Sri Lankan Tamils in India mainly refer to Tamil people of Sri Lankan origin. They partly migrated to India from Sri Lanka because of the concluded Sri Lankan Civil War. To date, thousands of refugee families are living below the poverty line, except a few people who settled in India during early times, rich businessmen, and professionals. In Tamil Nadu, they are also known as Ceylon Tamils, or Jaffna Tamils.
The exodus has been renewed with several refugees turning up at the coast once again following the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
One such refugee is Mahendran who migrated from the Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka as a refugee along with his mother and father in 1990, during the height of the genocide in the country.
He has had a rough time in India, struggling for survival, being condemned and jailed for cases from which he was later on acquitted. Yet he cared very little of his hardships and made the world a better place by planting 30000 saplings while taking refuge in Tamil Nadu.
Mahendran had to stay in a lot many refugee camps namely in Vellore, Chennai, and Gummidipoondi. Since he was the only son in the family, he had to sell clothes to make a living which he has been doing for years.
Fate took a harsh turn when in 2014, Mahendran was charged with attempting to escape Australia from Kanyakumari and was imprisoned in the Nagercoil Branch Jail. Simultaneously, another case was registered against the 48-year-old, alleging that he tried to escape to New Zealand from Ramanathapuram district within 15 days of his imprisonment. Thankfully after a legal battle that spanned 8 years, he was acquitted in both cases.
At this moment, Mahendran is being held in a special refugee camp at the Trichy Central Jail.
But it is clearly not a fate that Mahendran deserves for he has done something really commendable. Despite being imprisoned, he took up his childhood interest in gardening and grew thousands of saplings, so be precise, 30,000 saplings and collected 6 lakh pungan seeds, all out of his sole initiative.
“My goal is to plant two crore saplings in my lifetime. In what way is it fair to keep me in prison even after I was acquitted of my charges? Thus, in order for my ‘green work’ to continue, the Central and the State governments should release me on grounds of compassion,” Mahendran urged.
These saplings have been donated to a volunteer organization named Thanneer in Trichy city. It all began in 2018 for the first time when the then-District Collector and Executive Chairman of Thanneer, K C Neelamegam were given 700 saplings by Mahendran. This number has multiplied over the years and the trees have been planted by several educational institutions and the general public in the city.
“The saplings given by Mahendran include almond, fig, mango, tamarind, guava, neem, and several others. He has also handed over several bags of seeds. We congratulate Mahendran on his commitment to environmental preservation,” said Mr. Neelamegam.
Like Mahendran, we request the law institutions, and government to look into Mahendra’s case and grant him the freedom he deserves.