The Government of India on Tuesday (May 14) extended the ban imposed on the now-defunct Sri Lankan militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), for five more years.

According to Indian media, The Hindu, the ban has been extended as it continues to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for it in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu.

The Union Home Ministry imposed the ban invoking the sub-sections (1) and (3) of section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

In a notification, the Home Ministry said the Central government is of the opinion that the LTTE is still indulging in activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.

It said that even after its military defeat in May 2009 in Sri Lanka, the LTTE has not abandoned the concept of ‘Eelam’ (an independent country for Tamils) and has been clandestinely working towards the ‘Eelam’ cause by undertaking fundraising and propaganda activities and the remnant LTTE leaders or cadres have also initiated efforts to regroup the scattered activists and resurrect the outfit locally and internationally.

“The pro-LTTE groups/elements continue to foster a separatist tendency amongst the masses and enhance the support base for LTTE in India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, which will ultimately have a strong disintegrating influence over the territorial integrity of India,” the notification said, citing a few other reasons too