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1 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

 Table of Contents
ABSTRACT 3
INTRODUCTION 3
LITERATURE REVIEW 6
METHODOLOGY 7
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: CIVIL WAR AND FORCED MIGRATION FROM SRI
LANKA 7
SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA 9
REHABILITATION ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT 9
PROBLEMS AFFECTING THEIR LIVELIHOOD 11
LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES IN REFUGEE CAMPS 11
Engaged in employment activities 11
Relying on social networks 12
Seasonal or short-duration migration 12
Investment in children’s education 12
Negative Coping Strategies 13
CONCLUSION 13
SUGGESTIONS 14

2 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

 SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA:
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS AND GOVT.
INTERVENTION.

ABSTRACT
Most Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India have been dwelling in camps in the State of Tamil
Nadu for over two decades under every minute of every day police reconnaissance, following the
assassination of the Indian prime minister. This paper attempts to examine the trends in the Sri
Lankan refugee inflows to India and outflows back to Sri Lanka through official channels over
the last three decades, and the government-sponsored responses and mechanisms for their
welfare and rehabilitation. In addition, it examines the livelihood options and strategies of the
camp refugees based on a primary survey among 100 households and 12 in-depth case studies in
the selected refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. The study documents that they do have access to
relief assistance from the State Government on humanitarian grounds. Their livelihood strategies
include gainful employment activities outside the camp, reliance on social networks both in India
and abroad, short-duration or seasonal migration, and investment in human resources such as
children’s education. This study opines that integrating the Tamil refugees into local society
could be a durable solution for their future, especially for those who married Indian citizens and
who wish to remain in India.

Keywords: Sri Lankan Refugees, Livelihoods, Coping Strategies, Integration.

INTRODUCTION
India has been receiving a large number of refugees from neighbouring countries such as Sri
Lanka, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, and Afghanistan, although it has no legislation to
regulate entry and status of refugees. In addition, India is not a signatory to the 1951 Geneva
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee or its 1967 Protocol. This act aims to protect the
social and economic rights assigned to refugees by international laws and agreements. Under
India’s Foreigners Act, 1946 “refugee” is covered under “foreigner”, and the term is used to

3 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

cover aliens temporarily or permanently residing in the country.1 This places refugees in this
broad category, along with immigrants and tourists. India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003
defined all non-citizens who entered the country without a visa as illegal migrants, with no
exception for refugees or asylum-seekers. However, India has handled the influx of refugees at
the political and administrative level. For instance, India has granted rights to Tibetan refugees
that have not been granted to other groups. This right enables them to engage in gainful
employment, economic activities, and even to travel abroad and return to India. 2 India has not
discriminated against the refugees on the basis of their country of origin, race, and religion. The
World Refugee Survey prepared by the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
(USCRI), noted that nearly 411,000 refugees were residing in India as of December 2008. 3
Among the refugees in India, the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees remain a concern because their
continuous mass exodus into India since 1983 is much higher than into other countries. 4 On their
arrival, they were mostly settled in the various refugee camps. Some of them self-settled among
the local population in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu and other neighbouring States. In this
paper, Sri Lankan refugee refers to those who have received special permission from the State
government to stay in India. Sri Lankan refugees were encouraged to enter India and their
existence was relatively uneventful until the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime
Minister of India, in May 1991. Since then, the Sri Lankan refugees living in India faced hostility
and lost any sympathy and support they had in India. The State Government attempted to move
the non-camp refugees into camps for security reasons, and closed the education facilities that
the children of the refugees had enjoyed. Security concerns prompted the camps in nearby
coastal areas to be closed down and shifted to isolated interior regions to prevent contact
amongst the refugees in different camps. Moreover, due to the lack of bilateral support from the
Sri Lankan Government and the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in India,
the Indian Government placed restrictions on their movements. They were kept in camps under

1 A. Nair, National Refugee Law for India: Benefits and Roadblocks, Research Paper, New Delhi, Institute of Peace
and Conflict Studies, 2007, available at: http://www.ipcs.org/pdf_file/issue/51462796IPCSResearchPaper11-
ArjunNair.pdf (last visited 13 Sep 2019).
2 B.S. Chimni, “The Legal Condition of Refugees in India”, Journal of Refugee Studies, 7(4), 1994, 378–401.
3 USCRI, World Refugee Survey 2009: India, USCRI, Washington, 2009, available at: http://www.refugees.org/
resources/refugee-warehousing/archived-world-refugee-surveys/2009-wrs-country-updates/india.html (last visited
13 Sep 2019).
4 C. Valatheeswaran, “Livelihood Strategies of Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu”, Unpublished MPhil
Dissertation, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2010.

4 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

24/7 police surveillance and were often treated with some degree of suspicion by the Indian
Government, which made their lives more vulnerable. The Sri Lankan refugee camps were also
neglected in later years by both the Governments of India and Tamil Nadu. Most of the time, the
refugees tried to escape from the camps and seek a decent living outside. Such attempts got them
arrested and put in jail. There are instances when women preferred to work as prostitutes rather
than stay inside the camp in difficult conditions.5 There are several studies in India that focus on
the socio-economic status and living conditions of refugees other than the Tamils. 6 Few studies
assess the living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Tamil Nadu based on secondary
data.7 However, there has been no systematic attempt to examine the socio-economic status of
Sri Lankan refugees living in camps, their livelihood options, asset holdings, and the problems
they faced or continue to face in everyday life, as well as their coping strategies and mechanisms
at the household level. There has been no attempt to suggest a durable solution for their secure
future. In this context, this paper examines the trends in the Sri Lankan refugee inflows to India
and the outflows back to Sri Lanka through official channels over the last three decades. It
examines the government-sponsored mechanisms for their rehabilitation and tries to fill the
research gap in the existing literature on this subject. In addition, this study argues that
mainstreaming and integrating the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees into local society could be a long-
term solution for their future.

5 A. Dasgupta, “Long-term Camp Life and Changing Identities of Sri Lankan Women Refugees in India”,
Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology, 2(2), 2005, 1–12.
6 S. Bhaumik, “The Returnees and the Refugees: Migration from Burma”, in R. Samaddar (ed.), Refugees and the
State: Practices of Asylum and Care in India, 1947-2000, New Delhi, Sage Publication, 2003, 182–210; R. Kharat,
“Gainers of a Stalemate: The Tibetans in India”, in R. Samaddar (ed.), Refugees and the State: Practices of Asylum
and Care in India, 1947-2000, New Delhi, Sage Publication, 2003, 281–320; A. Bose, “Afghan Refugees in India”,
Economic and Political Weekly, 39(43), 2004, 4698–4701; Y. Nakama, “Reproductive Health among Refugees:
Case Studies from New Delhi”, Economic and Political Weekly, 40(51), 2005, 5380–5385; C. Prasad, “Students
Movements in Arunachal Pradesh and the Chakma - Hajong Refugee Problem”, Economic and Political Weekly,
42(15), 2007, 1373–1379.
7 Dasgupta, “Long-term Camp Life”; S. Das, Refugee Management - Sri Lankan Refugees in Tamil Nadu (1983-
2000), New Delhi, Mittal Publication, 2005.

5 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

 LITERATURE REVIEW
In the simplest sense, livelihood means by which a person supports his existence. Chambers and
Conway8 define the term “livelihood” as comprising people’s capabilities, assets (stores,
resources, claims, and access), and the activities required to make a living. A livelihood is
sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks to maintain or enhance
its capabilities and assets and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next
generation. It also contributes net benefits to other livelihoods at the local and global levels in the
long- and short-term. The term “sustainable livelihood” was coined by Conway of the UK’s
Department for International Development (DFID) in the same research. The DFID’s sustainable
livelihood framework has largely been used in agriculture, poverty reduction, and rural
livelihood projects. However, this model is often adapted to internally displaced persons (IDPs)
and refugee livelihood research. Some studies argue that this model is useful mostly when we
think about how to reduce poverty in stable situations. 9 In contrast, Sri Lankan refugees try to
make a livelihood in a conflict situation that arose due to the assassination of the former Indian
prime minister. Sections in the host community seem to have developed a kind of aversion to the
Sri Lankan refugees due to that incident. Hence, this study makes use of Jacobsen’s livelihood
definition, which is most suitable in the context of the living conditions of Sri Lankan refugees in
India. His definition is as follows: In communities facing conflict and displacement, livelihoods
comprise how people access and mobilize resources enabling them to increase their economic
security, thereby reducing the vulnerability created and exacerbated by conflict, and how they
pursue goals necessary for survival and possible return.10 To achieve the livelihood objective in a
conflict situation, various resources have to be available and people have to use various
strategies to access those resources. This study identifies four major livelihood strategies that are
often adopted by the Sri Lankan refugees in camps.

8 R. Chambers & G.R. Conway, Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century, Discussion
Paper, United Kingdom (UK), Institute of Development Studies, 1991, available at: http://graduateinstitute.
ch/webdav/site/developpement/shared/developpement/mdev/soutienauxcours0809/Gironde%20Pauvrete/
Sustainable%20Livelihood%20Chambers%20%26%20Conway.pdf (last visited 13 Sep 2019).
9 K. Jacobsen, “Livelihoods in Conflict: The Pursuit of Livelihoods by Refugees and the Impact on the Human
Security of Host Communities”, International Migration, 40(5), 2002, 95–123; K. Amirthalingam & R.W.D.
Lakshman, “Displaced Livelihoods in Sri Lanka: An Economic Analysis”, Journal of Refugee Studies, 22(4), 2009,
502–523.
10 Jacobsen, “Livelihoods in Conflict”, 99.

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 METHODOLOGY
The information for the study is based on both secondary and primary data. First, to address the
issue of Sri Lankan refugee migration in India, and the various rehabilitation mechanisms and
government expenditure on them, this study used secondary data collected from the Department
of Rehabilitation of Tamil Nadu (DRTN). The camp profile data came from the Organization for
Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in
Chennai working for the welfare of the Sri Lankan refugees in India.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: CIVIL WAR AND FORCED MIGRATION FROM SRI

LANKA
Sri Lanka is a small, multiethnic, and low-income country located at the southern tip of the
Indian subcontinent. In 1997, it had a population of 19 million and per capita income of US$
750. The country achieved great success in the areas of education, health, and nutrition with
standards comparable to those of much richer countries and also above those of its sub-
continental neighbours.11 According to Sri Lanka’s Census of Population and Housing 1981, the
Sri Lankan population was dominated by two major ethnic groups, the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
The Sinhalese (mostly Buddhists speaking Sinhala and belonging to the Indo-Aryan family)
comprised 74 per cent of the total population. They predominated all parts of the country except
the north-eastern provinces. Tamils (mostly Hindus speaking an Indo-Dravidian language)
comprised 18 per cent of the population. They live mostly in the north-eastern parts of the
country such as Mannar, Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mullaittivu, Trincomalee, and
Batticaloa.12 When Sri Lanka gained independence from British rule on 4 February 1948, many
believed that the nation had the best chance of making a successful transition to modern
statehood.13 However, ethnic tensions emerged between Sinhalese and Tamils after Sinhala was
declared the only official language in the country in 1956. 14 Moreover, the Tamils alleged that

11 L.M. Grobar & S. Gnanaselvam, “The Economic Effects of the Sri Lankan Civil War”, Economic Development
and Cultural Change, 41(2), 1993, 395–405; N. Arunatilake, S. Jayasuriya & S. Kelegama, “The Economic Cost of
the War in Sri Lanka”, World Development, 29(9), 2001, 1483–1500.
12 Census of Population and Housing, Department of Census and Statistics, Government of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka,
1981.
13 H.W. Wriggins, “Impediments to Unity in New Nations: The Case of Ceylon”, The American Political Science
Review, 55(2), 1961, 313–320.
14 R.N. Kearney, “Language and the Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka”, Asian Survey, 18(5), 1978, 521– 553;
S.J. Tambiah, Sri Lanka Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy, New Delhi, Oxford University Press,

7 RESEARCH PAPER ON SRI LANKAN TAMIL REFUGEES IN INDIA

they were discriminated against in many matters such as higher education, public sector
employment, land colonisation, and public investment in the north-eastern region by the
Sinhalese-dominated government system.15 These factors led the Tamils to lose their confidence
in the State and they also came to believe that they would not obtain justice from the political
establishments of the Sinhalese leaders. Such beliefs among the Tamil youth led to the
emergence of some violent political movements, particularly the LTTE in 1976, with the aim of
creating a separate State (Tamil Eelam) in the north-eastern regions. A notable development out
of this movement was a new approach to challenging the Sri Lankan Army in north-eastern
regions. J.R. Jayewardene’s Sri Lankan Government had strengthened the military force in the
north-eastern provinces due to increasing Tamil militant violence in the region. On 23 July 1983,
severe ethnic violence broke out in Sri Lanka against the Tamils due to the killing of 13 soldiers
by a group of the LTTE at Thirunelveli in the Jaffna district. In retaliation, 53 Tamil militants
who were incarcerated in Colombo’s major prison at Welikade were killed during 25–27 July
1983. These murders were supposedly committed by Sinhalese prisoners in the same jail with the
help of the jail guards and prison authorities. Afterwards, the Sinhalese rebel attacks on Tamils
started in Colombo and then spread to other parts of the country. These incidents marked the
beginning of the first phase of the Eelam War between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. The
Eelam War in Sri Lanka had three more phases. The first Eelam War (1983–1988) led to the
arrival of around 134,053 Sri Lankan refugees in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu during the
period between July 1983 and October 1987. The Indian Government organised the repatriation
of refugees to Sri Lanka when the situation in Sri Lanka improved. Consequently, over 45,281
refugees went to Sri Lanka under an arrangement made by the Government. Up to 13,516
refugees left for Sri Lanka under their own arrangements during the period 1983–1987. 16 By

1986.
15 S.W.R. Samarasinghe, “Sri Lanka in 1983: Ethnic Conflict and the Search for Solutions”, Asian Survey, 24(2),
1984, 250–256; R.N. Kearney, “Ethnic Conflict and the Tamil Separatist Movement in Sri Lanka”, Asian Survey,
25(9), 1985, 898–917; A. Shastri, “The Material Basis for Separatism: The Tamil Eelam Movement in Sri Lanka”,
The Journal of Asian Studies, 49(1), 1990, 56–77; P. Peebles, “Colonization and Ethnic Conflict in the Dry Zone of
Sri Lanka”, The Journal of Asian Studies, 49(1), 1990, 30–55; B. Matthews, “University Education in Sri Lanka in
Context: Consequences of Deteriorating Standards”, Pacific Affairs, 68(1), 1995, 77–94; B.L. Panditharatna, The
Development of the Sri Lankan Settlement System, Economic Development and Social Change in Sri Lanka, New
Delhi, Manohar Publication, 1996; A.R.M. Imtiyaz, “Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka: The Dilemma of Building a
Unitary State”, in M. Chatterji & B.M. Jain (eds.), Conflict and Peace in South Asia, Amsterdam, Elsevier
Publication, 2008, 131–153.
16 A. Dasgupta, “Repatriation of Sri Lankan Refugees: Unfinished Tasks”, Economic and Political Weekly, 38(24),
2003, 2365–2367.

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1987, nearly 34,429 refugees were admitted in 171 temporary refugee camps set up by the State
Government for refugee accommodation, while some of them took accommodation outside the
camps in Tamil Nadu. The State Government provided basic necessities to the Sri Lankan
refugees who stayed in the camps. Many waves of refugee influx came after that incident.

SRI LANKAN REFUGEES IN INDIA

Sri Lankan refugees usually land at Dhanushkodi Island in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil
Nadu when they flee to India. On their arrival, the local police question them to ensure that they
are genuine refugees, really affected by the ethnic problem and have come to India to save their
lives. After the enquiry process, the refugees are screened by the police authorities of the “Q”
Branch and Intelligence Bureau to segregate the militants (LTTE) if any, and to check the
antecedents of the actual refugees. According to the DRTN, nearly 100,793 Sri Lankan refugees
officially resided in Tamil Nadu as of May 2009. Out of them, 73,397 refugees stayed in 115
government-run camps (started in the mid-1980s) situated in 26 of the 30 districts of Tamil Nadu
and most of them in rural areas. Almost 27,376 non-camp refugees stayed outside the camps
with friends, relatives, and in rented houses. At present, two special camps with 76 refugees
function in Chengalpattu Taluk of the Kancheepuram district and in Cheyyar Taluk of the
Thiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu at tight internal security. As their movement is
restricted, they are supplied with food instead of cash dole. The Sri Lankan refugees mostly stay
in Tamil Nadu because ethnic kinship has led to strong support for them in the State.

REHABILITATION ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT

After their arrival in the asylum country, refugees generally require material resources to meet
their basic needs. Therefore, primarily, they depend on local Governments, NGOs, and
international agencies to get humanitarian assistance. The Sri Lankan camp refugees have access
to essential relief assistance from the Tamil Nadu Government on humanitarian grounds.
According to DRTN, households receive cash assistance under the Tamil Nadu Government’s
Infrastructure Development Programme to improve the physical infrastructure of the camp. This
includes assistance for the repair of huts, street lights, the provision of drinking water, toilets,
and road facilities. Since August 2006, the head of the family gets Rs.400, each additional
member over age 12 gets Rs.288, the first child (less than 12 years) gets Rs.180, and each

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additional child gets Rs.90 under the cash assistance scheme. Refugee households receive
subsidised rice rations, at the rate of 57 paisa per kilogram as well as sugar, kerosene, and wheat
through the public distribution system. Generally, ration distribution is at the rate of 400 grams
per day per adult (above the age of 8 years) and 200 grams per day per child (below the age of 8
years). Refugees also get clothes free of cost every year and five kinds of utensils worth Rs.250
once every two years.

Sri Lankan refugees can also access free medical services from government hospitals. In
addition, they can claim financial assistance for major medical treatment from the State
Government, which is sanctioned from “the Sri Lankan Tamil Special Relief Fund” on the
recommendation of the district collector. The State Government has implemented an Integrated
Child Development Scheme (ICDS) to enhance the nutritional level of children, pregnant
women, and lactating mothers in Tamil Nadu. From April 2007, it was extended to female
refugees and children staying in the camps. The State Government has also extended the Dr
Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Assistance Scheme to pregnant Sri Lankan female refugees in
Tamil Nadu. Under this scheme, they get cash assistance of Rs.1,000 per month for nutritional
supplements during the three months before and after delivery. Nearly 805 pregnant female
refugees benefited from this scheme in 2009 and 905 in 2008.

The State Government has also been providing free educational facilities to refugee children.
Refugee camps now have electricity facilities and have a 24-hour power supply, though it was
for only 12 hours (from 6 p.m to 6 a.m) prior to 2006. Overall, the Indian Government spent a
sum of Rs.500 crore for the Sri Lankan refugee relief programme during 1983–2009. The entire
expenditure was initially met by the Tamil Nadu Government and reimbursed by the Indian
Government later.

PROBLEMS AFFECTING THEIR LIVELIHOOD

This section discusses the environment in which the camp refugees reside in Tamil Nadu. The
refugee camps have very poor infrastructural facilities. The shelters are usually made of leaves,
asbestos, cement, and iron sheets with a door and small windows, and have little living space

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inside. The shelters were constructed more than a decade ago as temporary housing by the State
Government and are now in bad condition. The hut-type houses are often damaged by heavy
rain. Poor sanitation is another major problem in both the camps. Flowing waste water and dirty
septic tanks and sewage overflow inside the camp leading to a terrible stench. The streets are
always muddy. These are ample reasons for the spread of communicable diseases such as
malaria, typhoid, diarrhoea, and skin-related problems. Both camps do not have proper toilet
facilities. Even the few toilets that exist are damaged. Men and women are forced to use open
spaces in the vicinity of the camp. As the hospitals are located far away from the camps, the
refugees have very little access to proper medical care. Though the Government and the NGOs
inspect medical camps once every two months, this is not sufficient to solve the problem.
Finding employment is very difficult for the refugees in both of the camps even if they are
educated and qualified. The local people do not like to employ Refugee Survey Quarterly 35
Downloaded from the Sri Lankan refugees because they feel that they may have to face police
investigation if the refugees either meet with an accident or die while working in the field.
Hence, only very few refugees find employment in the local labour market.

LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES IN REFUGEE CAMPS

Livelihood strategies refer to the manner in which households deploy assets and use their
capabilities in order to pursue their livelihood objectives, and are often based on past experience.
Every refugee population has been residing in different environments in the host countries and
making use of different coping strategies for survival. The following section discusses the
strategies that the Sri Lankan refugees in India adopt to pursue livelihood goals.

Engaged in employment activities

In many host countries, refugees are blocked from or unable to access legal employment, which
is only available to the local community. In the Sri Lankan refugee case, they did not face severe
problems accessing employment in the local labour market in Tamil Nadu until the assassination
of the former Indian Prime Minister. Afterwards, the Indian Government restricted their
movements in the camps through police surveillance. They were not even allowed to go outside
to meet their relatives and friends or to seek employment. The restriction on movement has
gradually been reduced since the new DMK political party came to power in Tamil Nadu in

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2006. They are allowed to go outside the camp with the permission of the local police. The
casual wage labourers get Rs.200 per day in Tamil Nadu. A refugee manages to earn Rs.2,000
every month without government assistance if they get at least ten days employment every
month and government cash dole as well.

Relying on social networks

Sri Lankan refugees get help through their ties with relatives and friends living abroad, which
helps them survive with limited resources in the camps. Such help comes as remittances as well
as through refugee networks which increase information flows and trade. However, every
household does not receive remittances from abroad.

Seasonal or short-duration migration

Seasonal or short-duration of labour migration for employment purposes has become one of the
most important livelihood strategies among the camp refugees. We also found that 65 per cent of
households in the sample reported that their household members had migrated to urban areas
mainly for employment purposes during the last six months. Generally, men are free to go
wherever they want to, but women are subject to restrictions by their husbands and other male
household members. In Thenpallipattu, most young educated refugees work in the private sector
in Chennai and Vellore.

Investment in children’s education

Many studies found that education is considered as a key livelihood strategy among the refugees,
because it is perceived as a key factor to eradicate poverty. 17 Provision of education is more
important than the provision of food and other facilities. According to DRTN, out of the total
refugee population in Tamil Nadu, nearly 21,742 refugee students were enrolled in
schools/colleges in 2009. In 2008, it was 21,023 students. There are 432 and 126 students
studying in the Puzhal and Thenpallipattu camps respectively.

Negative Coping Strategies

Apart from the abovementioned, Sri Lankan refugees adopt negative coping strategies when only
a few options are available to survive in the camps. Refugees are forced to sell their valuable
household assets during the crisis in both camps including sewing machines, mobile phones,

17 S. Banki, “Burmese Refugees in Tokyo: Livelihoods in the Urban Environment”, Journal of Refugee Studies,
19(3), 2006, 328–344; A. Hardgrove, “Liberian Refugee Families in Ghana: The Implications of Family Demands
and Capabilities for Return to Liberia”, Journal of Refugee Studies, 22(4), 2009, 483–501.

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television sets, bicycles, and livestock, and also mortgage their jewellery in the local mortgage
shops. Thenpallipattu refugees usually sell their livestock in order to meet their children’s
educational and health expenses. We also found that many households do not use the rationed
rice in both the camps, and sell it to outsiders or back to the ration shop at the rate of Rs.5–7 per
kg. This money is used to buy rice, vegetables, fish, etc., from the market. Past studies report that
Sri Lankan female refugees take up prostitution for a living due to the segregated camp life,
restrictions on movement, and lack of job opportunities in the camps.18

CONCLUSION
Following the prolonged Sri Lankan Civil War, the exodus of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to the
Indian State of Tamil Nadu since 1983 was much higher than that to other countries. The Indian
Government placed restrictions on this entry from 1991 onwards and controlled their movement
in camps, putting them under police surveillance due to the official ban on the LTTE in India
following the assassination of the former Prime Minster of India. This made their life in the
camps very difficult, as discussed earlier. At the same time, the civil war in Sri Lanka came to an
end in May 2009, which led the Sri Lankan Government to start a rehabilitation programme to
resettle the IDPs. So this is the right time to find enduring solutions for the problems of the Sri
Lankan refugees in India. The survey conducted in the refugee camps revealed that not all of
them wish to go back to Sri Lanka. Out of the total sample of 100 refugee households, nearly 85
per cent are willing to go back to Sri Lanka. They revealed that they want to rejoin their family
and friends in their native place. Most importantly, they want to salvage the landed property they
own in Sri Lanka. Otherwise, they feel that it will be encroached on or that the Sri Lankan
Government may use it to resettle others. They also feel that adapting as refugees is very difficult
in camps as they do not have any legal rights. Finally, the rest of them who feel already like they
are at home, those refugees can use their skills and knowledge for the development of the nation
and become an asset to the communities in which they live, with or without depending on
government aid.

18 Dasgupta, “Long-term Camp Life and Changing Identities of Sri Lankan Women Refugees in India”, pg. 6/12

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 SUGGESTIONS
● The Indian Government should also consider granting citizenship to those who want it so
as to allow them to integrate freely with the local people.
● The Indian Government could provide pre-settlement training to refugees through local
voluntary organizations and UNHCR and make them aware of the significance of the
nation’s security.
● Indian Govt. should increase bilateral talks with Sri Lankan Govt. on this subject and find
a common ground to reduce the hardships of these sufferers.
● By providing citizenship to these refugees, the Indian Government can prevent the
existing discrimination and exploitation in some parts of Tamil Nadu.
● While unemployment is a major concern, the Indian Government can provide job
opportunities for them by initiating industrial projects as was done in the case of the
Tibetan refugees when they fled to India.

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