Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction
A story of displacement to one of empowerment
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Issues related to Sri Lankan Tamils
Why in the news?
Over 45% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu’s rehabilitation camps were born in India, per a recent interim report by a State government panel.
Causes of Tamilian Displacement
- Ethnocentric Violence: The primary cause of displacement was the ethnocentric violence in Sri Lanka, particularly against the Tamil population. The violence led to significant loss of life and property, forcing Tamils to flee for their safety.
- Proximity and Linguistic Commonality: Many Tamils chose India, particularly Tamil Nadu, due to its geographical proximity and the shared Tamil language, making it a more accessible and familiar refuge.
Government Initiatives
- Provision of Basic Amenities: Refugees receive free housing, electricity, water, and monthly food rations. Additionally, they get a monthly cash dole.
- Educational Support: Access to government schools is provided, along with a monthly stipend of ₹1,000 for those pursuing higher education. One-time educational support includes ₹12,000 for arts and science students and ₹50,000 for engineering students.
- Welfare Schemes: Refugees are eligible for various welfare schemes available to the people of Tamil Nadu, including the women’s rights scheme providing ₹1,000 per month.
- New Housing: Recently, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed new homes for about 5,000 Sri Lankan Tamils.
- Renaming Camps: In an effort to destigmatise, the refugee camps were renamed as Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Camps in a government order dated October 28, 2021.
Bringing Back Dignity
- Educational Achievements: The welfare schemes have led to 100% school enrollment and over 4,500 graduates from the camps.
- Breaking Caste Barriers: As refugees, Sri Lankan Tamils are categorized under the Refugee category, which has helped in break free from caste barriers.
- Government Recognition: The renaming of refugee camps to Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Camps is a step towards restoring the dignity of the displaced population.
- Advocacy and Support: Continuous advocacy by organizations like OfERR, support from donors, and political parties have facilitated the patronage extended by the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Government of India.
- Potential for Future Contribution: The transformation of refugees into resource persons capable of contributing to nation-building when they return to Sri Lanka.
Current Challenges
- Legal Limitations: Indian laws currently do not permit local integration by granting citizenship to Sri Lankan refugees.
- Economic and Health Crises: The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in Sri Lanka have slowed down the process of refugees returning to their homeland.
- Uncertain Future: Despite the improvements in their living conditions and dignity, Sri Lankan Tamils in India continue to live with uncertainty about their long-term future.
Way forward:
- Amend Legal Frameworks: Advocate for amendments in Indian laws to allow for local integration and citizenship for long-term refugees, providing them with a secure legal status and equal rights.
- Strengthen Economic Opportunities: Develop targeted economic empowerment programs, including vocational training and employment initiatives, to enhance self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on state support, ensuring a sustainable livelihood for the refugees.
Mains PYQ:
Q ‘India is an age-old friend of Sri Lanka.’ Discuss India’s role in the recent crisis in Sri Lanka in the light of the preceding statement. (UPSC IAS/2022)
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Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction
Private: Sri Lanka pledges full implementation of 13th Amendment
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 13th Amendment
Mains level: Sri Lankan Tamil issue
The Sri Lankan government will “fully implement” the 13th Amendment, promised President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
What is the 13th Amendment?
- It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve the ethnic conflict and civil war.
- The 13th Amendment led to the creation of Provincial Councils and assured a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
- Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
Why is it contentious?
- The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years.
- It was opposed vociferously by both Sinhala nationalist parties and the LTTE.
- The opposition within Sri Lanka saw the Accord and the consequent legislation as an imprint of Indian intervention.
- It was widely perceived as an imposition by a neighbor wielding hegemonic influence.
- The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th Amendment sufficient in its ambit or substance.
- However, some find it as an important starting point, something to build upon.
Why India objects over this?
- Because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
- In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
Why is it significant?
- Till date, the Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
- In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism.
Tamil issue in Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction
India raises Sri Lankan Tamil issue in UN
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Read the attached story
India voiced concern over the “lack of measurable progress” in Sri Lanka’s promised political solution to the long-pending Tamil national question.
Back in news: Tamil Issue
- India has made an unexpected (for SL) reference to the crisis-hit island nation’s “debt-driven” economy in the context of its current crisis.
- Indian delegation noted the lack of measurable progress by Government of Sri Lanka on their commitments of a political solution to the ethnic issue.
- It sought for full implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Constitution, delegation of powers to Provincial Councils and holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest.
Has India retreated from supporting Sri Lanka?
- India’s statement comes ahead of a resolution on Sri Lanka that will likely face a vote at the Council.
- Since 2009, India has voted thrice in favour of the UN resolution on Sri Lanka — two were critical — and abstained twice, in 2014 and 2021.
- Irrespective of its vote, India has consistently underscored the need for a political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, ensuring justice, peace, equality and dignity for the Tamils of Sri Lanka.
Issues faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka
- According to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2016 report on Sri Lanka, Tamils report systematic discrimination in areas including government employment, university education, and access to justice.
- A large portion of the Tamil population still remains displaced.
What is the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka?
- Violent persecution against the Tamil population erupted in the form of the 1956, 1958, 1977, 1981 and 1983 anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka.
- Over 13 years since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, in which tens of thousands of civilians were killed and disappeared, survivors continue demanding justice and accountability for war-time crimes.
- In the post-war years, Sri Lanka’s human rights defenders have frequently flagged concerns over persisting militarisation, especially in the Tamil-majority north and east; repression, and the shrinking space for dissent.
What is the 13th Amendment?
- It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve the ethnic conflict and civil war.
- The 13th Amendment led to the creation of Provincial Councils and assured a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
- Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
Why is it contentious?
- The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years.
- It was opposed vociferously by both Sinhala nationalist parties and the LTTE.
- The opposition within Sri Lanka saw the Accord and the consequent legislation as an imprint of Indian intervention.
- It was widely perceived as an imposition by a neighbour wielding hegemonic influence.
- The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th Amendment sufficient in its ambit or substance.
- However, some find it as an important starting point, something to build upon.
Why India objects over this?
- Because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
- In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
Why is it significant?
- Till date, the Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
- In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism.
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Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction
No mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya in Odisha this year
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Olive Ridley turtle
Mains level: Paper 3- Mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles
No mass nesting this year
- The annual spectacle of the mass nesting of millions of Olive Ridley sea turtles near the Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha is likely to be missed this year, as the time for it is almost over.
- It’s been around one month since the mass nesting of last year.
- If they do skip the beach, this won’t be the first time.
- In 2002, 2007, 2016 and 2019, the turtles had not shown up at Rushikulya.
- The Rushikulya river mouth is considered the second-biggest rookery in India after Gahirmatha.
- Mass nesting in the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary occurred from March 9-23, 2021 and over 349,000 eggs were laid during this period.
What could explain the miss in mass nesting
- It is a natural phenomenon. During some years, they did not turn up for mass nesting even though a huge number had congregated in the sea.
- Beach erosion might be one of the causes for the turtles staying away this year.
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Sri Lanka’s Constitution – Strides in the Right Direction
What is the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, and why is it contentious?
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Sri Lankan constitutional issues
After the Rajapaksas’ win in the November 2019 presidential polls and the August 2020 general election, the spotlight has fallen on two key legislations in Sri Lanka’s Constitution.
Sri Lankan amendments in news
- One, the 19th Amendment was passed in 2015 to curb powers of the Executive President, while strengthening Parliament and independent commissions.
- The Rajapaksa government has already drafted and gazetted the 20th Amendment.
- The other legislation under sharp focus is the 13th Amendment passed in 1987, which mandates a measure of power devolution to the provincial councils established to govern the island’s nine provinces.
What is the 13th Amendment?
- It is an outcome of the Indo-Lanka Accord of July 1987, signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene, in an attempt to resolve the ethnic conflict and civil war.
- The 13th Amendment, which led to the creation of Provincial Councils, assured a power-sharing arrangement to enable all nine provinces in the country, including Sinhala majority areas, to self-govern.
- Subjects such as education, health, agriculture, housing, land and police are devolved to the provincial administrations.
- But because of restrictions on financial powers and overriding powers given to the President, the provincial administrations have not made much headway.
- In particular, the provisions relating to police and land have never been implemented.
Why is it contentious?
- The 13th Amendment carries considerable baggage from the country’s civil war years. It was opposed vociferously by both Sinhala nationalist parties and the LTTE.
- The opposition within Sri Lanka saw the Accord and the consequent legislation as an imprint of Indian intervention.
- It was widely perceived as an imposition by a neighbour wielding hegemonic influence.
- The Tamil polity, especially its dominant nationalist strain, does not find the 13th Amendment sufficient in its ambit or substance. However, some find it as an important starting point, something to build upon.
Why is it significant?
- Till date, the Amendment represents the only constitutional provision on the settlement of the long-pending Tamil question.
- In addition to assuring a measure of devolution, it is considered part of the few significant gains since the 1980s, in the face of growing Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarianism.
Its criticism
- Critics argue that in a small country, the provinces could be effectively controlled by the Centre.
- The opposition camp also includes those fundamentally opposed to sharing any political power with the Tamil minority.
- All the same, all political camps that vehemently oppose the system have themselves contested in provincial council elections.
- The councils have over time also helped national parties strengthen their grassroots presence and organisational structures.
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