India, Dec. 6 -- When Ceylon (Sri Lanka today) became independent in 1948, a law passed that year did not recognise about 800,000 people of Tamil Indian origin as citizens, even though many had lived there for most of their lives. A new citizenship act in 1949 provided the community, comprising a tenth of the country's population at the time, an opportunity to claim their rights.

However, the burden of legal proof was so high that few could fulfil it. They had to build a paperwork trail from years ago - when there was no concept of nation-states in the region, nor the need to prove belonging. Many furnished extensive proof of residence and employment, but the State often declared these inadequate. The new law brought into scrutiny past a...