The rights of the Hill Country Tamils in Sri Lanka in education, health, habitat economic aid, among others must be granted, and due importance should be given to the education of their children, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Friday.
Virtually addressing the ‘Naam 200’ event organised by Sri Lankan Minister Jeevan Thondaiman, along with the Sri Lankan government, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Indian-origin Tamils in the island nation from Chennai, Mr. Stalin said Tamil Nadu was awaiting the day of upliftment for the Hill Country Tamils in “education and economic development.”
The Chief Minister recalled how the State government provided the returning Hill Country Tamils with livelihood through TANTEA and rubber plantations. “Tamil Nadu would always give out its voice for the cause,” Mr. Stalin said.
The history of the Hill Country Tamils in Sri Lanka commenced with the coffee plantations in the island nation, Mr. Stalin pointed out, underlining the key role they played in tea and coffee plantations, and later in the cultivation of cash crops. “Hill Country Tamils toiled for the development of Sri Lanka, giving their blood, sweat and time. They gave their labour for Sri Lanka, and they continue to do so,” Mr. Stalin said.
