Human Rights

Indian Slavery Act abolishes legal slavery

Under Act V of 1843, slavery lost legal recognition in Company territories, agrestic slavery in the Tamil districts included.

Madras Torture Commission appointed

A commission was appointed to investigate the torture of ryots by revenue officials in the Madras Presidency.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vachathi atrocity

In Dharmapuri district, a raid on the tribal village of Vachathi by police, forest and revenue officials left villagers assaulted and women raped.

Kodiyankulam police raid

About 600 policemen raided the Dalit village of Kodiyankulam in Thoothukudi district, destroying property amid caste clashes in southern Tamil Nadu.

Manjolai labourers massacre on the Tamirabarani

Seventeen people, mostly Dalit tea estate workers, died in the Tamirabarani river at Tirunelveli while fleeing a police lathi-charge.

Erwadi mental home fire

Chained to their beds, 28 inmates died when fire swept through a faith-based mental asylum at Erwadi.

Santhi Soundarajan stripped of her Asian Games silver

The Pudukkottai athlete won silver in the 800 m at the Doha Asian Games but lost the medal after a sex verification test.

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.

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.

Paramakudi police firing

Police opened fire on Dalits protesting at Paramakudi on the Immanuel Sekaran memorial day, and the death toll rose to seven.

Student protests over Sri Lankan Tamils

Colleges were shut after students throughout Tamil Nadu protested over alleged war crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils.

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.

Sathankulam custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennix

A father and son detained by Sathankulam police during the lockdown died after being beaten in custody, causing national outrage.

Custodial death of temple guard Ajith Kumar

Temple watchman Ajith Kumar died after being held by police in Sivaganga district over a theft complaint; the case went to the CBI.