TN wants the Centre to give citizenship to Tamil refugees
The DMK government’s proposal to grant citizenship rights for 100,000 Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu has triggered a heated debate in the state, with some political parties saying the actual Sri Lankan ethnic issue will be sidelined.
Congress MP Sudharasana Nachiappan fears that this would
encourage the Lankan government to settle the Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Calling the move a politically motivated one, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa says: “The CM knows that the Centre would not grant citizenship to Tamil refugees because this would encourage refugees from Bangaladesh, Myanmar and Tibet to demand it too.” Says the state’s BJP vice president H Raja: “The Tamils should be rehabilitated in the island. Efforts to give them citizenship only reinforces Rajapaksa’s plan of ethnic cleansing.” Raja and Nachiapapan are being backed by a large number of refugees who are languishing in 115 camps across TN.
Unhappy with their lot in India, where their movements are also restricted due to security reasons, most of them want to go back home. They fear that once they get Indian citizenship the Lankan government will confiscate their lands. “Our country is important for us... We can’t stay here for ever”, says Nakulesh — a refugee. He told TSI that he has left behind two acres of cultivable land and a big house with a two-acre garden.
Another refugee Rajkumar says: “If all of us go back, our number will increase. We will be in a position to ask for our rights”. Fearing that the government may toss all the Tamils out of the island, Rajkumar wants all the refugees to return.
But the refugees are divided over the issue. Some want to stay put while others are keeping their fingers crossed. An MLA from the Viduthalai Siruthaigal party, Ravikumar — who in 2007 studied the conditions of the refugees in TN camps — has welcomed the move. “In my report I had recommended citizenship for the refugees. I am happy with the development.
Citizenship rights should be given to willing refugees,” he says.
SC Chandra Hassan, the son of late Selva, who runs the Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, praises the government for its positive move. “We are interacting with the refugees to get their views.” All eyes are now on the Centre.
The DMK government’s proposal to grant citizenship rights for 100,000 Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu has triggered a heated debate in the state, with some political parties saying the actual Sri Lankan ethnic issue will be sidelined.
Congress MP Sudharasana Nachiappan fears that this would
encourage the Lankan government to settle the Sinhalese in Tamil areas. Calling the move a politically motivated one, AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa says: “The CM knows that the Centre would not grant citizenship to Tamil refugees because this would encourage refugees from Bangaladesh, Myanmar and Tibet to demand it too.” Says the state’s BJP vice president H Raja: “The Tamils should be rehabilitated in the island. Efforts to give them citizenship only reinforces Rajapaksa’s plan of ethnic cleansing.” Raja and Nachiapapan are being backed by a large number of refugees who are languishing in 115 camps across TN.Unhappy with their lot in India, where their movements are also restricted due to security reasons, most of them want to go back home. They fear that once they get Indian citizenship the Lankan government will confiscate their lands. “Our country is important for us... We can’t stay here for ever”, says Nakulesh — a refugee. He told TSI that he has left behind two acres of cultivable land and a big house with a two-acre garden.
Another refugee Rajkumar says: “If all of us go back, our number will increase. We will be in a position to ask for our rights”. Fearing that the government may toss all the Tamils out of the island, Rajkumar wants all the refugees to return.
But the refugees are divided over the issue. Some want to stay put while others are keeping their fingers crossed. An MLA from the Viduthalai Siruthaigal party, Ravikumar — who in 2007 studied the conditions of the refugees in TN camps — has welcomed the move. “In my report I had recommended citizenship for the refugees. I am happy with the development.
Citizenship rights should be given to willing refugees,” he says.
SC Chandra Hassan, the son of late Selva, who runs the Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, praises the government for its positive move. “We are interacting with the refugees to get their views.” All eyes are now on the Centre.
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