| Summary/Abstract |
In this context, there is an apparent need for a new appraisal of the status, both economic and political, of the Hill Country or Highland Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. This community is nearly 1.48 million in number, and constituted approximately 11.61 per cent of the total Sri Lankan population as per the official Census data of 1971. They continue to form an important part of Sri Lankan citizenry even though their strength may have marginally declined in the years following 1971, especially after some spells of repatriation to India consequent on the Amendment of the Shastri-Sirimavo Accord of 1964, and after the Indira-Sirimavo Agreement of 1974. The Highland Tamils (also known as Malaiha Tamils) are quite distinct from the Tamils of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, and have led a practically disenfranchised existence for quite some time since the country’s independence in 1948.
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