Ilankai Tamil Sangam

29th Year on the Web

Association of Tamils of Sri Lanka in the USA

Petition to Grant Citizenship to Tamil Refugees in India

Sign petition here.

To:  Government of India

As all of you know, currently 300,000 innocent Eelam Tamil civilians are detained in concentration camps in Sri Lanka. While all civilized people are requesting their release, most of the world has forgotten about more than 100,000 Eelam Tamil refugees detained in refugee camps in our own Tamil Nadu for more than 25 years.

Spiritual Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is the only public figure who has called for signature campaigns for granting Indian Citizenship to these refugees suffering in our motherland.

I request you to please sign this petition to help our fellow Tamils. There are more than 100 million Tamils globally. Let us ensure that at least one out of 100 Tamils sign this petition so that we can collect 1 million signatures to make an impact.

The following is the text of news item covering Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's message:

Sri Lankan Tamils living in Europe and America have jobs and businesses, have a home and are well off, while those living in Tamil Nadu since 1983 are still languishing in the camps as refugees, he said.

The Art of Living Foundation founder said that the refugees needed to be 'integrated into the country'.

Ravi Shankar, at the start of a week-long Tamil Nadu tour, said: 'It is just humane to give hope and opportunity to these people living in Tamil Nadu.'

He also called for a signature campaign by the citizens to absorb the Sri Lankan Tamils into the mainstream of Indian society. They should be given ration cards, homes, jobs and citizenship, he said.

While refugees from Bangladesh and Nepal have been enjoying these benefits, Ravi Shankar wondered why everyone has turned a blind eye to the sufferings of Sri Lankan Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned