New Delhi, April 30 -- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant organisation under Velupillai Prabhakaran, began its bloody insurgent fight aiming to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of Sri Lanka on 23 July 1983.

Then began some ironic political chess moves. The Indian government, hoping to keep the Tamil independence movement divided and be able to exert overt control over it, decided to train and support the LTTE and reportedly ordered the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) to do so. From August 1983 till May 1987, R&AW provided arms, training and monetary support to 6 Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, namely Liberation Tigers of Tamil...