Reimagining narratives of resistance: memory work in the London Tamil diaspora

This article explores memory-making practice in a small section of the London Tamil diaspora, the shaping and reshaping of memories of state crime and resistance, and the potential and challenges of this memory work in the context of a globalized and criminalized justice struggle. The Tamil Information Centre’s “Tamils of Lanka: a Timeless Heritage” exhibition is discussed as an intervention into Tamil memory practices in London as a necessary, enlivening and hopeful departure from an increasingly dispirited reliance on street protest, a supplement to protest, political lobbying and accountability efforts, and a new space for community-based mourning rituals. Mobilizing the concept of “memory knots” (Stern 2010), this article explores the radical shift in commemorative practice in 2019 pioneered by TIC volunteers, relying on interviews with exhibition organizers in their role as memory workers, and reflects on the potential of this public invitation to reimagine the past as one of resistance and resilience. The latter part of this article explores the contestations and contradictions that emerged in the exhibition organizing process; the damage wrought by prevailing terrorism discourses on community memory comes into view. I argue that the exhibition, as a process and an invitation, signals a new appetite for historical excavation and a reimagining of Tamil resistance.