Sri Lankan troops are marching into Tiger’s territory conquering all strategic locations. No significant response yet from LTTE except a claim of having captured few soldiers. There is no retaliation and it certainly looks like retreat.

Tamil Tigers movement is almost 25 years old. Their demand was for a separate homeland for Tamil ethnic minority within Sri Lanka. It is another separatist movement with a cause. It has been armed struggle and Tigers had managed to hold control over certain Tamil regions in Sri Lanka. Nearly 70,000 people have lost their lives in this cross fire between Tigers and Lankan Army.

India as a closest neighbor too has had a role to play in Sri Lankan politics. Indian army’s assistance as peace-keeping force didn’t go down well with Tigers. Out of vengeance they took life of Rajiv Gandhi (one of the Prime Ministers of India) by carrying out brutal assassination.

Tigers did roar load and played a dominating role in Sri Lanka. Maybe it is too early to think they are down and out. The ethnic minority issue is not going to be easy to deal with. Apart from politics it also has to do with the right of a minority community to assert and retain one’s language and culture.

In the globalised world, many a nations face such strife when minority rebel groups trying to assert their right for land, religion, language and culture. These seem unavoidable unless there is more tolerance from both sides, there is room for ethnic plus cultural diversity and these issues don’t get politicised.

Via BBC