This talk examines Eelam Ta mil resistance through the analytic frame of PEARL’s* 20th anniversary reun ion\, a gathering structured around the past\, present\, and future of stru ggle against the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist Sri Lankan state. Using this moment as a point of departure\, it interrogates how post-independence gove rnance has reproduced colonial logics of rule through militarization\, land dispossession\, spatial control\, and pervasive regimes of surveillance in the Tamil homeland.
Focusing on the present\, the talk explores how occupied and heavily surveilled spaces function simultaneously as sites of domination and political creativity. These dynamics are further reflected i n the material reshaping of land through infrastructure\, architecture\, an d everyday negotiations under occupation.
Finally\, the talk turns to ward the future by examining the work of a new generation of Tamil activist s who are articulating political imaginaries beyond the nation-state and ad vancing decolonial solidarities that link Eelam Tamil liberation to global struggles without collapsing difference. Together\, these reflections trace how\, even under conditions of prolonged occupation\, Tamil communities su stain transnational networks\, collective memory\, and radical visions of b elonging and resistance.
About the Speaker:
Am bihai Akilan (she/her/அவள்) is a second-generation Tamil-Canadian and gradu ate of the Sciences Po Paris and the University of British Columbia. A 2025 Wesbrook Scholar\, her interdisciplinary training includes degrees in Huma n Geography\, Informatics\, Politics and Government\, and Law. Currently\, she is an Advocacy Officer with People for Equality and Relief in Lanka and Editor-in-Chief of the Tamil Academic Journal. You can find her work in Al Jazeera\, The Diplomat\, and Briarpatch Magazine.
This talk is prese nted by the Centre for India and South Asia Research (CISAR).
CATEGORIES:Featured Events,Featured News &\; Events LOCATION:Room 351\, C.K. Choi Building GEO:49.267258;-123.257967 URL;VALUE=URI:https://sppga.ubc.ca/events/event/eelam-tamil-resistance-futu res-and-the-reclamation-of-space/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://sppga.cms.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/02/Tamil-Resistance-Futures-and-the-Reclamation-of-Space-WEB.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Vancouver BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 DTSTART:20251102T090000 TZNAME:PST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR