ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the material basis for the separatist vision is provided by a conjunction of factors. It outlines the social and political factors that had a bearing on the evolution of ethnic group relations in Sri Lanka. The chapter focuses on the distinctive attributes and processes of socio-economic change in the Jaffna peninsula which cumulated in tensions and attitudes that made it the epicenter of the separatist movement. In the Tamil view, the industrial units seemed exploitative since they had been located in the region primarily for their proximity to particular raw materials. Derived from material conditions, the concept of Eelam had developed until it seemed an economically viable one to its proponents. The demands of the Sri Lankan Tamil ethno-regional movement for greater autonomy from the Sinhalese-dominated center developed through various stages into a call for a separate state by the mid-seventies.
