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.

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

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.

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.  

Sri Lanka is in negotiations with China regarding a currency swap, according to the Daily Mirror.

A Chinese embassy representative said that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) would have a “negotiated amount” and “concrete developments” by the end of this month. 

On the 13 July 1985, the initial draft of the Thimpu principles was read aloud during “peace” negotiations mediated by the Indian government. Whilst the supposed peace negotiations have themselves come under criticism as merely being a ploy by the Sri Lankan government to stall the armed conflict and rearm themselves, this was a defining moment in the Tamil liberation struggle. It was the first time that a coalition of Tamil political organisations had unanimously agreed on a set of basic principles which centred on the right to self-determination.

Former TNA MP and Kilinochchi candidate Sivagnanam Sritharan backtracked on comments he made comparing TNA spokesperson M A Sumanthiran with LTTE political strategist Anton Balasingham, just three days after making the initial remarks.

Following weeks of controversy after Sumanthiran was criticised for expressing anti-LTTE sentiments which he was forced to recant, Sritharan urged Tamils to accept Sumanthiran’s “immense skillset and analytical strategies”, even commenting on his resemblance to Anton Balasingham.

Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, was elected as the new Chair for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT).

"I am delighted to have been elected as chair of the APPG for Tamils. My constituency is home to a significant population of Tamils, making Tamil the second language in the borough of Sutton," the MP said in a press release.