WHO ARE THE EELAM TAMILS?

The island of Ceylon was home to two ancient civilisations, distinguished by different languages, traditions, cultures, and territories of interest: the Tamils and the Sinhalese. The settlement of Tamils on the island predates the arrival of the Sinhalese, who originated from Bengal and were led by Prince Vijaya in the 6th century BCE. Beyond the varying legends, modern historians firmly assert that the Tamils are the island’s indigenous inhabitants. Even Sinhalese chronicles—such as the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa—acknowledge the presence of Tamil kingdoms, including the Yakkas and the Nagas, well before the arrival of the Sinhalese settlers.

Postage published by Sri Lankan government

However, the Buddhist monks who authored these chronicles, in an attempt to distort Tamil

history, portrayed the Tamils as demons with supernatural powers.

Historical records indicate the coexistence of distinct Tamil and Sinhalese kingdoms, which

were often involved in fierce conflicts over dominance of the island. These tensions led

Sinhalese rulers to relocate their capitals further south. Meanwhile, the Tamils established themselves as a strong and autonomous political presence, rooted in the north-eastern regions of the island.

COLONISATION

By the time the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century, they encountered two separate nations - two civilisations with distinct customs and independently organised political structures. This dual national structure was respected by both the Portuguese and the Dutch, who recognised the national identity of the Eelam Tamils.

It was the British Empire, upon taking control of the island, that imposed a unified state

structure—despite being fully aware of the cultural and political differences between the two

nations. The British, seeking to govern more efficiently, adopted a policy based on the principle of Divide et Impera—a Latin maxim meaning "divide and conquer"—emphasising that division, rivalry, and discord among subject peoples benefits those who wish to dominate them.

INDEPENDENCE – BLACK DAY FOR EELAM TAMIL

On 4th February 1948, the island was granted independence from British rule. However, for the Eelam Tamils, this marked the beginning of a long and painful history of oppression and genocide. With the departure of the British, the Tamil kingdoms were brought under the control of a singular Sinhalese-dominated state—ushering in decades of systemic discrimination, violence, and cultural erasure.

Sinhala Only act - 1956

In 1956, the Sri Lankan government passed the Sinhala only act, making Sinhala only official language. This leads to the complete exclusion of the Tamil language, spoke by the citizen living in the tradition Tamil homeland, Tamileelam.

Standardization law - 1970

In 1970 the Sri Lankan government introduced the standardization law. It was framed as an education reform, but it was designed to limit Tamil access to universities. Tamil students were required to score significantly higher marks than Sinhala students to enter the same courses at university. It was a devastating blow to an entire generation. Dreams were crushed. Merit was discarded. Discrimination was legalized

Jaffna public library burning - 1981

In 1981, the Jaffna public library, at the time the largest library in South Asia was burned to the ground by the Sri Lankan state. Over 97.000 books and two thousand years of Tamil culture, history and literature were destroyed. It wasn’t just a building that burned, it was a memory, identity and centuries of knowledge that was burned.

Black July - 1983

In July of 1983 also knows as Black July, Eelam Tamils witnessed one of its darkest chapters. A state sponsored genocide pogrom against Eelam Tamils which resulted in the deaths of 3 000 Tamils and the destruction of over 5 000 businesses and over 15 000 homes. This event resulted in tens of thousands of Tamils being displaced with many fleeing the country to the diaspora. Black July was just one of the genocidal acts perpetrated by the ethnocracy state. Later on we witnessed the genocidal war by the Sri Lankan state that lasted from 1983 to 2009 resulting in tens of thousands of deaths with many as 146 679 forcibly disappeared during the final stage of the war in 2009.

Mullivaikal- 2009

In May 2009 during the final stages of the war, Mullivaikkal, a small village in Tamileelam (currently under the occupation of Sri Lanka), became the site of a horrific massacre. Over 70,000 Tamil civilians were killed in a brutal military offensive by the Sri Lankan armed forces, which deliberately targeted so-called “no-fire zones” with relentless aerial and artillery bombardments. According to Bishop Rayappu Joseph, census data revealed that nearly 146,679 Tamil people went missing during this period.