Ethnic Composition · Part 4

population in Ceylon. But Jawaharlal Nehru only supported voluntary repatriation of those who accepted Indian citizenship. India disagreed on Sri Lankan position that suggested granting Indian citizenship to people, who failed to qualify for Sri Lankan citizenship. ( Fishermen Issue ™ According to Joint Working Group on Fisheries (JWGF) data, boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen and Indian fishermen were in arrest or detention in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province in . ™ Reasons include on-going disagreement over the territorial rights to the island of Kachchatheevu, and the damaging economic and environmental effects of trawling. Shastri – Srimavo Agreement, Mrs Srimavo Bandaranaike visited India in . After prolonged negotiations, an agreement was signed between Bandaranaike and Shastri.   It sought to solve the problem of lakh Thousand stateless persons in Sir Lanka using the following formula:   lakh people will get Sir Lankan citizenship.   lakh thousand will get Indian citizenship. They were to move to India in a period spanning over years.   Remaining . lakh stateless persons fate was to be decided later. ™ Due to the dearth of multi-day fishing capability, Indian fishermen cannot shift their fishing effort from the Palk Bay area to the offshore areas way beyond the continental shelf. ™ Also, due to a gradual drop in fish count in the Indian waters, Indian fishermen are forced to wander into Sri Lankan waters as the catch is insufficient here. ™ In November , an inter-ministerial delegation discussed terms for a joint working group, but the Sri Lankan delegation rejected India’s request for a three year grace period so that the government can assist fishermen to move from bottom trawling fishing method to another sustained and effective method.