Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees

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Why in News?

The Union Home Ministry clarified that undocumented Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India, though exempted from penal provisions, are not eligible for Long-Term Visas (LTVs). Citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955, remains unavailable to refugees who arrived after July 1983.

Description:

  • Indian-origin Tamils were taken to Sri Lanka by the British (colonial era) as plantation labourers.
  • Post-Sri Lanka’s Independence (1948) → rise of Sinhalese nationalism → Indian-origin Tamils denied citizenship rights → became stateless.
  • Ethnic conflict & Civil War (1983–2009) between LTTE and Sri Lankan govt. forced large-scale Tamil refugee migration to India.

Refugee Situation in India:

  • Around 29,500 Indian-origin Tamils are currently living in India (UNHCR data).
  • They have mostly lived in Tamil Nadu refugee camps since 1983.
  • India lacks a dedicated refugee law → refugees treated under Foreigners Act, 1946 → categorized as illegal migrants.
  • Bilateral Pacts:
    • Sirimavo–Shastri Pact (1964) and Sirimavo–Indira Pact (1974) aimed to grant Indian citizenship to 6 lakh Indian-origin Tamils → implementation stalled.

Legal & Citizenship Issues:

  • Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003: Tamils arriving after 1983 treated as illegal migrants.
  • CAA 2019: Does not cover Sri Lankan Tamils (focus only on Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh).
  • Court Rulings:
    • P. Ulaganathan vs GoI (2019) → Exclusion violates Article 21 (Right to Life & Liberty).
    • Abirami S. vs GoI (2022) → Urged humanitarian approach for citizenship.

Plight of Refugees:

  • Statelessness: No legal recognition as citizens by any country.
  • Denied rights: Education, healthcare, property, govt. schemes.
  • Vulnerability: Prone to exploitation, trafficking, and poverty.
  • Intergenerational impact: Children inherit statelessness → cycle of deprivation continues.

India & Refugee Policy:

  • India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or 1967 Protocol.
  • Relies on ad hoc executive decisions.
  • Security concerns: Refugee influx via porous borders → demographic & political tensions (esp. in Assam, Tamil Nadu).

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