Officially, they were called ‘Tamils of recent Indian origin’ to distinguish them from the northern Tamils. Senanayake disenfranchised the entire community when he had the Ceylon Citizenship Act No. India at the time did not show any eagerness to take back these ‘Tamils of recent Indian origin’. Their party, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) earlier known as the Ceylon Indian Congress (CIC) dropped the ‘Indian’ in it, but the party flag was the Indian national flag’s tri-colours; their linerooms had photographs of Mahatma Gandhi. Today, India has displayed a ‘newfound love’ for this community, pledging to pump in aid like never before for their upliftment.

Source: Sunday Times August 20, 2023 13:54 UTC