Sri Lanka

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.

Arumuka Navalar receives his title at Thiruvaduthurai

Travelling to Madras to acquire a printing press, Jaffna scholar Arumuka Pillai received the title Navalar from the Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam.

Death of Shaiva reformer Arumuka Navalar

Arumuka Navalar, the Jaffna scholar who revived Shaiva Tamil learning in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu and printed early Tamil classics, died.

V. O. Chidambaram Pillai founds the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company

To compete with British lines on the Tuticorin-Colombo route, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai registered an Indian-owned shipping firm.

Pamban railway bridge opens

The Pamban Bridge, India's first sea bridge, opened, linking Rameswaram on Pamban Island to the mainland by rail.

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.

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.

Rameswaram cyclone destroys Dhanushkodi

Pamban Island was hit by a super cyclonic storm whose surge drowned the town of Dhanushkodi and killed many people.

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.

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.

Meenambakkam airport bomb blast

A bomb exploded at Meenambakkam airport in Madras, killing several people.

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.

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.

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.

EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha killed in Madras

EPRLF leader K. Pathmanabha and others were shot dead by gunmen in a Kodambakkam flat in Madras, in killings attributed to the LTTE.

DMK government dismissed under Article 356

The Chandra Shekhar government dismissed the Karunanidhi ministry, citing law and order concerns linked to LTTE activity, and imposed President's rule.

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by an LTTE suicide bomber at an election rally in Sriperumbudur.

TADA court sentences 26 to death in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

A designated TADA court at Poonamallee sentenced all 26 accused on trial to death for the conspiracy to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi.

Supreme Court verdict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

The Supreme Court upheld the convictions of seven accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and acquitted the other 19 sentenced by a TADA court.

Vaiko arrested under POTA

MDMK leader Vaiko was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for a speech supporting the LTTE and spent over a year and a half in jail.

Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project inaugurated

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched work on a shipping canal between India and Sri Lanka, a project later stalled by the Ram Setu dispute.

Self-immolation of K. Muthukumar

Journalist K. Muthukumar set himself on fire in Chennai in protest against the killing of Tamil civilians in the Sri Lankan war.

Police and lawyers clash in the Madras High Court

A police action against lawyers on the Madras High Court campus led to an inquiry by former Supreme Court judge B. N. Srikrishna.

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.

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.

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.

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.