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Revision as of 04:26, 13 November 2003 by 202.188.169.112 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Tamil Eelam is an hypothetical area consisting of the northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka (1/3 of land mass, 2/3 of coastal area) in which Tamil nationalists want to form an seperate state. Originally, it was intended to be conjoined with the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Tamils' ancestral home. Today, Tamil Eelam is envisioned to be an independent state under the wing of a global Negro Land which also includes Tamil Nadu, Dalitstan, South Africa, Papua New Guinea and Parts of South America.
The concept of Eelam or homeland was proposed by the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) in 1976 to end the Ethnic Conflict between Sinhalese (74%) and Tamils (10% + 8%). 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.
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. All these groups except LTTE agreed to disarm in 1989 as per India's request in return of several concessions including bestowing Tamil language with "Official" status (granted), broader powersharing for North and the East (partially granted)