DMK president M. K. Stalin on Sunday, 21 June 2026, praised journalist-filmmaker R. K. Radhakrishnan's documentary Faceless People, which chronicles the lives of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who have lived in rehabilitation camps in Tamil Nadu for over 30 years, and used the occasion to restate his party's demand for Indian citizenship for eligible camp residents.

Context

Writing on X, Stalin said he watched the documentary and was moved by it. He described Radhakrishnan — who has covered Sri Lankan Tamil suffering in journalism for over 20 years — as having directed the film 'with feeling and responsibility.' The documentary, tagged #FacelessPeople, specifically advocates Indian citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamils still living in camps.

Stalin noted that as Chief Minister he had written to the Prime Minister on 11 January 2026 urging that citizenship be granted to camp-dwelling Sri Lankan Tamils. He added that DMK MPs continue to raise the issue in Parliament, and that the party has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India asserting the legal citizenship rights of eligible Sri Lankan Tamils.

Policy Backdrop

Sri Lankan Tamils began arriving in Tamil Nadu in large numbers following the 1983 anti-Tamil violence and the subsequent civil war. Successive Tamil Nadu governments have run welfare schemes for camp residents, but a durable legal pathway to citizenship has remained elusive for most. Tamil Nadu currently hosts tens of thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils across dozens of rehabilitation camps.

Stalin listed what he described as measures taken under the #DravidianModel administration: renaming facilities as 'rehabilitation camps,' constructing over 7,000 new houses, providing monthly cash assistance, clothing and utensils, and running education scholarships, employment drives and skill-development training. He also pointed out that 10 camp-dwelling Sri Lankan Tamils obtained Indian citizenship through court orders secured with legal aid under the DMK government, and subsequently voted in the last state assembly election.

Stakeholders and Impact

Stalin stated that approximately 25,000 Sri Lankan Tamils in camps are eligible for citizenship, and pledged that DMK MPs will continue to press the case in Parliament. The pending Supreme Court petition filed by the DMK seeks to establish the legal basis for granting citizenship to this group.

The post also carried an appeal to the current state government — implying a political transition — to continue without interruption the welfare schemes initiated under the Dravidian Model administration. This signals that the camps and their residents remain a live political and humanitarian concern regardless of which party holds office in Chennai.

What's Next

Further hearings in the DMK's Supreme Court petition on citizenship eligibility will be a key marker. Any response from the Central government in New Delhi to Stalin's January 2026 letter to the Prime Minister is also awaited. The documentary Faceless People is likely to amplify public and parliamentary attention on the issue in the weeks ahead.

For nearly 25,000 Sri Lankan Tamils who have spent decades in camps, the combination of judicial proceedings, parliamentary advocacy and growing cultural documentation through films like this one represents the most sustained push in years for a permanent resolution to their legal status in India.