Sri Lanka, Aug. 17 -- Even before the defeat, support for the LTTE and the separatist cause were questioned and waning among overseas Tamils. Over the three decades of asylum, migration and resettlement, Tamil communities had become more diverse and mixed but more representative of the population in Lanka in terms of class, caste, and village of origin. Social and cultural institutions were not the same but gradually re-established. In particular, marriages forged together strong families, and success in education and business created wealth. As overseas Tamils put behind the asylum and refugee labels and embraced citizenship, there was an increasing sense of confidence in what it meant to be a Lankan Tamil.

The Tamil nationalism which l...