Tamil Nadu Timeline

DiplomacyDMK-AIADMK alternation

Indian Peace Keeping Force withdraws from Sri Lanka

· Trincomalee

Indian Peace Keeping Force withdraws from Sri Lanka
Post of India, GODL-India · Wikimedia Commons

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

Sent to the north and east of Sri Lanka in July 1987 under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, the Indian Peace Keeping Force was quickly drawn into combat with the LTTE. Soldiers and civilians alike suffered heavy losses in its operations, which met sharp criticism in Tamil Nadu. Following a request from Ranasinghe Premadasa, newly installed as Sri Lankan President, and a change of government in India, the pull-out started in 1989. The IPKF's last contingents left the island in March 1990.

Related events

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    1. 24 Jul 1983 to 29 Jul 1987RameswaramConflict

      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.

  2. 1985

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      Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) formed

      TESO was formed in Tamil Nadu to mobilise support for Sri Lankan Tamils, with M. Karunanidhi among its leaders.

  3. 1987

    1. 4 Jun 1987JaffnaDiplomacy

      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.

    2. 29 Jul 1987ColomboDiplomacy

      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.

  4. 1990

    1. 19 Jun 1990KodambakkamConflict

      EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha killed in Madras

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  5. 2009

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      End of the Sri Lankan civil war

      The Sri Lankan army defeated the LTTE, ending a 26-year war that had deeply affected Tamil Nadu's politics.

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