And external interference: In India, in Hinduism, they have a popular myth epic, the Ramayana, where the king of India beats up the king of Sri Lanka. The king of India (Rama) being literally divinized, and the king of Sri Lanka (Ravana) being literally demonized. I think the Tamil folks, as Hindus, thought that they had a mythological imperative, to not be under Sri Lankan sovereignty. This is also why the opposed having a new canal cut thru the coral barrier tying India to Sri Lanka, because in the myth, the ally of Rama, the monkey king Hanuman, built that as a causeway. Of course, those same Tamils were immigrants ... so where have we heard before of immigrants trying to double cross their hosts? And in Hinduism, Buddhism is demonized as well, and Sri Lankan folks are Buddhist. So I think you had national, religious, ethnic and nationalist influences there. Shalom