Remember our history, recognise our labour, say Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils
1 year, 6 months ago

Remember our history, recognise our labour, say Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils

The Hindu  

Marking 200 years since their arrival in Sri Lanka from southern India, to work in the British-run plantations, members of the island nation’s historically marginalised Malaiyaha Tamil community have sought greater recognition, political rights, and improved living and working conditions. Watch:How Sri Lanka’s economic crisis affected the Malaiyaha Tamil community Organised by the Institute of Social Development, an NGO working on addressing challenges facing the Malaiyaha Tamils, the event sought to highlight the centuries-long struggle of the much-neglected community, while demanding long-pending solutions to their enduring problems. The financial crisis that shook Sri Lanka last year has further compounded Malaiyaha Tamils’ economic distress, pushing more than half the population living in estate areas into acute poverty, a recent World Bank report noted. Along with Sri Lankan legislators, scholars, workers, artistes and activists from the Malaiyaha Tamil community, popular Tamil rapper Arivu, of ‘Enjoy Enjaami fame’ participated and performed at last weekend’s event.

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History of this topic

Malaiyaha Tamils of Sri Lanka: Shackled to a legacy of tea, toil for 200 years
1 week, 3 days ago

Malaiyaha Tamils of Sri Lanka: Shackled to a legacy of tea, toil for 200 years

New Indian Express  

NUWARA ELIYA: Sixty-three-year-old Natesan Jayaraman, in his 44 years of working in a tea plantation, has learnt that avoiding unnecessary conversations is a useful strategy that kept him away from trouble with his kanganis and dorais. Jayaraman, a Malaiyaha Tamil whose ancestors were brought from India to work in tea estates, started working in a plantation when he was 18 …

Interview | Sri Lankan democracy has been altered by citizens themselves: Jayadeva Uyangoda
1 month ago

Interview | Sri Lankan democracy has been altered by citizens themselves: Jayadeva Uyangoda

The Hindu  

Published : Nov 22, 2024 18:57 IST - 21 MINS READ Jayadeva Uyangoda, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Colombo, spoke to Amit Baruah about the groundbreaking November 14 election results and their implications for Sri Lanka’s future. Since independence—actually since 1931 when we got the universal adult franchise—political power through elections has always been the monopolistic …

Sri Lanka's tea industry faces crisis amid wage hike and tough conditions for workers
3 months, 1 week ago

Sri Lanka's tea industry faces crisis amid wage hike and tough conditions for workers

ABC  

It's 8am and there is sleeting rain — miserable conditions to be outside, let alone work in Sri Lanka's tea fields. Sagunthla is one of many Tamil women who make up the backbone of Sri Lanka's tea industry. He is advocating for a more measured 35 per cent wage increase, because Sri Lanka's tea industry is struggling with lower productivity …

‘Bring Manjolai tea estate, workers under TANTEA to ensure livelihood’
5 months, 1 week ago

‘Bring Manjolai tea estate, workers under TANTEA to ensure livelihood’

The Hindu  

The Manjolai Area Residents’ Welfare Association has appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to bring the Manjolai tea estates in the Western Ghats under Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation and allow the existing tea estate workforce of Manjolai to continue their work in the tea gardens as it would ensure their livelihood. In other words, the court ordered the BBTC …

Veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader Sampanthan passes away
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader Sampanthan passes away

The Hindu  

Veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, who dedicated his political life to pursuing a just solution to the island nation’s Tamil question, passed away in Colombo late on Sunday. Sampanthan, of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, was a sitting MP from the eastern Trincomalee district and led the Tamil National Alliance, the main grouping representing Tamils of Sri Lanka’s …

A story of displacement to one of empowerment
6 months ago

A story of displacement to one of empowerment

The Hindu  

The Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived on the shores of Tamil Nadu, India, for the first time in 1983 had lost everything. Currently, as of January 1, 2024, there are 57,975 refugees living in 105 government-run camps in Tamil Nadu and an estimated 40,000 Sri Lankan Tamils living outside the camps in Tamil Nadu with police registration from sources such …

A poverty of hope among Sri Lankan Tamils
6 months, 4 weeks ago

A poverty of hope among Sri Lankan Tamils

The Hindu  

When Antony Jesurathnam Mariapushparani, 62, recalls the horrific final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war in striking detail, it is hard to believe it has been 15 years since its end. I saw the destruction with my own eyes,” she says of the time when tens of thousands of Tamils, including women, children, and infants, were killed in the Sri …

Watch | 15 years on, justice and economic progress elude Sri Lanka’s Tamils
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Watch | 15 years on, justice and economic progress elude Sri Lanka’s Tamils

The Hindu  

The recent gathering of Sri Lankan Tamils in Mullaivaikkal, brought back traumatic memories of the devastating May 2009 civil war. However, despite the Sri Lankan government declaring it a ‘No Fire Zone’, the military carried out indiscriminate shelling, killing tens of thousands of Tamils. Sri Lanka’s armed forces faced serious allegations of violations of human rights and international law. Fifteen …

Sri Lanka’s Tamils face arrest as they remember the dead
7 months, 1 week ago

Sri Lanka’s Tamils face arrest as they remember the dead

The Hindu  

The recent arrest of four Tamils in Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province — when they commemorated their loved ones killed in the final phases of the civil war in 2009 — has put Tamils’ right to memorialise in sharp focus yet again. The police said the arrests were based on magistrate court orders that ruled against holding such commemorative events, citing …

A Tamil work that highlights issues and problems of hill country Tamils in Sri Lanka
10 months, 1 week ago

A Tamil work that highlights issues and problems of hill country Tamils in Sri Lanka

The Hindu  

Recent months have seen numerous events in India and Sri Lanka to mark the completion of 200 years of the organised migration of Tamils from Tamil Nadu to the island nation for employment in estates. One is a piece written in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in May 2017 to Hatton, one of the areas largely inhabited …

A cautionary tale from Indian Tamils in Ceylon
1 year, 1 month ago

A cautionary tale from Indian Tamils in Ceylon

Hindustan Times  

More people have heard of the fast-bowling Sri Lankan wizard of a spinner Muttiah Muralitharan than of the great community of “Indian Tamils” in Sri Lanka or the tea plantation workers on the Emerald Isle’s Hill Country, to which he belongs. That makes Muttiah Muralitharan one of the 4.2% of Sri Lanka’s “Indian Tamils”. Between 1978 and 1982, I had …

An under-discussed facet of colonial history
1 year, 1 month ago

An under-discussed facet of colonial history

The Hindu  

November 09, 2023 12:16 am | Updated 01:55 am IST This year marks the bicentenary of the arrival of Tamil indentured labourers in Sri Lanka, a milestone recently commemorated in Colombo at an event called “Naam 200”, where I delivered an address on this woefully under-discussed facet of our colonial history. It was not without reason that the British historian …

A symbolic march to retrace history and assert rights
1 year, 4 months ago

A symbolic march to retrace history and assert rights

The Hindu  

Some in the group had walked over 200 kilometres, before they reached Matale last weekend. Through the long march — from Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province to Matale in the Central Province —members of the Malaiyaha Tamil community sought to symbolically retrace their south Indian ancestors’ arduous journey, when the British brought them to Sri Lanka’s northern borders by …

Indian grant to be used for education, health sectors in Sri Lanka’s estate areas, says Minister Jeevan Thondaman
1 year, 4 months ago

Indian grant to be used for education, health sectors in Sri Lanka’s estate areas, says Minister Jeevan Thondaman

The Hindu  

The recently announced Indian grant of ₹75 crore, for development projects targeting Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils, will be used primarily for the education and health sectors in the island’s long-neglected tea estate region, according to Jeevan Thondaman, Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development. The grant, amounting to roughly $9 million, was among the announcements made by Prime Minister …

A people of an emerald isle, waiting with doosras
1 year, 6 months ago

A people of an emerald isle, waiting with doosras

The Hindu  

George Bernard Shaw visited Ceylon in 1948, skipping India altogether. ‘…born in Kandy…to a Hill Country Tamil Hindu family of tea plantation workers, the eldest of the four sons born to Lakshmi and to Sinnasamy Muttiah who runs a successful biscuit-making business, he is a grandson of Periasamy Sinnasamy who migrated from south India in 1920 to find work on …

Malaiyaha Tamils | Two hundred years of struggle
1 year, 6 months ago

Malaiyaha Tamils | Two hundred years of struggle

The Hindu  

Of the many tumultuous chapters in Sri Lanka’s history, the one on Malaiyaha Tamils is often glossed over. Brought down by British planters, to work at coffee and tea plantations, the Malaiyaha Tamils have played a crucial role not only in Sri Lanka’s export economy, but also in building the island’s road and railway infrastructure. The community identifies as a …

An uphill struggle in Sri Lanka’s tea country
2 years ago

An uphill struggle in Sri Lanka’s tea country

The Hindu  

Watch | How the economic crisis has hurt Sri Lanka’s hill Tamils Sathish Sumithra’s son, barely two years old, is too young to make sense of Sri Lanka’s unrelenting economic crisis, but not to escape it. “An egg costs 70 rupees now,” says Sumithra, breaking down what the country’s 70% inflation and over 80% food inflation means in her working-class …

CONTROVERSY | Fears in Sri Lanka over Tamil Nadu decision to scrap Tantea plantations
2 years, 1 month ago

CONTROVERSY | Fears in Sri Lanka over Tamil Nadu decision to scrap Tantea plantations

The Hindu  

Published : Nov 17, 2022 10:30 IST A Tamil Nadu government order issued in October this year to hand back tea plantation land to the Forest Department has caused anxiety and concern among plantation Tamils in Sri Lanka. Soon after Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, it refused citizenship rights for plantation Tamils and demanded that India take back over …

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe hopeful of resolving problems faced by ethnic Tamils
2 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe hopeful of resolving problems faced by ethnic Tamils

The Hindu  

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he is hopeful of resolving the problems faced by ethnic Tamils in the country, as he announced the appointment of a committee to find ways to integrate the Indian-origin workers in the plantation sector into the society. “While some of the Tamils of Hill Country origin had integrated successfully into the Sri Lankan …

Sri Lanka crisis: How do you fix a broken country?
2 years, 5 months ago

Sri Lanka crisis: How do you fix a broken country?

CNN  

CNN — For years it had been one of Sri Lanka’s grandest and most heavily guarded buildings, serving as the official residence and state office of the President. “People are tired, hungry and angry … And they are demanding change and accountability because they are sick of seeing the same faces in charge.” ‘We can’t afford to pick or choose’ …

In search of livelihoods and loved ones
2 years, 6 months ago

In search of livelihoods and loved ones

The Hindu  

In March this year, women of Thambaddy village were thanking their stars for the good crab season. “In May, the factory only offered us work on nine days,” says Sugathevan Sailathevi of the early yet sure signs of a rapid breakdown of their rural economy, still beaten years after the civil war in the Tamil-majority region ended in 2009. The …

Sri Lanka’s ‘picturesque’ protests
2 years, 6 months ago

Sri Lanka’s ‘picturesque’ protests

Al Jazeera  

Every time there is a crisis in the Global South, Western news organisations parachute their correspondents and photographers in to document the developments. This has largely been the case with the international coverage of Sri Lanka’s ongoing protests demanding that the ruling Rajapaksa family leave office. This is nothing unique to Sri Lanka – we often see similar narratives of …

How Dhanushkodi is a land of promise for Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing the economic crisis
2 years, 6 months ago

How Dhanushkodi is a land of promise for Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing the economic crisis

The Hindu  

A sliver of a moon casts a feeble light on the heaving Indian Ocean. New horizons: From 2005, a camp in Tamil Nadu has been a refuge for Sri Lankan Tamils The families fleeing the economic crisis will join those who have made Mandapam camp their home since 2005. Though at peace and far from the turmoil that their country …

Lessons from Sri Lanka’s crisis - The Hindu
2 years, 7 months ago

Lessons from Sri Lanka’s crisis - The Hindu

The Hindu  

As Sri Lanka’s crisis continues to spiral out of control, the country gets a new Prime Minister: what are the lessons from India’s neighbourhood? As the violence spiralled out of control and PM Mahinda and his family were flown to a naval base for safety, the Indian high commission in Colombo issued two statements distancing itself from the Rajapaksas: one …

A chance to hit refresh in Sri Lanka
2 years, 8 months ago

A chance to hit refresh in Sri Lanka

The Hindu  

Having swept to power in a landslide victory in late 2019, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time declaring unequivocally that his would be a Sinhalese ethno-nationalist state. But I did not receive the response I anticipated.” Eroding support Less than three years later, Mr. Rajapaksa is as unpopular a head of state as has ever held office in …

Sri Lankan Tamil families flee to India citing economic crisis
2 years, 9 months ago

Sri Lankan Tamil families flee to India citing economic crisis

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has forced two ethnic Tamil families to flee the island nation. According to a senior official who questioned them, the Sri Lankan nationals got into a boat around 10 p.m. on Monday and crossed the International Maritime Boundary Line past midnight. It identified six Sri Lankan nationals — one male, two females and three children — …

The plight of Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka
3 years ago

The plight of Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka

New Indian Express  

In a highly commendable move, the Rajapaksa brothers, who hold the reins of power in Sri Lanka, invited the UN Human Rights Council dealing with contemporary forms of slavery to visit Sri Lanka, study the living conditions of the most exploited sections of society like people working in garment firms in export promotion zones, tea plantation workers and migrants. Tomoya …

Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils living in inhumane, degrading conditions: U.N. expert
3 years ago

Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils living in inhumane, degrading conditions: U.N. expert

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamil workers, whose labour in tea plantations fetches precious foreign exchange to the country, are living in “inhumane and degrading” conditions, a U.N. expert has said. Pointing to the workers’ colonial-era line room accommodation, where up to 10 people live in a 10x12 space, poor sanitation, and the persisting denial of land rights to the community, Mr. …

Sri Lanka: One law, many problems
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka: One law, many problems

The Hindu  

In an October 26 gazette, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared that “no citizen should be discriminated against in the eyes of the law” and hence, he was establishing a task force that would “study implementation of the concept one country, one law” and prepare a draft legislation. There already exist, within the framework of the Constitution, the law and …

India ramps up engagement for Tamil rights in Sri Lanka
3 years, 6 months ago

India ramps up engagement for Tamil rights in Sri Lanka

India Today  

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday held two interesting meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the importance that New Delhi places on issues such as negotiated devolution of powers for Sri Lankan Tamils and their aspirations for equality, justice, and peace. The citizenship of Sri Lankan refugees in the state, a permanent solution to the fishermen's issue, …

‘Enjoy Enjaami’ a welcome start, say Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils
3 years, 7 months ago

‘Enjoy Enjaami’ a welcome start, say Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamils

The Hindu  

When ‘Enjoy Enjaami’ fame Arivu from Chennai recently joined a virtual discussion with a group of activists and youth from Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha or hill country Tamil community, there was one person binding them and their histories — Valliamma, Arivu’s grandmother. In her view, this was just another manifestation of the “indifference” to the community’s concerns seen within Sri Lanka …

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