ABSTRACT
The L TIE, among the several extremist groups formed after the new Sri Lankan Republican Constitution that did away with some protective articles of the minorities, started to entertain the idea of a separate state for the Tamils. The Up Country Tamils came under the attack of the militant Sinhalese as secession became dominant with the minority groups who sought refuge in the safer north-eastern areas. While not all Indian Tamils became militants, the government project (1981) offering some autonomy to the Tamils, in spite of opposition from the Sinhalese hardliners, was too little and too late.
