Tamil National People’s Front Hands Memorandum to Indian Foreign Secretary Seeking Federal Political Solution
Colombo, August 5: The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), led by MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, today submitted a written memorandum to India’s Foreign Secretary during a meeting in Colombo, urging India’s intervention to secure a lasting political solution for the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.
During the meeting, TNPF representatives also raised concerns over what they described as the continued militarisation of Tamil areas, Sinhala-Buddhist encroachment, alleged discrimination in development projects, and the day-to-day challenges faced by Tamil communities in the North and East.
In the memorandum, the TNPF argued that successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to resolve the national question over the past 77 years and called on India to play a decisive role in ensuring a political settlement through a new constitutional framework.
The party stated that Sri Lanka’s proposed new Constitution must reflect the political aspirations of the Tamil people and criticised the existing 13th Amendment and Provincial Council system as inadequate, arguing that the unitary structure of the Constitution prevents meaningful power-sharing. The memorandum cited a 1987 Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruling, asserting that sovereignty under a unitary state remains entirely with the central government.
The TNPF further recalled the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, noting that it recognised the Northern and Eastern Provinces as the traditional homeland of the Tamil people and envisaged a merged administrative unit with autonomy. It argued that the Provincial Council system introduced under the 13th Amendment weakened the original intent of the Accord.
The memorandum also expressed concern over the government’s reported plans to finalise a new Constitution based on the “Ekya Rajya” (Unitary State) model, claiming it would offer even less devolution than the existing constitutional framework.
Calling for a federal constitutional arrangement, the TNPF urged India to press Sri Lanka to abandon the unitary constitutional model, recognise the Tamil nation and its right to self-government, and establish a constitutional order that would enable the Tamil people to exercise self-determination within their historical homeland.
The party also argued that Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic recovery depends significantly on India’s support and closer economic ties with Tamil Nadu, expressing confidence that India is in a position to play a decisive role in facilitating a political settlement.
The memorandum was submitted on behalf of the Tamil National People’s Front and signed by its leader, MP Gajendrakumar G. Ponnambalam.
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