The involuntary control of hundreds and thousands of them to South India between 1964 until 1984 replicated a deportation. .
The ethnic minority communities have attempted for self-government at local and regional levels and a constitutional reform towards federalism. The Rajapakse government is committed to the unitary state. It has taken several measure to undermine the already weak provincial council system introduced in 1987 through an agreement between the governments of India and Sri Lanka to defuse the demand for a sovereign state of Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island. One outcome has been the concentration of political authority and economic power in the hands of the President and his siblings, in place of the needed reform of the state including devolution of power to regions and power sharing with minority communities at the center. .
Once economically dependent of the export of tea, which is plucked by women, and to the lesser extent rubber, tapped by women and men, after 1977 the government of Sri Lanka encouraged export-oriented industries. The Free Trade also based on women's work, were established. Generous investment and taxation incentives for world market production were extended even outside of the zones. Tourism was also promoted through marketing the island as a holiday destination. Many hotels were developed or expanded especially along the western coastline and in cities near popular attractions. Greater integration in the world economy including dependence of foreign direct investment and development assistance such as loans and grants has increased the influence of external actors on domestic policy as well as the vulnerability of the national economy to shifts and crises in its main markets in the West. .
The growth of the export-manufacturing sector provided relatively limited direct employment. Economic liberalization drove many import-substituting industries into closure with loss of employment among older male workers.