Mano Ganesan Urges India to Grant Overseas Citizenship to Upcountry Tamils of Indian Origin
04-Mar-2026.
Leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance Mano Ganesan has formally requested Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha to consider granting Overseas Indian Citizenship to eligible Upcountry Tamils of Indian origin living in Sri Lanka.
The request was made during a high-level meeting held on March 3 at India House in Colombo. Also present were Deputy Leader V. Radhakrishnan, political committee member and international affairs representative Bharath Arul Swamy, and Political Counsellor Ram Babu from the Indian High Commission.
Ganesan said the total population of Upcountry Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka is approximately 1.5 million. While around one million still live in plantation areas, only about 100,000 remain directly employed as plantation workers. Others have advanced into various professions and businesses and now constitute a recognized national minority community.
He said their Indian origin cannot and need not be denied, and that India has a moral responsibility toward them.
Ganesan proposed that India consider granting Overseas Citizenship based on relaxed eligibility criteria for those who wish to obtain it, using Mauritius as a possible model. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously given a positive response during discussions in Colombo.
He pointed out that Indian-origin communities in countries such as South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, Singapore, and Malaysia have achieved strong socio-economic progress, while those in Sri Lanka continue to face setbacks due to political circumstances.
He referenced the 1964 Sirima-Shastri Agreement, saying that although it was made in India’s national interest, it created serious hardships for Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Ganesan also called for restructuring the Sri Lanka Estate Workers Education Trust, established in 1946 under the Indian High Commission. He proposed renaming it as the Indian-Origin Tamil Community Development Foundation to reflect current realities and to oversee all Indian government-funded scholarship and education development programs.
He submitted five key proposals:
1. Increase both the value and number of scholarships.
2. Establish a Tamil-medium teacher training college to address shortages in Mathematics, Science, Technology, and English teachers in plantation schools.
3. Set up a dedicated nursing training institute for Upcountry Tamil women.
4. Establish two international English-medium schools in Colombo and Nuwara Eliya, in line with Sri Lankan law and India’s Navodaya school model.
5. Create a university campus in Nuwara Eliya affiliated with a recognized Tamil Nadu university, with the goal of eventually developing it into a full national university.
He said detailed written proposals had already been submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and former High Commissioner Gopal Baglay. He urged the current High Commissioner to support these proposals.
