<p>India is "worried" about the fate of Tamils in Sri Lanka and wants them to live with "dignity and self respect", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"There are problems in Sri Lanka; we have been worried about the fate of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka," Manmohan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha as part of a larger debate.<br /><br />"It has been our effort to plead with the government of Sri Lanka that there must be political reconciliation, that without national reconciliation (the) situation cannot remain calm."<br /><br />The prime minister asked Colombo to take the initiative to talk to the "Tamil top leadership" in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />"It has been our effort to work with the leadership in Sri Lanka and to ensure that Tamil people (there) do get a chance to live a life of dignity and self respect as equal citizens of the country."<br /><br />The prime minister's comments follow widespread allegations of rights abuses in Sri Lanka both during the war against the Tamil Tigers that ended in 2009 and since then.<br /><br />There is also intense criticism in India that Sri Lanka has failed to honour the commitments made by its leaders to the Indian leadership to go for a political resolution of the long running ethnic conflict.<br /><br />The Manmohan Singh government is under pressure from political foes and at least one ally to vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.<br /><br />But in his speech Friday, Manmohan Singh made no reference to the Geneva meet or to allegations that the 12-year-old son of the slain Tamil Tigers chief V. Prabhakaran was killed after capture by the Sri Lanka Army.</p>
<p>India is "worried" about the fate of Tamils in Sri Lanka and wants them to live with "dignity and self respect", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"There are problems in Sri Lanka; we have been worried about the fate of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka," Manmohan Singh said in the Rajya Sabha as part of a larger debate.<br /><br />"It has been our effort to plead with the government of Sri Lanka that there must be political reconciliation, that without national reconciliation (the) situation cannot remain calm."<br /><br />The prime minister asked Colombo to take the initiative to talk to the "Tamil top leadership" in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />"It has been our effort to work with the leadership in Sri Lanka and to ensure that Tamil people (there) do get a chance to live a life of dignity and self respect as equal citizens of the country."<br /><br />The prime minister's comments follow widespread allegations of rights abuses in Sri Lanka both during the war against the Tamil Tigers that ended in 2009 and since then.<br /><br />There is also intense criticism in India that Sri Lanka has failed to honour the commitments made by its leaders to the Indian leadership to go for a political resolution of the long running ethnic conflict.<br /><br />The Manmohan Singh government is under pressure from political foes and at least one ally to vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.<br /><br />But in his speech Friday, Manmohan Singh made no reference to the Geneva meet or to allegations that the 12-year-old son of the slain Tamil Tigers chief V. Prabhakaran was killed after capture by the Sri Lanka Army.</p>