In a petition addressed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Farmers Workers Development Association (FWDA) of Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, on Monday sought a special arrangement to represent the Sri Lankan repatriates in Parliament to discuss their plights and needs.
Representatives of FWDA handed over the petition to Rahul Gandhi at Pulpally in Kerala’s Wayanad. In the petition to Gandhi, FWDA members listed several demands, including land distribution to the landless repatriates, a committee to acknowledge the unfulfilled promises of the Sirimavo-Shastri Pact and permanent solutions for the tea plantation workers who work in Tamilnadu Tea Plantation Corporation (TANTEA).
The petition noted, “Indian-origin Hill Country Tamils, who were gathered under the promise of full rehabilitation by the Indian government, suffer untold suffering as they have not been properly rehabilitated. About 25 lakh Tamils are fighting for their basic rights in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and the Andaman Islands. They need representation in the Indian Parliament to resolve their issues and rights. We urge the Election Commission of India and the political parties to take this up.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, M S Selvaraj, state coordinator, FWDA, said they wanted the President to reserve at least one seat in Parliament. “We know that our needs and situations are different despite all having a shared history. It is more than five decades now and it is difficult for one representative to speak for all of us. But it is better to have at least one representative than nothing,” said Selvaraj.
Selvaraj said no political party discusses the repatriates even though their population is almost 2 million across the country. “We gave similar representation to the BJP, the DMK and now to Rahul Gandhi,” he added.
Members of the FWDA, who said they have been putting forward their demands for 10 years now, also participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi when they made similar requests to him.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, Rahul Gandhi has camped in Tamil Nadu and on April 15, he visited Nilgiris to campaign for A Raja, former Union minister and DMK leader. Raja has been fielded in the Lok Sabha constituency against L Murugan, Union Minister and former BJP Tamil Nadu president.
Who are repatriates?
After Sri Lanka became independent, the island country declared Indian-origin Tamils — mostly those who were from marginalised communities and migrated during the colonial period — stateless. The Sirimavo-Shastri Pact or Indo-Ceylon Agreement was signed between Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the then prime minister of Sri Lanka and Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then PM of India in 1964.
As of October 30, 1964, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the estimated number of Indian-origin people in Sri Lanka was 9,75,000. Among the close to a million, 3,00,000 were granted Sri Lankan citizenship. India accepted the repatriation of 5,25,000 stateless Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka. The repatriates were later displaced in the southern states of India and the Andaman Nicobar Islands.
TANTEA was created in 1968 to rehabilitate Sri Lankan repatriates in Tamil Nadu. It started as the Government Tea Project later it was brought under corporate management in 1976 and renamed as Tamilnadu Tea Plantation Corporation.
Panel to report on Sirimavo-Shastri pact implementation
In the petition, FWDA also listed many demands and highlighted the promises that were made under the Sirimavo-Shashtri pact that were not fulfilled. FWDA also sought the Union Government to constitute a high-level committee to conduct an inquiry and submit the report to the State and Central governments on the implementation of the promises that were guaranteed in the Sirimavo-Shastri pact.
While discussing the rehabilitation measures that were promised under the Sirimavo-Shastri pact, the association urged the State and Union Governments to take appropriate measures to rehabilitate those who never received any assistance since they were deported from Sri Lanka.
In the petition, FWDA highlighted how repatriates are bereft of basic amenities and rights despite the population of repatriates constituting the biggest vote shares and the deciding factor of who could be an MP in the Nilgiris seat. “They are plantation workers and poor farmers. The labour of these people has turned this land into a rich land. The basic facilities and rights of these people should be protected. Most of them are landless poor labourers,” FWDA noted.
Land reform
In the petition, FWDA demanded 3 acres of land for each so that they could construct houses and facilitate the loan facility to continue farming on the allocated land. The association also sought to repeal the prohibitory order number 1168 that bans the grant of patta in hilly districts. This demand comes at a time when the Tamil Nadu Government is very keen on converting the tea plantations back into forests.
During the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime, some 2565 odd hectares of tea plantations were handed over to the forest department for a reforestation programme. During the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) rule, the regime has taken action to hand over another 2152 hectares of tea plantations to the forest department citing revenue loss.
In Government Order 173 of 2022, the Tamil Nadu Government announced that it would likely close the TANTEAs that have been functioning in Valparai of Coimbatore district and Naduvattam of Nilgiris district. In the petition, FWDA refuted the claims of the State Government that the said areas were unproductive. The association blamed the TANTEA management for the malpractice and poor maintenance that resulted in the revenue loss.
“As a permanent solution, all the families living in TanTea plantations should be allotted three acres each of the TanTea land created by them by the hard work of Tamils of Indian origin who have returned to their homeland, and guarantee their livelihood. Thus, the families of workers who have been suffering as plantation labourers for generations will get land rights and live in peace. The Tamil Nadu government should make appropriate legal amendments to suit the distribution of land,” the petition read.
An abandoned repatriates quarters in Johikomabi of Coonoor in Nilgiris. (Photo by Nithya Pandian) 
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