Tamil Eelam

Tamil Eelam is an area consisting of the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka in which Tamil nationalists want to form an independent state. Since independence in 1948 the Sri Lankan government had passed laws restricting Tamils from jobs, higher education, and denying citizenship.

The concept of Eelam or homeland was proposed by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in 1976. TULF was a coalition of Tamil parties who campaigned in the 1977 elections for an independent state for Tamils in Sri Lanka. In the 1977 elections the TULF was elected to parliment from the northern and eastern provinces. The government of Sri Lanka banned the TULF from parliment for advocating an independent state for Tamils. A number of militant groups then emerged fighting for an independent state.

From 1948 to 2002 there have been a approximately of 38 militant groups who have at one time or another fought for Tamil Eelam's independence. This number includes the better known groups such as the LTTE - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers,'TELO - Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization, EPRLF - Eelam Peoples' Revolutionary Liberation Front, PLOTE - People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam, EROS - Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students, and it also includes lesser know groups such as TEA - Tamil Eelam Army, FTA - Ilankai Freedom Tamil Army, SRSL - Socialist Revolutionary Social Liberation.

External link

• Tamil Eelam (http://www.eelam.com/)
• Militant Groups of Tamil Eelam (http://www.tamiltigers.net/othergroups.htm)
• Maps of Tamil Eelam (http://www.tamiltigers.net/features/eelammaps)