Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi
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Lanka Tamil State Party (Federal Party)
இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi ඉලංගෙයි තමිළ් අරසු කච්චි |
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| Leader | Mavai Senathirajah MP |
| President | Mavai Senathirajah MP |
| Senior Vice Presidents |
P. Selvarasa MP, Prof. S. Sittampalam |
| Deputy General Secretary | K. Thurairetnasingam |
| Treasurer | S. Thiyagarajah |
| Founder |
S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, C. Vanniasingam, E. M. V. Naganathan |
| Founded | December 18, 1949 |
| Split from | All Ceylon Tamil Congress |
| Headquarters | 30 Martin Road, Jaffna |
| Ideology | Tamil nationalism |
| National affiliation | Tamil National Alliance |
| Parliament |
16 / 225
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Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) (Tamil: இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி, Sinhalese: ඉලංගෙයි තමිළ් අරසු කච්චි) is a Sri Lankan political party which represents the Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minority in the country. It was originally formed in 1949 as breakaway faction of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). In 1972 ITAK merged with the ACTC and Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) to form the Tamil United Front, which later changed its name to Tamil United Liberation Front. ITAK remained dormant until 2004 when a split in the TULF resulted in ITAK being re-established as an active political party. ITAK is constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance.
ITAK was founded in late 1949 by a group of three Ceylon Tamil parliamentarians, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, C. Vanniasingam and Senator E. M. V. Naganathan, who had withdrawn from G. G. Ponnambalam's ACTC over the latter's decision to enter the UNP government of D. S. Senanayke. ITAK called itself the Federal Party (FP) in English.
Policies adopted by successive Sri Lankan governments, and the 1956 success of the Sinhala nationalist government under Solomon Bandaranaike, made the FP the main voice of Sri Lankan Tamil politics. Increased racial and political tension between the country's ethnic groups led three political parties representing the ethnic minorities (FP, ACTC and the CWC) to form the Tamil United Front (TUF) in 1972. The TUF became increasingly nationalistic and by 1976 it had renamed itself as the Tamil United Liberation Front and was advocating an independent Tamil state. The CWC subsequently left the TULF.
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