For a people whose brethren fought an armed war of liberation against a nation-state for 25 years, the sense of nationalism among the Tamils in India have been remarkably flaccid. The political culture of the state of Tamil Nadu has always been one where nationalism was never far below the surface, but was undermined sedulously by political parties that pretended to accentuate it. A recent incident in the state shines light on how this charade has given way to the rise of malign forces that are hell-bent on eroding the ‘Tamilness’ of the Tamils. 

A museum displaying the life of Tamils who lived on the Vaigai plains in 6^th century BCE is set to be built in Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district.

The museum will exhibit artefacts discovered at Keezhadi and its neighbouring areas in Tamil Nadu, which consisted of six excavation phases. The high specification museum is said to have a budget of over Rs. 122 million (INR).

Today marks thirty-seven years since the horrors of the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983, when thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhala mobs backed by the then UNP government and state forces.

Armed with electoral rolls, Sinhala mobs targeted Tamil homes and businesses, looting and ransacking property. Driven from their homes, particularly in Colombo, over 3000 Tamils were massacred, whilst thousands more were effectively deported by the state to the North-East.

The families of the disappeared in Vavuniya expressed their solidarity to former Jaffna University law lecturer, Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan, following his resignation last week and insisted that “his situation further proves that we cannot do anything that opposes the military in the North.”

On their 1247^th of continuous protests last week, they said, “allowing Guruparan to work at the [Jaffna] University but not allowing him to work in a court to represent affected Tamils is a gross violation of justice and ethics.”

Former parliamentarian Selvam Adaikalanathan, called on the Sri Lankan government to take action against the intense harassment by navy officers towards Tamil fishermen in the North.

Adaikalanathan, leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) and a member of the Tamil National Party (TNA), asked the Sri Lanka President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa to “take necessary action” to stop navy officials from unnecessarily harassing fisherman under the guise of security in the Mannar.

The Sri Lankan navy launched  a new cashew plant project in Jaffna, defying repeated calls to cease intrusion into civilian life. 

While the navy has claimed that the project has been established to protect and preserve the biodiversity in Jaffna, their involvement in civilian affairs threatens the livelihoods of Tamils in the North-East. 

New military facilities have opened across army bases in Jaffna, as the military continues to consolidate its presence across the Tamil homeland. 

If Tamils demanded devolution then “a river of blood will flow in the North and East,” warned a group of extremist Sinhala Buddhist monks as they reacted to the release of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) manifesto.

“Devolution means secession,” said the monks, in remarks reported by Kalaikathir. “It means a separate state. A solution through devolution would divide Sri Lanka.”

“We will not allow the Tamils to find a solution through devolution. If they demand a separate state again, a river of blood will flow in the North and East.”

The Sri Lankan government is set to introduce a de-radicalisation process for terror suspects and detainees, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), according to the Sunday Times.

It vows to include “all those in detention for holding violent extremist views, those who have undergone weapons training and/or have engaged in violent activities.”

Sri Lankan navy officers assaulted a group of Tamil fishermen, leaving one man hospitalised with severe injuries.

The incident prompted the local fisherman in the area to gather and express their discontent in protest over the unprovoked attack near the Mannar bridge, yesterday.