Diplomacy

Tranquebar handed back to Denmark

Britain returned Tranquebar (Tharangambadi), occupied since 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars, to Danish rule on 20 September 1815.

Pondicherry and Karaikal restored to France

After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain returned Pondicherry, Karaikal and the other French settlements in India to France in 1816.

Dutch possessions on the Coromandel Coast pass to Britain

Under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Dutch ceded their Coromandel settlements, including Pulicat, to the British on 1 June 1825.

Recruitment of Tamil labourers for Ceylon plantations begins

Labourers from the Tirunelveli, Tiruchi, Madurai and Tanjore areas were recruited for British coffee estates in Ceylon.

First emigrant ship from Madras reaches Mauritius

Britain allowed emigration from Madras to Mauritius again in December 1842, and the first ship from Madras reached the island in April 1843.

Denmark sells Tranquebar to the British

Denmark sold its settlement of Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) to the East India Company, ending Danish rule on the Tamil coast.

Indentured labourers from Madras arrive in Natal on the Truro

Organised Indian settlement in the British colony of Natal began with the Truro, which brought 342 indentured labourers from Madras.

Death of the young satyagrahi Thillaiyadi Valliammai

Valliammai, a 16-year-old daughter of Tamil immigrants from Thillaiyadi, died after imprisonment in Gandhi's South African satyagraha.

SS Rajula begins the Madras to Penang and Singapore service

The steamer SS Rajula ran a fortnightly Straits Service from Madras to Penang, Port Klang and Singapore from 1926 to 1972.

V. S. Srinivasa Sastri becomes India's Agent in South Africa

The Union of South Africa received its first Agent from India: V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, a Liberal leader from Madras.

A. Ramaswami Mudaliar becomes first ECOSOC president

Arcot Ramaswami Mudaliar, a Justice Party leader from Madras, was the first President of the UN Economic and Social Council.

Ceylon Citizenship Act leaves Indian Tamils stateless

Passed soon after Ceylon became independent, a citizenship law shut out most Indian Tamil plantation workers, descendants of migrants from the Madras Presidency.

French India transferred de facto to India after the Kizhoor referendum

After the Kizhoor referendum, Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe passed de facto from France to the Indian Union.

De jure transfer of the French settlements to India

Once France ratified the Treaty of Cession, Pondicherry and the other former French settlements legally became part of India.

Exodus of Tamils and other Indians from Burma

More than 300,000 Indians, most of them Tamils, left Burma after General Ne Win's expulsions and the 1964 nationalisation of private business.

Sirima-Shastri Pact on people of Indian origin in Ceylon

India and Ceylon agreed that 525,000 stateless people of Indian origin, mostly Tamil plantation workers, would be repatriated to India.

Sirima-Gandhi Pact on stateless persons of Indian origin

India and Sri Lanka agreed on the future of the 150,000 persons of Indian origin whose status had been left open by the 1964 Sirima-Shastri Pact.

India recognises Sri Lankan sovereignty over Katchatheevu

Under the Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement, India accepted Katchatheevu island in the Palk Strait as Sri Lankan territory.

India and Sri Lanka sign the 1976 maritime agreement

A further agreement on the maritime boundary restricted fishermen of each country from fishing in the other's exclusive economic zone.

Operation Poomalai: Indian airdrop over Jaffna

Indian Air Force transport planes dropped relief supplies over the besieged city of Jaffna, halting a Sri Lankan army offensive against the Tamil militants.

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord signed

An accord between India and Sri Lanka on the Tamil issue led to the dispatch of the Indian Peace Keeping Force to the island.

India and the Soviet Union sign the Kudankulam nuclear agreement

Rajiv Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement to build two nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district.

Indian Peace Keeping Force withdraws from Sri Lanka

In March 1990 the final contingents of the Indian Peace Keeping Force, deployed under the 1987 accord, departed from Sri Lanka.

India protests Sri Lankan Navy attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen

India formally protested to Sri Lanka over alleged Sri Lankan Navy attacks on Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait.

India's Prime Minister skips CHOGM in Colombo after Tamil Nadu pressure

After a unanimous Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stayed away from the Commonwealth summit in Colombo.

Tamil Nadu parties oppose Rajapaksa's invitation to Modi's swearing-in

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's attendance at Narendra Modi's swearing-in drew opposition from parties across Tamil Nadu.

Modi and Xi Jinping hold informal summit at Mamallapuram

Among the Pallava monuments of Mamallapuram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Chinese President Xi Jinping for an informal summit.

Passenger ferry between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai begins

A high-speed passenger ferry began sailing between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka's Jaffna district.