Tamil Eelam: Reimagining Independence
Satya Sagar
Throughout human history the quest for colonial power by various social, ethnic or national groups has always been met with fierce resistance from those they have sought to conquer and subjugate. While the idea of the ‘nation’ and the shape of the ‘state’ meant to govern it have varied over time and from place to place, the dream of an independent homeland has sparked countless struggles, both heroic and tragic, around the world.
In modern times the dismantling of European colonialism in Asia, Africa and Latin America led to the formation of countless new nation states and membership of the United Nations has grown from a mere 51 countries in 1945 to 193 currently. Today, the Right to Self-Determination is a well-established principle in modern international law, emphatically stating that nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and equality of opportunity have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference.
