information:classification
Citizenship

Senanayake's government introduced the Ceylon Citizenship Act which was passed by parliament on 20 August 1948 and became law on 15 November 1948. Only about 5,000 Indian Tamils qualified for citizenship. More than 700,000 people, about 11% of the population, were denied citizenship and made stateless. The bill had been opposed fiercely in Parliament by the Ceylon Indian Congress, which represented the Indian Tamils, and the Sinhalese leftist parties, as well as the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, which represented the Sri Lankan Tamils, including its leader G.G. Ponnambalam. This was followed by the Indian and Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act No.3 of 1949 and the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Amendment Act No.48 of 1949