Tamils are known to have inhabited the island of Ceylon (now srilanka) for over 2500 years. When the Portuguese occupied the island in 1505, they were separated kingdom for the Tamil and the Sinhalese; the Portuguese ruled the territories as separate units. Later, the Dutch (1658 1796) maintained this status quo. The British occupied the island from 1796, and in 1833 merged the Tamil and Sinhala nations into one unit for administrative convenience.
On the independence, the British left the island with a Westminster-style political representation, despite protestation from the Tamils who made up almost 30% of the population. This made the Tamils a permanent minority, rendering their parliamentary representation meaningless; thus the seed of todays conflict was sown.
Tamils are known to have inhabited the island of Ceylon (now srilanka) for over 2500 years. When the Portuguese occupied the island in 1505, they were separated kingdom for the Tamil and the Sinhalese; the Portuguese ruled the territories as separ...