Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka to seek NTTC in constitutional reforms

Colombo,UPDATED: Aug 6, 2026 17:56 IST

Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka will press for the creation of a Non-Territorial Tamil Community Council when the island nation begins its constitutional reform process, Tamil Progressives Alliance leader Mano Ganesan said on Thursday. He said the process must not only protect devolution, but also recognise the democratic aspirations of the Indian-Origin Tamil community through the council's inclusion in the Constitution.

The demand was raised after Ganesan met India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Wednesday along with leaders of a newly formed group representing Sri Lankan Tamils and the Indian-Origin Tamil community. India, meanwhile, called on the Sri Lankan leadership to hold Provincial Council elections at the earliest and to fully implement Sri Lanka's constitutional provisions to meet the aspirations of the Tamil people.

Ganesan said he discussed the role envisaged for the Non-Territorial Tamil Community Council, or NTTC, during the meeting. Those present included TPA deputy leader Radhakrishnan, Ceylon Workers' Congress general secretary Jeevan Thondaman, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and representatives of Sri Lanka's Indian-Origin Tamil community.

Speaking to PTI, Ganesan said, "There is understandable concern that a new Constitution could weaken the gains of the 13th Amendment, particularly (for) Provincial Councils. Given its historic role in the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, India has both the moral standing and legitimate interest to caution against any constitutional process that dilutes devolution."

Recalling that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's People's Power had pledged to resume the constitutional process that began in 2016 from where it was suspended, Ganesan said, "The 2016 Steering Committee's Interim Report did not propose weakening the 13th Amendment. Instead, it recommended strengthening the Provincial Councils and deepening devolution." He added that he had served alongside Dissanayake on the Constitutional Steering Committee and said it would be both politically and morally inconsistent to now weaken or abolish Provincial Councils.

Ganesan said, "We will engage constructively in the constitutional process, but we will not compromise on protecting devolution, strengthening power-sharing, and securing constitutional recognition for the NTTC." In a post on X later on Thursday, he said, "I conveyed to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri that President AKD has publicly assured that the new constitutional process will recommence from the point where it was suspended, with an inclusive framework that incorporates the 13th Amendment. The IOT community also looks forward to submitting the NTCC proposal to this new constitutional process."

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Misri stressed the need for early Provincial Council elections. The elections have been delayed for years because of legal issues linked to electoral reforms. In response to criticism that the system has been rendered ineffective because of a lack of political will, the Sri Lankan government has said polls could be held after the current Select Committee completes its deliberations. The committee is examining whether the elections can be held under the earlier proportional representation system, dropping the 2017 attempt to introduce a hybrid system. In April this year, Parliament's press office said the cross-party Select Committee had asked the Attorney General's department to prepare a dossier on the legal position to understand the difficulties in holding the elections.

India has long pressed Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment, which followed the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan agreement and provides for devolution of power to areas dominated by the Tamil minority through Provincial Councils. The Indian intervention came during the conflict with the LTTE, which fought for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's north and east for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after Sri Lankan forces killed its leader V Prabhakaran. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the dominant partner in the ruling NPP, had at that time led a violent rebellion against the Indo-Lanka Accord signed by then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Sri Lankan president J R Jayewardene. The issue also came up during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Colombo in April 2025, and India has repeatedly urged Sri Lanka to hold the delayed Provincial Council elections as soon as possible.

The latest exchanges underline two linked demands in Sri Lanka's Tamil political debate: protecting devolution under the 13th Amendment and moving ahead with Provincial Council elections, while the Indian-Origin Tamil community seeks constitutional recognition for the proposed NTTC in any new reform process.

With PTI Inputs

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