Sri Lanka, May 22 -- Leader of the House and Minister Bimal Ratnayake told Parliament yesterday that legal and policy recognition of the Malaiyaha Tamil identity is essential to affirm their equal status as a constituent community of Sri Lanka and the Government is working on that.

"Recognising the Malaiyaha plantation community requires securing their social, economic, and political rights alongside basic needs. This means replacing the colonial 'Indian Tamil' classification with official 'Malaiyaha Tamil' identity, and implementing affirmative action in housing, land ownership, healthcare, and education.

"Transitioning from traditional 'line rooms' to legal home ownership and designated village demarcations provides security and ends ...