Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) is a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 1963 from 1981 to counter illegal immigration from South India. It was the first field formation deployed by the Ceylon Army and had its headquarters at Palaly.
History
Operations Monty
TAFII originated from "Operations Monty" named after then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of External Affairs and Defense, Major Montague Jayawickrama in 1952 to stop illegal immigration of Indian Tamils repatriated to India after they were refused citizenship by the government of Ceylon following the Ceylon Citizenship Act and subsequent legislation. Formed under the command of Lt. Colonel H. W. G. Wijeyekoon, an detachment of the Ceylon Army was deployed to patrol the 72 mile stretch of coastline starting at Palagamunai, nine miles north of Mannar, right round the island of Mannar, and terminating at Achchankulam, twelve miles south of Mannar to stop human smugglers. This military aid to the civil powers operation started in support of the police which lacked the numbers to cover the large area.
Jaffna satyagraha incident
In July 1960, Sirima Bandaranaike was appointed the first female Prime Minister in the world after her party secured a majority in parliament in the July 1960 general election. Her government announced the full operation of the Sinhala Only Act from January 1961, making Sinhala the only official language in the courts of law throughout the country. The Federal Party launched a campaign of civil disobedience in January 1961, beginning in Jaffna with Federal Party members staging a satyagraha on 20 February 1961 at the Jaffna Kachcheri, led by S. J. V. Chelvanayakam. The police baton charged the protesters at the Jaffna Kachcheri after they prevented the Government Agent and Superintendent of Police from leaving the Kachcheri. Several Tamil MPs were injured. At the end of the day, Chelvanayakam issued a press statement saying that it was "a great day for the Tamil-speaking people of Ceylon. This was the day we resorted to direct action to win our freedom". The protests soon spread to other parts of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and Bandaranaike accused the Federal Party of trying to establish a separate state. On Bandaranaike request the Governor General of Ceylon declared a state of emergency under the provisions of the Public Security Ordinance in the Northern Province and dispatched the 1st Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Udugama, who was soon appointed Garrison Commander, Troops Jaffna. The government ordered the Army to clear the satyagraha and arrested the protesters. The Federal Party was banned.