Following independence, Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority became
wary of the tens of millions of Tamil Hindus living just
20 miles off the Jaffna Peninsula in mainland India. India’s role
in the conflict from its early stages has not entirely alleviated
these fears. After anti-Tamil riots in 1983, the Indian government
provided support to the growing Tamil rebel movement
for domestic and geopolitical reasons, including as a means of
protecting its ethnic compatriots in Sri Lanka. India distanced
itself from the Tamil fighters in the late 1980s and eventually
sent its own troops to Sri Lanka to enforce a peace agreement.
However, this backfired: the Tamil LTTE attacked Indian
troops and the peacekeepers stoked Sinhalese fears that India
would eventually come to control Sri Lanka. In 1989, Sri
Lankan leaders ordered Indian troops to leave; in 1991, India’s
prime minister was assassinated by an LTTE affiliate. Following
withdrawal, India has supported peace negotiation efforts
but has avoided direct mediation between the LTTE and the
government of Sri Lanka.