When India acted tough with Sri Lankan Tamil leaders Anton Balasingham, Chandrahasan in 1985
This article examines the historical precedent of the Indian government's deportation of prominent Sri Lankan Tamil figures in 1985, contrasting it with current judicial efforts to resolve statelessness for refugees. It highlights how India's policy toward Sri Lankan refugees has shifted between diplomatic leniency and firm state action over the decades.
Why it matters
Understanding these historical precedents provides essential context for current legal and diplomatic challenges regarding citizenship and refugee rights in the India-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship.
India has a track record of treating refugees from Sri Lanka with kid gloves. A few weeks ago, a 44-year-old IT professional, who was born in Sri Lanka; brought up in India and is now residing in the United States, approached the Madras High Court to save himself from being declared “stateless.” On several occasions in the last five-six years, the High Court resolved the issue of “statelessness” in respect of many refugees who were covered under the 1964 and 1974 bilateral agreements and provisions of the Citizenship Act. In the case of the IT professional, the court directed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to file a detailed counter affidavit and the Indian Embassy at Washington DC to keep in abeyance till then the operation of a notice issued to him to surrender his passport.
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