Black July and the arrival of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees
Anti-Tamil pogroms in Sri Lanka in July 1983 sent the first large wave of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to Tamil Nadu.
The Black July riots that began on 24 July 1983 in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka killed many Tamils and destroyed homes and businesses. Over the following years, tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils crossed the Palk Strait to Tamil Nadu, with over 130,000 arriving by the time of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. Refugee camps were set up across the state. The events produced strong public sympathy in Tamil Nadu, and the Eelam question became a central issue in state politics.
