Tamil Nationalism

Tamil nationalism has developed among the Tamils of both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It expresses itself in the form of linguistic purism ("Pure Tamil"), of nationalism and irredentism ("Dravida Nadu"), and of Anti-Casteism ("Self-Respect Movement"). Tamil nationalists in Sri Lanka attempted to create an independent state (Tamil Eelam) amid the increasing political and physical violence against ordinary Tamils by the Sri Lankan government since the pogroms of 1983, known as Black July. After the island's independence from Britain, the Sri Lankan government passed the Citizenship Act of 1948, which made more than a millon Tamils of Indian origin stateless. The government also passed a Sinhala only act, severely damaging the social mobility of Tamils as most (in the northern part of the island) cannot speak Sinhala.. Feeling like second-class citizens, discontent among Tamils grew and led to the anti-Hindi agitation of 1965.