten percent of the Tamil-speaking population. [8] : 102–103  [20] The Federal Party opposed these policies, and as a result Chelvanayakam resigned his parliamentary seat in October 1972. Shortly after, in 1973, the Federal Party decided to demand a separate, autonomous Tamil state. Until 1973, Chelvanayakam and the Federal Party had always campaigned for a unified country and thought that any partitioning would be "suicidal". The new policies, however, were considered to be discriminatory by the Tamil leadership, [21] and this modified the official position on Tamil Nationalism. To further the new political agenda, in 1975 the Federal Party merged with the other Tamil political parties to become the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). [8] : 82–111  In 1976, after the first national convention of TULF, the Ceylon Tamils moved toward a revised nationalism and were now unwilling to live within a confined, single-island entity. [8] : 101–110 

Tamil United Liberation Front

The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) was formed when the Tamil political parties merged and adopted the Vaddukoddai Resolution, named after the village, Vaddukoddai, where it was developed. In the 1977 election, TULF became the first Tamil Nationalist party to run on a separatist platform. It gained a majority of the votes in the north and east, won 18 seats, and became the largest opposition party in parliament. [22] The Vaddukoddai Resolution had a profound effect on Tamil politics—the parliamentary system was soon to be replaced by guns. TULF tried to refashion itself as the political division, negotiating an agreement with the executive president of Sri Lanka at that time, J.R. Jayewardene. This agreement, known as the District Development Councils’ Scheme, was passed in 1980, but TULF rejected it because J.R. Jayewardene had not agreed to let TULF have the five District Ministerships in the five Tamil districts where TULF received the most votes. [23] The Sixth Amendment was passed in 1983, requiring Tamils in parliament and other public offices to take an oath of allegiance to the unified state of Sri Lanka. It forbade the advocating of a separate state, and consequently TULF members were expelled from parliament for refusing to take the oath. [23]

Militant groups

Tamil women rebels in formation in Killinochchi, 2004 Tamil Tiger women at war.jpg
Tamil women rebels in formation in Killinochchi, 2004

After the expulsion of TULF from parliament, militants ruled the Tamil political movement. As a result, the 1970s saw the emergence of more than 30 Tamil militant groups. Anton Balasingham, the theoretician of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), states that the causes of the militarization of the Tamil youth were unemployment, lack of opportunities for higher education, and the imposition of an alien language. He further alleges that the majority Sinhalese government was responsible for these problems, adding that the only alternative left for Tamil youths was a "revolutionary armed struggle for the independence of their nation". [8] : 124  [24] Only five of the militant groups—People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) and LTTE—remained a potent political force; the rest were flawed ideologically and therefore not strictly Tamil Nationalist factions. [25]

Of these five dominant groups, the LTTE was the most solidly nationalistic Tamil resistance organization. Furthermore, because of its policies, constructive Tamil Nationalist platform, and desire for national self-determination, the LTTE was supported by major sections of the Tamil community. [25] It had established a de facto state in the areas under its control, called Tamil Eelam, and had managed a government in these areas, providing state functions such as courts, a police force, a human rights organization, and a humanitarian assistance board. [26] a health board, and an education board. [27] In addition, it ran a bank (Bank of Tamil Eelam), a radio station (Voice of Tigers) and a television station (National Television of Tamil Eelam). [28]

Notes

  1. ↑ Russell, J. (1982). Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution. Colombo: Tissara Publishers. pp. Ch. iv. ISBN   978-1-85118-002-8.
  2. ↑ Wilson, A.J. (1994). S.J.V. Chelvanayagam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Nationalism 1947–1977. London: Hurst & Co. pp. 140ff. ISBN   978-0-8248-1608-7.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Michael (2004). "Essay". Journal of South Asian Studies. 27 (1): 67–108. doi:10.1080/1479027042000186441. S2CID   219694926.
  4. 1 2 3 Gunasingam, Murugar (1999). Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism: A study of its origins. MV Publications. pp. 108, 201. ISBN   978-0-646-38106-0.
  5. ↑ Russell, J. (1982). "Communal Politics under the Donoughmore Commission, 1831–1947". Ph.D. Thesis. Tissara Publishers: 21.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. 1 2 Russell, J. (1982). Communal politics under the Donoughmore Constitution. Colombo: Tissara Publishers. pp. 22, 315. ISBN   978-1-85118-002-8.
  7. ↑ Vaitheespara, R. (2006). "Beyond 'Benign'and 'Fascist'Nationalisms: Interrogating the Historiography of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 29 (3): 435–458. doi:10.1080/00856400601032003. S2CID   144090634.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Wilson, A.J. (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. University of British Columbia Press. pp. 1–12, 27–39, 66–81, 82–111, 124. ISBN   978-0-7748-0760-9.
  9. 1 2 Stokke, K.; Ryntveit, A.K. (2000). "The Struggle for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka". Growth and Change: A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy. 31 (2): 285–304. doi:10.1111/0017-4815.00129.
  10. 1 2 De Silva, K.M.De Silva (2005). A History of Sri Lanka. Penguin. p. 448. ISBN   978-1-55394-121-7.
  11. ↑ De Silva, K.M. (1972). "The Ceylon National Congress in Disarray, 1920–1921". Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. 2 (1): 114.
  12. 1 2 3 Gunasingham, M. (1999). Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism: A study of its origins. MV Publications. pp. 6, 76. ISBN   978-0-646-38106-0. OCLC   44777400.
  13. ↑ Hansard, 1935, Col. 3045
  14. ↑ Full report in the "Hindu organ", 12 June 1939
  15. ↑ Report of the Soulbury Commission , London (1965)
  16. 1 2 De Silva, P.L. (1997). "The growth of Tamil paramilitary nationalisms: Sinhala Chauvinism and Tamil responses". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 20 (1): 97–118. doi:10.1080/00856409708723306.
  17. 1 2 3 Kearney, R.N. (1985). "Ethnic Conflict and the Tamil Separatist Movement in Sri Lanka". Asian Survey. 25 (9): 898–917. doi:10.2307/2644418. JSTOR   2644418.
  18. ↑ Tambiah, S.J. (1986). Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy. IB Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN   978-0-226-78952-1. OCLC   12808514.
  19. ↑ De Silva, K.M. (1984). "University Admissions and Ethnic Tension in Sri Lanka, 1977–1982". From Independence to Statehood: Managing Ethnic Conflict in Six African and Asian States.: 97.
  20. ↑ Goldmann, Robert B.; A.J. Wilson (1984). From Independence to Statehood. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 173–184. ISBN   978-0-312-30723-3.
  21. ↑ Russell R. Ross; Andrea Matles Savada. "Tamil Alienation". Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  22. ↑ DBS Jeyaraj. "TULF leader passes away". Hindu News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  23. 1 2 Wilson, A.J. (1988). The Break-up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 142–143, 228. ISBN   978-0-7748-0760-9. OCLC   21523218.
  24. ↑ Balasingham, A.S. (1983). "Liberation Tigers and Tamil Eelam Freedom Struggle". Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Jaffna.
  25. 1 2 Wilson, A.J. (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism:Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Sydney: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 131–132. ISBN   978-1-85065-338-7. OCLC   237448732.
  26. ↑ Stokke, K. (2006). "Building the Tamil Eelam State: emerging state institutions and forms of governance in LTTE-controlled areas in Sri Lanka". Third World Quarterly. 27 (6): 1021–1040. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.466.5940 . doi:10.1080/01436590600850434. S2CID   45544298.
  27. ↑ McConnell, D. (2008). "The Tamil people's right to self-determination". Cambridge Review of International Affairs. 21 (1): 59–76. doi:10.1080/09557570701828592. S2CID   154770852.
  28. ↑ Ranganathan, M. (2002). "Nurturing a Nation on the Net: The Case of Tamil Eelam". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 8 (2): 51–66. doi:10.1080/13537110208428661. S2CID   144811729.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sri Lanka</span>

The history of Sri Lanka is unique because its relevance and richness extend beyond the areas of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. The early human remains which were found on the island of Sri Lanka date back to about 38,000 years ago.

The Tamil United Liberation Front is a political party in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Ceylon Tamil Congress</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

All Ceylon Tamil Congress, is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceylon Workers' Congress</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) is a political party in Sri Lanka that has traditionally represented Sri Lankan Tamils of Indian origin working in the plantation sector of the economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka</span> Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka

Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They predominantly descend from workers sent during the British Raj from Southern India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee, tea and rubber plantations. Some also migrated on their own as merchants and as other service providers. These Tamil speakers mostly live in the central highlands, also known as the Malayakam or Hill Country, yet others are also found in major urban areas and in the Northern Province. Although they are all termed as Tamils today, some have Telugu and Malayalee origins as well as diverse South Indian caste origins. They are instrumental in the plantation sector economy of Sri Lanka. In general, socio-economically their standard of living is below that of the national average and they are described as one of the poorest and most neglected groups in Sri Lanka. In 1964 a large percentage were repatriated to India, but left a considerable number as stateless people. By the 1990s most of these had been given Sri Lankan citizenship. Most are Hindus with a minority of Christians and Muslims amongst them. There are also a small minority followers of Buddhism among them. Politically they are supportive of trade union-based political parties that have supported most of the ruling coalitions since the 1980s.

The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931 and 1947 in Ceylon. In 1931 there were approximately 12% Ceylonese Tamils, 12% Indian Tamils, 65% Sinhalese, and ~3% Ceylon Moors. The British government had introduced a form of communal representation which a strong Tamil representation, out of proportion to the population of the Tamil community. The Sinhalese had been divided into up-country and low-country Sinhalese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G. G. Ponnambalam</span> Sri Lankan Tamil politician (1901–1977)

Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), the first political party to represent the Ceylon Tamils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. J. V. Chelvanayakam</span> Sri Lankan politician (1898–1977)

Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam was a Ceylonese lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. He was the founder and leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and a political leader of the Ceylon Tamil community for more than two decades. Chelvanayakam has been described as a father figure to Ceylon's Tamils, to whom he was known as "Thanthai Chelva".

The origins of the Sri Lankan Civil War lie in the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Sri Lankan Tamils. The war has been described by social anthropologist Jonathan Spencer as an outcome of how modern ethnic identities have been made and re-made since the colonial period, with the political struggle between minority Tamils and the Sinhalese-dominant government accompanied by rhetorical wars over archeological sites and place name etymologies, and the political use of the national past.

Veerasingham Anandasangaree is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician, former Member of Parliament and leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front. He is commonly known as Sangaree. A vocal critic of violence committed by all sides, Sangaree is a supporter of federalism similar to that of India as a solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Eelam</span> Proposed independent state in Sri Lanka

Tamil Eelam is a proposed independent state that many Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Eelam Tamil diaspora aspire to create in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Large sections of the North-East were under de facto control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for most of the 1990s–2000s during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Tamil Eelam, although encompassing the traditional homelands of Eelam Tamils, does not have official status or recognition by world states. The name is derived from the ancient Tamil name for Sri Lanka, Eelam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Ceylon</span> British Crown colony (1796–1948); now Sri Lanka

British Ceylon, officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies from 1931 to 1948, was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.

The Soulbury Commission was a prime instrument of constitutional reform in British Ceylon that succeeded the Donoughmore Commission. It was announced in 1944 and headed by Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury. The immediate basis for the appointment of a commission for constitutional reforms was the 1944 draft constitution of the Board of Ministers, headed by D.S. Senanayake. This commission ushered in the Soulbury Constitution and independence to the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. Its constitutional recommendations were largely those of the 1944 Board of Ministers' draft, a document reflecting the influence of Senanayake and his main advisor, Sir Ivor Jennings.

The Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact was an agreement signed between the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and the leader of the main Tamil political party in Sri Lanka S. J. V. Chelvanayakam on July 26, 1957. It advocated the creation of a series of regional councils in Sri Lanka as a means to giving a certain level of autonomy to the Tamil people of the country, and was intended to solve the communal disagreements that were occurring in the country at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. M. V. Naganathan</span> Ceylon Tamil physician and politician

Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan was a Ceylon Tamil physician, politician, senator and Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Sivasithamparam</span> Sri Lankan Tamil politician

Murugesu Sivasithamparam was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil politician, Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi is a Sri Lankan political party which represents the Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minority in the country. It was originally founded in 1949 as a breakaway faction of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). In 1972, ITAK merged with the ACTC and Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) to form the Tamil United Front, which later changed its name to the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF). ITAK remained dormant until 2004 when a split in the TULF resulted in ITAK being re-established as an active political party. ITAK is a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. Ponnambalam</span> Sri Lankan Tamil politician and teacher

Vallipuram Ponnambalam was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and teacher. He was a prominent leader of the left-wing in northern Sri Lanka. He served as the secretary of the Jaffna District Committee of the Communist Party of Ceylon. Ponnambalam was noted for his 'clean image' as a political leader.

A by-election for the National State Assembly seat of the Kankesanthurai Electoral District, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, was held on 6 February 1975. The election was characterised by increased tension and marked a turning point in the emergence of Tamil militancy.

Jaganathan Tyagaraja was a Ceylon Tamil barrister, politician and member of the State Council of Ceylon.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.