Sri Lanka, Malayagam, two hundred years of denied rights for the plantation people

COLUMBUS (Asia News) – 2023 marks 200 years since the plantation people or “malayagam” started making a great contribution to the economy of Sri Lanka. Yet they are still deprived of basic rights and are facing many social, economic, cultural and political problems. It is the complaint of the organization “Voice of plantation people” which on the occasion of this bicentenary delivered a petition to the president of Sri Lanka.

Brought by British colonial governments. The head of the association Anthony Jesudasan, in a press conference in Colombo, recalled how historical documents attest that these Tamils, who have contributed significantly to the economic development of Sri Lanka for 200 years, were brought in February 1823 by the British colonial governments on the island from South India to work as cheap labor in the plantation industry: “It is arguable that these Tamil workers, who have given their backs to the economy of this country, cannot access the rights they enjoy other citizens living in the same country, still having to live under the control of the plantation authority. They are deprived of administrative rights, still living without a home and their own land. Yet over 200 years they have contributed on a large scale to Sri Lanka’s gross national income.”

No document certifying ownership of the land. The problem particularly affects the Malayagams who live in the southern districts of Galle and Matara. “After the 2003 disaster – adds Anton Vanathaiah, secretary of Voice of Plantation People – the victims were assigned a plot of land, but despite the fact that almost twenty years have passed, they have not even been given a piece of paper attesting the right to that land. There is no document even in the relevant government offices”. “There are 5 Tamil schools in the Matara district, but they are located in very difficult areas: parents cannot afford the costs of reaching them. Therefore, they have to be sent to the nearest Sinhala school and have to study Buddhism instead of Hinduism. There is a shortage of teachers for subjects such as mathematics and English: for this reason, the higher education of Tamil children on the plantations has so far been severely compromised”.

Pressures in favor of the workers. Meanwhile, the New Delhi authorities are pressing for the implementation of measures in favor of plantation workers, mostly Tamils ​​of Indian origin. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has called a new meeting of all parties, as part of the negotiations launched last month with the Tamil National Alliance. The head of state had expressed the ambitious goal of reaching an agreement by 4 February, the 75th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s independence.

* Melani Manel Perera – Asianews