ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an analysis of the rise and fall of Tamil ethnic insurgency in Sri Lanka, highlighting the role of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the principal Tamil rebel group, in shaping the chequered path of the Tamil nationalist project since the 1980s. The chapter also argues that the secessionist insurgency, as well as the LTTE, were products of Tamil nationalism that arose in the early 1950s due to a combination of political and cultural factors. The repeated failure of the Sinhalese ruling elites to reform the Sri Lankan state to accommodate the Tamil demand for regional autonomy and the failure of mainstream Tamil nationalism to secure regional autonomy though parliamentary means constituted the process producing the necessity for a counter-state rebellion for secession. It also discusses the causes of the ethnic conflict and insurgency, focusing on the primacy of political factors relating to identity politics and state power.
