From: Kattabommu, USA December
1999
A quote from Chomsky: "In fact, if
you look across the world fairly generally, I think
an accurate description would be that - the more that a
state had the capability to use violence at will, the
greater was its contempt for sovereignty, that is, for
the sovereignty of others. The United States
overwhelmingly had far more capability to use violence
than any other competitor, and here the exuberance was
maximal. And it declines as you move down in power, until
you get to the traditional victims..." - Noam Chomsky
From: Gopi, Singapore 23 December
1999
Re election of Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge as
President of Sri Lanka and the future of Tamil people -
Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge
has been re elected in Sri Lanka by vote rigging and
several electoral malpractices by her PA goons. It is
clear that the Tamil people as a whole have lost trust
and confidence in Chandrika. Even after her lackeys EPDP,
PLOTE and EPRLF (Varatharaja Perumal faction) rigged the
elections in North and East she could not garner much
votes from the Tamil areas. If we look at the AP wire
report it gives the reader an idea how Chandrika
conducted the election and won by 51%.
"The independent Centre for Monitoring Election
Violence said the poll was marred by serious election
violations, systematic impersonations and ballot
stuffing. The result of this election has been
irredeemably compromised," said the organisation's
director, Paikiyasothy Saravanamuttu. In some areas,
political activists snatched the election registration
cards from voters and used them to cast ballots.
Elsewhere, roads were blocked by tree trunks or burning
tires to turn away would-be voters, said Dev Anand, a
member of the monitoring centre. Because of
irregularities, the monitors said the election should be
nullified in the entire north-east region and polling
should be held again. The north-east is the
Tamil-dominated area, where the rebels want to carve out
an independent Tamil state."
Now that Chandrika has taken oaths as the President
for the next six years, we will leave the debate on her
re election validity to the Sinhalese opposition parties
to thrash out among themselves.
What can the Tamil people expect from Chandrika in her
new term as the president.?
From her inaugural speech we can say that Tamil people
will under go the same suffering and hardship, which they went through during her last
five-year term.
If we look at her speech, which Tamil Net
reported, it says that Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike
Kumaratunge, after being sworn in as Sri Lanka's fifth
Executive President this afternoon at her official
residence Temple Trees before the Chief Justice, vowed to
"rid this land of death and destruction." Political
commentators said it indicated her speech heralded a
stronger effort to defeat the Liberation Tigers
militarily.
"There is no other political leader in this country
who sees so clearly as I do the enemy that walks so
freely about in our land," she said. "That enemy is
hatred" she said, in what political commentators said was
an oblique reference to the LTTE and its leader, V.
Pirapakaran.
"I, and my family, and this nation, have felt his
touch one too many times," President Chandrika continued.
"From this day forward I shall not rest until I have rid
this land of hatred and its curse of death and
destruction, she said.
From this we can see that Chandrika is committed to a
military solution. She was doing the same thing under the
guise of "War for Peace" but now after the
assassination attempt on her life, she will carry on the
war openly saying the war is against hatred. We must give
a medal to Chandrika for her clever way of continuing the
military oppression of the Tamil people
and then giving nice names...
She also called on the leader of Sri Lanka's main
opposition United National Party (UNP) to join her in
bringing about peace, "without compromising in any way
with those who attempt to sow terror." Here what she
means is she wants the opposition parties also to join
her campaign to kill the Tamil people by using the
military.
But practically, the opposition parties may not
support the government's military adventure, as they will
be looking to get Parliamentary seats in the coming
general elections, which will have to be held before next
August. Also the votes, which Mr.Wickremesinghe got in
Tamil areas, may make him to think twice before
supporting a military solution for the current Tamil
conflict. He has clearly stated that he is against a
military solution for the current Tamil conflict.
Chandrika further in her speech shed some crocodile
tears and appealed to the Tamil people,
"In particular, I stretch out my hand to all our
Tamil brothers and sisters who believed, mistakenly, in
the benevolence of Mr.Pirabaharan, to reject for once
and for all the LTTE and all the violence and hatred
they stand for. You must see the light of peace. I urge
you to use every ounce of influence at your disposal to
bring Mr.Pirabaharan to the negotiating table without
any further delay. I urge you to persuade with every
conceivable argument anyone who is a member or a
supporter of the LTTE to renounce violence and join us
in establishing peace."
.... After all the atrocities she unleashed
on the Tamil people she wants them to believe that
she is for peace and the Tigers are against it. I think
she very well knows that the Tamil people as a whole,
support the Tigers and they also know the true enemy of
peace is the Sri Lanka government led by her.
She first must understand that Tamil people in Sri
Lanka truly believe that if LTTE is not there to protect
them, the Tamil people would have been made slaves by now
by the Sinhala government. She must be thinking that all
Tamil people are back boneless like Douglas Devananda,
Dharmalingam and the Varatharaja Perumals. I am sorry to
tell her that most of the Tamil people want to be like
LTTE leader Mr. V.Pirabaharan.
Now let us see how she will continue the war.
First she will try to organise her army and will try
to capture some lost territory before the next general
election to boost the chances of the PA. At this point of
time the Sri Lanka armed forces morale is at rock
bottom.
Also to have a realist chance for the government to
capture territory and to hold on to it, the Army will
have to recruit many thousands of Sinhala youths into the
armed forces. There may be some sympathy for Chandrika
after the assassination but unlike in 1995 when she
started the military operation against the Tigers, this
time Sinhala youths are not going to line in front of
recruitment centres to join the Sri Lanka armed
forces.
In contrast, the Tamil Tigers are confident of
liberating the Tamil homeland from the Sinhala army.
After the Vanni mainland was liberated many Tamil youths
have joined the ranks of Tigers to liberate their
homeland from Sri Lankan army.
While writing this article, Tigers have captured Paranthan and
are very close to Elephant Pass cause way and attacking the central camp there.
If Elephant Pass falls to the Tigers then there is no
stopping them from liberating the Jaffna peninsula from
the Sinhala army.
In the Maha Veerar's day speech, Tamil
National leader Mr. Pirabaharan declared
"Though the LTTE stands today as a formidable force.
With the military capability to liberate our homeland,
we have not abandoned the path of peace. We want to
resolve the Tamil conflict through peaceful means;
through civilised methods without recourse to bloodbath
and destruction of life".
After Chandrika's re election the option of peace talks with third party
mediation is out and Chandrika is seeking a military
solution to the Tamil national question. As
Mr.Pirabaharan said, the Tamil Nation's liberation army,
that is the LTTE, is very strong now and it will liberate
the Tamil homeland.
In conclusion what Chandrika will achieve in her new
term as President of Sri Lanka will be seeing to the
birth of Tamil Eelam under the leadership of the LTTE and
its leader Mr. V. Pirabaharan .
From: Gnanam, Anna University, Chennai, November
1999
I happened to go through Tamilnation(TN). It is a good to
raise Tamil consciousness which is almost destroyed by
'Indianness'. India never has been a single country. Now
also it only seems to be so. But, in reality it is not
existing. That is why Tamils cannot get water in Kavery
and if a little effort was taken to raise the height of
the Periyar dam, then it will show the real colour of the
so called 'unity in diversity'.
In an interview, Ananda Vikadan Suba
Veerapandian stated that 20th century was the period of
the liberation of colonies, but the 21st century is going to be the century which
will liberate the various ethnic nations. So, to
liberate the true nations from the Indian myth, a
federation of all freedom loving movements of Indian
subcontinent has to be formed. Only a collective
liberation movement of all ethnic groups will result in
freedom from this subcontinent. Will Tamil Nation take a
step to form a common platform to organise this idea of
crystalising a federation of various liberation
movements?
Response from tamilnation: Though India, as we
know it today, was never a single state before British
rule, the peoples of the sub continent do have much
in common, in the same way as the peoples of Europe
(Germans, French or Italians) share a 'European'
togetherness. After two world wars, the nations of Europe
are moving towards a European Union where they may
associate with each other in equality and in freedom. In
the Indian subcontinent, the
challenge may be to telescope two processes.
On the one hand, after the departure of the colonial
ruler in 1948, we have seen the emergence of the separate
national identities of the Indian sub continent, seeking
recognition and demanding equality, in the fullest sense
of that term - not dissimilar to the emergence of the
nations of Europe in the aftermath of the Industrial
Revolution in the 18th and the 19th centuries.
On the other hand, we live in the 20th century, at a
time when the increasing interdependence of states has
led to the growth of regional economic and political
communities. The same states who warred with each other
in Europe to assert their separate interests, have felt
the need to pool their sovereignty within the framework
of a larger European Community, with a free movement of
goods, services and persons.
The question is whether India will be able to
structure a polity where the different peoples of the
sub continent (including, perhaps, those in the island
of Sri Lanka) may freely associate with each other in
equality and in freedom - where no one people may impose
their rule on another. Here, it may be helpful to recall
the words of the late Julius
Nyerere:
"Kwame Nkrumah and I were committed
to the idea of unity... I did not believe in these small
little nations. Still today I do not believe in them. I
tell our people to look at the European Union, at these
people who ruled us who are now uniting.... Later African
historians will have to study our correspondence on this
issue of uniting Africa." (Julius Nyerere, ex President
of Tanzania and one of Africa's most respected elder
statesperson, in an interview reported in the New
Internationalist, January/February 1999)
From: Yarzhan R.
Shanmugalingam, USA 29 November
1999
"...I was gleaning for literary as well
as for current Tamil events in the November 1999 issue of
'Tamilpani, the Tamil monthly. An article by I.
Shanmuganathan, (Nathan) former Editor of 'Thinathanthi'
deserves wider publicity. ... let me attempt to tell what
Nathan said in Tamil, with my feeble command of the
English language....
A Tamil Student's Headstone in a Cemetery - I.
Shanmuganathan (Nathan) Former Editor Thinathanthi)
"G. U. Pope's life has captivated me most among the
several blessed Tamil savants I read about. Born an
Englishman, this great personality breathed Tamil and
felt like a Tamil. G. U. Pope was born on 24-4-1820 in a
hamlet in Edwards Island in the Canadian neighborhood. He
came to Tamil Nadu as a Christian missionary in 1839, and
lived in the service of Tamil and very early, he was
highly influenced by the excellence of the Tamil
language. He published such great works as Tholkapiyam.
Nannool, and made classical Tamil easier to English
students, while Tamil students could afford means for a
more comprehensive and fruitful study of the classics. He
translated into
English, Thirukkural, Naladiyar, Thiruvasagam, etc.
Thirukkural was translated into other
languages before Pope. English translators did only
partial translations. Rev. Pope deserves the credit for
researching and producing a noteworthy full translation
of Thirukkural . He spent a greater part of his fortune
to publish rare Tamil books.
In his Preface to the English Publication
of Thirukkural, G. U. Pope wrote on the
excellence of Tamil:
"Tamil is a sophisticated unique
language, with a rich vocabulary. It is the mother of
all South Indian languages, Tamil literature was
designed to create high moral standards, ethical codes
and Thirukkural is a great example of that. It is in a
land of people with very high ethical codes and who
nurture human discipline that such moral books are
created and could be created. Thirukkural is as clear
as an unpolluted spring. Yes! Thirukkural, the unique
book, has come to remove the impurities of this world.
'Within a short time of my learning Tamil, I commenced
translating Thirukkural , for the benefit of Europeans.
It took several years to complete the translation and I
offer my gratitude to God for the final result."
Pope's love for Tamil and Thirukkural is
abundantly clear from such expressions. Pope returned to
England in 1882, having lived in Tamil Nadu for
approximately 42 years. He accepted a Professorship at
Oxford University, to teach Tamil and Telugu.
He received the coveted Gold Medal given
once in three years for meritorious service and to mark
the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1906. He wrote
to the editor J. M. Nalla Samy Pillai of "Siddhantha
Deepika" on October 20, 1900, requesting that after his
death, the inscription on his headstone should be
"A Tamil Student" - and at least a portion of
the cost to erect such a headstone should come with
donations from wealthy and influential Tamils."
Pope died on February 11, 1908. Professor
Selvakesavaraya Mudaliyar, of the Tamil Department of
Chennai Pachchayappan College, collected funds according
to Pope's last wish and dispatched to London towards the
headstone.
What is happening to the Tombstone? Many of us cherish
the idea of visiting this tombstone if we got a chance to
go to London. M. P. Somasuntharam (Somu) " the well known
writer, All India Radio fame for many years, and the
successor to editor KALKI at "KALKI," was able to locate
where Pope was buried in 1961 and paid his respects.
M. P. Somu wrote in his book 'akkaryc cImy" as
follows:
"My several inquiries regarding the
exact location of Pope's tombstone in Oxford from
several of my friends in London came out blank. During
my search in a book on Englishmen of great
achievements, I learnt that Pope was buried in the
Saint Sepulcher Cemetery on an old street called Walton
in Oxford. I chose the holiday a Sunday to visit the
site. Young M. Gopalakrishnan accompanied me. We
reached Oxford around 12.00 noon. Finally we reached
the Saint Sepulcher Cemetery, from direction given on
our request, only to find the two gates were locked. It
was a great disappointment. We approached a cigarette
vendor across the street for information. An old lady
was taking care of business. She sensed our sadness
from our demeanor, told us with great affection,
"Friends! I sympathize with you. They have closed the
cemetery now. There are 4000 tombstones here and
interment of 12,000 bodies. They have closed this place
for lack of any more burial grounds."
Just imagine my disappointment at such
news. "Friends", the gentle lady advised. I can
understand from your sadness, one of your forefathers
is buried here. Do one thing; the Cemetery caretaker
lives at the entrance to the cemetery. Tell him that
you have come to pay respects to one of your
forefathers and see what happens."
We got permission from the caretaker to
enter the cemetery, having spoken thus, "The one
sleeping under is not only my forefather; but also
forefather to every Tamil and every South Indian."
It was not an easy matter to identify
Pope's tomb from among 4000 of them. Since the cemetery
was not in use, there was neither a Register nor a list
of the tombs. M. Gopalakrishnan and I went in two
directions looking for Pope's name. The caretaker
joined us in the search.The learned Pope's soul must
have taken sympathy with our quandary.
Because, from a bush in some remote
corner of the cemetery the caretaker shouted "Pope." We
ran to the spot in the front entrance to the right,
below a yew tree, covered with dense vegetation was a
large brush. Under which a marble slab, once the bush
was cleared, showed very faint inscription. We dipped
our handkerchief in the water Gopalakrishnan fetched in
a vessel, and started rubbing the slab. The following
inscription showed very clearly:
"George Uglow Pope D.D. of South
India sometime lecturer in Tamil and Telugu in the
University and chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford,
born 24th April 1820. Died 11th February 1908. This
stone has been placed here by his family and by his
Tamil friends in South India in loving admiration of
his life long labours in the cause of oriental
literature and philosophy"
I was excited reading these words! It
was not Pope's family alone that erected this
tombstone. I read that written portion that said his
friends from South India over and over again. The
mere mention that he was a South Indian and Tamil
donations were also involved in erecting the tombstones
are words that should be engraved gems in Tamil
history, don't you agree? It is on those very words;
jungle bush is spreading now!His wife is buried next to
him.
Goplakrishnan and I, on behalf of
Tamils, paid our homage to both while circling the
tombs in our typical Tamil fashion. The caretaker
watching us developed a renewed devotion. He also paid
his respects in the Christian tradition.
"My friend! Please do not let the bush
spread on this tomb. This is the tomb of one of our
forefathers. There are thousands of us, his progenies,
living in South India. Future visitors to this site
should not go through the same ordeal we have gone
through. From time to time smear with oil and keep
these letters shining. You will be blessed for your
good deed. My fellow countrymen will be grateful." With
these words, we also showed him our appreciation."
These are Somu's words."
What are the lessons from this?
1. Pope's tomb is covered in brush for lack of proper
care. If it was like that 40 years ago, what is the
situation now?
2. The headstone does not reflect Pope's last wish. It
should have the inscription "Tamil Student."
A request to London Tamils.
G. U. Pope was English by birth. But he was Tamil, Out
and out pure Tamil. He was one of our Mother Tamil's
blessed sons. "A few shining stars, the gift of God to
foster virgin Tamil, and G. U. Pope was one of the
few." So praised 'Tamil gentle breeze' Thiru V.Ka, G.
U. Pope with his "word garland of renown." We are
indebted to such a praiseworthy one and deserve our
gratitude.Pope's tomb needs checking now. We have to
make it presentable. A memorial marble headstone with
the appropriate inscription both in English and Tamil
describing his several good deeds to Tamil with
TAMIL STUDENT
Dr. G. U. Pope is sleeping here.
Born Died
24 - 4 - 1820 11 - 2- 1908
(Inscribed in both Tamil and English)
Pope deserves a mausoleum at the site
of his tomb for his services to Tamil. Since, it is in
a different country that may not be practical. But
there should be no difficulty in erecting a memorial
headstone.Any government action involves another
country that will be time consuming as exchange of
files take years. London Tamils, if they decide, can
accomplish this within a month. Is donation required?
Indications are Tamil nobilty within Tamil Nadu and
elsewhere are ready to donate generously. Tamils of
London! If you desire, - if you undertake, a mausoleum
for Pope with no equal will be a reality in no time.Do
this; do it in haste; then and then only Pope will rest
in Peace.
From:
V.Natarajan, Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu
Let us congratulate the East Timorese
people. Let us hope Tamil Eelam will follow a similar
path to freedom.
From: Chev.Daniel-Kingsley Lear 30 Oct
1999
Our study group is in a bit of a quandary. One member
says that it is an offense against the UN Charter for one
member state to enforce the laws of its own state upon
another. Which section can such wording be found?
Another topic, has to do with what are the qualifications
for being a member state of the United Nations? Canada,
for example, is a member; yet, until 1982, Canada had
still not "cut the umbilical cord" from the United
Kingdom.Therefore, the group is at an impasse to
ascertain the meaning of sovereignty as defined by the
United Nations.
Response from tamilnation:
Article 2.4 of the UN Charter
provides:
"All Members shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force
against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the United
Nations."
Having said that, as the Asian Human
Rights Commission pointed out recently, sovereignty does
not give the right to a state abuse human rights:
"... The Sri Lankan Foreign
Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar in his speech to the
United Nations failed to touch on the main issue of the
debate, which is the gross abuse of human rights by the
State. Does sovereignty give the right to a State
to engage in gross abuse of human rights? Can those
States, which have failed to redress gross abuse of
human rights, say "we are sovereign, we do not need to
redress to gross abuse of human rights." Can a state protect those who have committed
crimes against humanity? Former Chilean dictator
General Augusto Pinochet tried to use the same defence
but failed. Sri Lankan record of gross abuse of human
rights is much worse than that of the Chile during
the rule of Pinochet....."
Again, Article 1.2 of the UN Charter
declares that one of the purposes of the United Nations
Organisation is
"To develop friendly relations among
nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples, and to take other appropriate measures
to strengthen universal peace."
On the question of admission to the UN,
the views of James Crawford, currently Whewell Professor
of International Law in the University of Cambridge in
1979 continue to be relevant:
"Traditionally, the criteria for statehood have been
regarded as resting solely on considerations of
effectiveness. Entities with a
reasonably defined territory, a permanent population, a
more or less stable government and a substantial degree
of independence of other States have been treated as
States. Other factors, such as permanence, willingness
to obey international law, and recognition, have
usually been regarded as of rather peripheral
importance." (James Crawford - The Creation of States in
International Law - Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1979)
To the extent that admission to the United Nations is
a matter of recognition it is often a function of
political expediency. For instance, though Ukraine was a
constituent member of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin was
able to persuade President Roosvelt to agree to Ukraine
being admitted to the UN. The deal was struck at the
Yalta conference in 1944 and the argument that was
advanced by Stalin was that the constitutent republics of
the Soviet Union had the right to secede. The political
reality was that the US needed Soviet support for the
inauguration of the UN. On the other hand, Mao's China
(though in effective control of territory, with a stable
government, since 1949) was not admitted to the UN for
more than a decade - and that too, not until after the
ping pong diplomacy of Kissinger and Nixon. Again, though
Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known) gained independence
from the British in 1948, it was not admitted as a member
of the UN until 1956.
From: Jon
Crawley 11 October 1999
The Tamil Diaspora is quite an interesting topic for me.
I have enjoyed reading the information here
concerning the many and various large communities
throughout the world. I am particularly interested in
Southeast Asia and its peoples and history. I understand
that large numbers of Tamils went to the Indonesian
island of Sumatra as plantation workers in the late
1800s. There was a large community in Medan in very
recent times and a well known Sri Mariamman temple there.
I see no mention of Indonesia as I scan your list of
countries with major commuities. Is the Medan community
still a viable community? Have these Tamils emigrated
away in great numbers? How large is this Indonesian
community? Is the community limited to Medan or are there
other centers in the old plantation country of North
Sumatra --like PematangSiantar or TebingTinggi? I would
greatly appreciate and enjoy any information you might
give. Thank you.
Response from tamilnation:
It is good to hear of your interest - and
this is an area which merits further research. The
Agathiyar list is a place where you may be able to get
further information. An earlier visitor to the
tamilnation website evinced a similar interest about
Indonesia and you will find the message and response
here.
To subscribe to the Agathiyar list please visit Agathiyar List for
Discussing Tamil/Indian Literature, Hindu Religion, Arts,
Literature, History
From: Eric
Miller, USA 10 October 1999
I am Eric Miller,Ph.D. student in
Folklore, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA),
e-mail: [email protected] website: http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~emiller ,
telephone: (USA) 215-417-4576
My projected dissertation will compare
face-to-face and tele-video conferenced communication. As
my test case, I would with your permission compare how
forms of Tamil verbal arts occur face-to-face and via
teleconference, as the Tamil people have kept alive a
very brilliant tradition, many traditions actually, of
verbal arts.
I lived in Tamil Nadu in 1988-89 and 90
(in the course of my MA). Presently, I am searching for a
tutor in modernized-Villupattu or in some similar verbal
artform. Conceivably, I could take storytelling lessons
by Internet teleconference (CU-SeeMe or other software)
especially if I fail to find an appropriate person in the
Philadelphia area. The long-distance tutor would simply
have to go someplace where similar Internet facilities
are available-- this should not be difficult in Chennai,
for example: the University of Chennai certainly has such
facilities.
8 years ago in Chennai I met Subu
Arumugam and videotaped him in performance. The video is
of the 3rd night of a 6 night telling of the Ramayana.
The event was held at the Periyapalaya Thamman Kovil in
Adyar. There is a 90-second video-audio clip of this
video on my website (realplayer software is
necessary to view it). I also gave a copy of the
videotape to Subu Arumugam.
Over the years, I have sent letters to
Subu Arumugam a couple of times, but there has been no
reply. The contact information I have for him is
Subu Arumugam 50/3, MIG Block
Ashok Nagar
Chennai 600 083
telephone___42339 ???
telephone___423391 ???
It has occurred to me that I might also
contact the office of the DMK in my search for a tutor.
Again, what I am looking for is a working professional in
the field of public speaking (storytelling / religious
discourse / ethical-civic discourse). I am more
interested in the talking than in the singing.
Subu Arumugam was in 1991 one leading
modernizer of Villupattu-- it seems that
modernized-Villupattu might be an appropriate verbal
artform for me to study because it is not too orthodox.
Harikatha / Katha Kaalak Chebam are more orthodox, and
thus probably inappropriate for me as a foreigner to
study from the inside. (For me, in order to study and
artform, I also need to learn how to do it a little
bit.)
A great artist must of course be above
politics, as Subu Arumugam is (although in 1991 he
seemed to have some friends in the Congress-I Party).
Great statesmen/women must also be above politics-- and
I believe that M. Karunanidhi and Murusoli Maran,
despite being leaders of the DMK, are to a good extent
above politics, in that they are scholars and promoters
of Tamil culture. The library in the DMK headquarters
in Chennai (which I visited in '91) is quite extensive
and impressive. The DMK is a cultural organization, as
well as a political party. So...might you know of
anyone in the Chief Minister's government who might be
willing to help me to find a tutor? Perhaps in an
office related to the Arts (music-theatre-dance),
Education, Folk Culture, Broadcasting...? If anyone
comes to mind, please forward my e-mail and website
address to said individual, or tell me whom I might
e-mail.
From:
V.Natarajan,
Koyambuthur, Tamilnadu 8 October
1999
Tamil Eelam & East Timor
- It is a great historic event
that UN has conducted a Plebiscite in a sovereign
country to determine the will of a region to seccede
(East Timor from Indonesia) and thus UN for the first
time has fulfilled its Charter. This is the time for Tamils all
over the world to demand from the UN the same
treatment for the ailing Tamil Nation .... Let us put
this specific demand to the UN on 24th October, which
is the UN Day.
From: V.
Thangavelu, Canada 14 September
1999
Regarding the controversy
surrounding G.G.Ponnambalam and the Citizenship
Act, it is correct that G.G.Ponnambalam did vote
against Citizenship Act No.18 of 1948
which deprived a million Tamils of Indian origin their
citizenship. However, he also did not speak against the
Bill. According to V.Navaratnam ( "The
Fall and Rise of The Tamil Nation-1995 edition -
pages 48 and 49)
" (The All Ceylon Tamil Congress)
leader G.G.Ponnambalam did not speak against the Ceylon
Citizenship Bill, but contend himself with merely
voting against it. S.J.V. Chelvanayagam told me many
years later that that was the time
when Ponnambalam was believed to have been negotiating
with D.S. Senanayake to join the Cabinet."
(emphasis mine).
This must be true or else how do
you account for the fact that the leader of the party
(ACTC) chose not to speak on a vital subject that
affected the political future of the 2 million
Tamils?
It is during this debate that
S.J.V. Chelvanayagam carried away by
anger uttered his prophetic warning "You are now
hitting at the weakest section of the Tamils, you are
hitting at the innocent and the meek ..... We will know
where we stand when our turn comes next, we will know
when the next piece of legislation in this series
comes, the one dealing with our language..." or
words to that effect.
Ponnambalam who was seated next to
Chelvanayagam , kept on tugging at Chelvanayagam's coat
tails whispering "Chelva, don't burn your boats, Chelva
don't burn your boats ."
Chelvanayagam did not understand
the full import of these words until Ponnambalam joined
D.S. Senanayake's cabinet. It should be noted here that
later Ponnambalam voted in favour of Ceylon
(Parliamentary Elections) Amendment Act No.48 of
1949 which deprived the Tamils of Indian origin
their vote. The 1949 Act, Section 4(1) simply stated
"No person shall be qualified to have his name entered
or retained in any register of elections in any year if
such a person is not a citizen of Ceylon."
Alluding to this piece of history
Satchi Ponnambalam in his book "Sri Lanka, The National Question and the
Tamil Liberation Struggle" in rather
uncomplimentary terms states as follows: "With
Ponnambalam, the most articulate and vociferous
domesticated in his cabinet, D.S.Senanayake went in for
the kill.".
I am merely stating all these to
put the record straight....
From: Phillip G. Pragasam Australia 8 September
1999
As I watch events unfold in East Timor,
I am constantly reminded of Sathyam
commentary on the anguished but ultimately fruitless
pleadings of Amnesty International. There is
saturation coverage of the carnage in all the newpapers
and other media- all of which point to the active
involvement of the Indonesian security forces in the
slaughter. There is extensive commentary expressing
outrage, anger,sadness and general condemnation of
Indonesia. The Autralian Prime Minister and Foreign
Minister, representing a 'significant regional power',
appear on television to wring their hands and express
'deep concern' and appeal to Indonesia to protect the
East Timorese. We are told that an international peace
keeping force can only be despatched with the
permission if not at the request of Indonesia.
Meanwhile the slaughter continues unabated. It is in
this context that Sathyam commentary on the emerging reality of the Fourth World is
so relevant. It is time that international law
recognises the need for action which is more
imaginative than pleading with the fox to protect the
chicken.
From: Phillip G. Pragasam Australia 27 August
1999
...It is important for Tamils to understand why events
turn out the way they do. What lessons can be learnt?
"What does reason tell us?"- the rhetorical question
that is posed by Sathyam should exercise the minds of all
Tamils. Reasoned and robust debate is critical for the
future of our Nation. Thank you, for your significant
contribution towards my edification. One other thing:
the sooner the TULF is disbanded the better. It would
be difficult, I suppose, to give up the official cars,
the chauffeurs, the body guards (to protect them
against the Tamils they claim to 'represent'?) and the
patronage afforded by the Sri Lankan Government.
From: Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham USA
25 August
1999
Re Tamil Eelam and Neelan
Thiruchelvam - I have read almost all of your
writing and commentaries published in
tamilnation,
including the last one on the death of Dr. Neelan
Thiruchelvam. It is the best reflection of the thoughts
of all Tamils I know, including myself. Thank you for
so eloquently, logically, thoughtfully, precisely and
sensitively expressing yours and our thoughts and
feelings. Vanakkam
From:
A Tamil Observer from Colombo
22
August 1999
E.A.O. Naganathan in his "Advice to
Tamil Parliamentarians sent to the Sri Lanka press and
published at the website of the Ilankai Tamil
Sangam says and I quote:
"Betrayal of the
Tamils at every turn has been the order of the day with
all Sinhala governing groups, beginning with the
experience of G.G., whose
"responsive co-operation" led at a national level to
the infamous Citizenship Act of 1948..."
But did not G.G.Ponnambalam vote
against the Ceylon Citizenship
Act?
Response from tamilnation:
Yes, G.G.Ponnambalam did vote
against the Ceylon Citizenship Act of 1948
and it is only fair to set the record straight.
Later in 1949, the Indian and
Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Bill was introduced
to enable plantation Tamils (who had lost their rights
to citizenship by descent under the Ceylon Citizenship
Act), to obtain citizenship by registration. On this occasion,
G.G.Ponnambalam voted for the Bill, though at that time
the party representing the Plantation Tamils (the
Ceylon Indian Congress) as well as the Federal Party
led by S.J.V. Chelvanayagam, opposed the Bill, on the
ground that the conditions imposed for registration and
the administrative machinery set up for implementation
were discriminatory and partial.
However, after a few years, the Ceylon
Indian Congress ( which later changed its name to
Ceylon Workers Congress) did work within the framework
of the Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Act
and it did use the provisions of the Act to make
applications for citizenship by registration. Some of
the background will appear from the excerpts from the Abdul Aziz
Felicitation Volume, 1986.
From:
M.Thanabalasingham,
Australia 8 August 1999
Re Tamil Eelam
and Neelan Thiruchelvam -
the way that the Sinhala Nation behaved on his death
made even the 'moderate' Tamils very angry. The
powerful Neelan did not use his power to promote the
just struggle of his udanpirrapukal while he was alive.
But his death has raised many issues that were taking
place in the corridors of power...
From: V.
Thangavelu, Canada 8
August 1999
Re Tamil Eelam
and Neelan Thiruchelvam - (the article) has
placed the killing of Tiruchelvam in the correct
historical perspective. Dr.Tiruchelvam was a good man,
but such people are only good for god. His vast legal
knowledge and experience gave legitimacy to Sinhala
rule over the Tamils in the form the "Devolution Proposals". Because he
co-authored the proposals he developed a vested
interest in selling it to the Tamils...
From: Professor
V. Elagupillai, Canada 7
August 1999
Re Tamil Eelam
and Neelan Thiruchelvam... your review is
intellectually credible and factually defensible. You
have given an opportunity to many of us to make an
impartial judgement of Neelan Thiruchelvams
deeds...
From: Dr.S.Mahendran, United Kingdom 7
August 1999
Re Tamil Eelam
and Neelan Thiruchelvam, thank you for the
excellent analysis. No single individual can be bigger
than the magnitude of the freedom struggle of a people.
Neelan, though a nice person, a good man as an
individual was far too naive and in fact surprisingly
so, in spite of all his intelligence. More so when one
wonders how he did not see the treachery that was around him
even after five years of it. It was extremely sad
to lose such worthy individuals from among our depleted
nation. Only if such persons would understand the depth
of feeling that runs in our veins seeking for that
freshness of liberty....
From:
Anton Phillip, Canada
7 August 1999
Re Tamil Eelam
and Neelan Thiruchelvam. .... I was discussing with
my friends on the same lines...This also makes us
realise that we are so weak in our contribution towards
the struggle. The international community gives no
consideration to that which we have gone through
to ask for our freedom and independence...
From: Rob
Holden, USA 21 July
1999
When did Ceylon cease to exist as
a "nation" and become Sri Lanka "a nation defined by
the UN?"
Response from tamilnation:
Ceylon became independent on 4 February 1948. It was
admitted to the United Nations in 1956 - as Ceylon. It
changed its name to 'Sri Lanka' in 1972. The change was
effected through a Sinhala dominated constitutent
assembly and the declaration of the new 1972 republican Constitution.
From Manoharan
Ratnam 8 July 1999
Vannakam. In your list of countries
where the Tamil diaspora reside, there is no
mention of Indonesian Tamils. From what I know, there
is a sizeable Tamil community, living in Medan in the
island of Sumatra (Indonesia). These Tamils have been
neglected and they are slowly losing their identity.
Few years back, there were a few cultural missions
from Singapore and I hope this will be continued by
others to maintain the cultural link.
Response from tamilnation:
Many thanks for pointing this out. It
will be useful to get some material from Indonesian
sources. Professor Jean Filliozat in his Presidential
Address at the
First Tamil International Conference Seminar in
1966 in Kuala Lumpur commented:
"In Bali, Indonesia the religion of
Hindu origin which is still practised is called
Agamatirtha. The word 'tirtha' is also used to
designate holy water received from the temple. Such a
use is not general in India, but it exists in Tamil.
There are other evidences in South-East Asia and
Indonesia of the coming of Sanskrit through Tamilians with the specialisations
or changes of meaning they have undergone."
From An
Expatriate Tamil Doctor, London 19 June
1999
I lost sight of the shores a long time
ago
I sailed the stormy waters
I rest safe in a harbour now
I am not staying for long
I am only waiting for my time to leave
But, I do not know where to go...
From V.Thangavelu, Canada 19 June
1999
While I very much appreciate your
efforts in having one of the best (Tamil related)
websites, I will like you to include all international
conferences since 1988 and all papers read in such
conferences for purposes of record. As a race we failed
to preserve the best books in Tamil having sacrificed
them to the elements through sheer apathy and neglect.
This should not be repeated in future. ... I browsed
the 1991 International Conference
held in California and only one paper is available.
Response from tamilnation:
Yes, this is a task which should be
addressed - and, hopefully, more material will become
available and will be posted in the coming months.
From Rob
Feinberg 14 June 1999
An article on your web site by
Nadesan Satyendra mentions evidence of a land bridge
between India and Sri Lanka. I would like to ask the
author of that article where I can get more information
about this land bridge,
such as the satellite photo mentioned and any more
detailed geological or archaeological evidence. Thank
you.
Response from tamilnation:
The reference to the land bridge was
mainly from the writings of Dr.Jayabarathi and in
particular from a paper that he had submitted to an
International Tamil Conference held in Kuala Lumpur in
1986.
Dr.Jayabarathi had studied the Andean legends,
Egyptian, the Platonic version and several others and
the topic of his paper was the Legend of Kumari. He
concluded:
"Both Tamilagam and the island of Eelam are placed on a
common continental shelf. This continental shelf is
less than 600 feet in depth. More than 80 percent of
its area is under about 200 feet of water. Therefore a
large area skirting the present coast-line is under
less than 100 feet of water.
During the last Ice Age, because a large volume of
water was frozen into the immense ice caps and the
innumerable glaciers, there was less water in the sea.
Hence the level of the sea was much lower. During much
of the Ice Age, it was 400 feet lower than what is
now.
Even after the Ice age passed by, there were many
mini-ice ages in between. The Continental shelf extends
continually from the Tanjore Promontary and continues
onto the Jaffna Peninsula. Likewise, its southern edge
is from Rameswaram Peninsula stretching to Mannaar on
the island side. When the sea dries up, there will be a
continuous piece of land where Tanjore, Ramnad, Jaffna,
Mannar, the Palk Straits and part of Mannar Gulf are at
present.
If the level of the sea were to be around 200 feet
lower than now, then the Palk Strait would have been an
inland lagoon with the outlet to sea, placed between
Kodikarai of Tanjore and Jaffna Peninsula. All this has
submerged in stages.
The last piece of land to submerge was the Adam's
Bridge which connects Rameswaram island to Mannar. This
was intact even a few thousand years ago. Most parts of
the bridge was intact with many islets jutting out of
the sea in the ancient times. The Adam's Bridge can be
seen in Satellite photos. It was a famous landmark. It
was because of this Bridge that Pandiya Nadu was called
as the "Land of the Bridge", or simply "the Bridge", by
the Arabs. It was called Malabar."
Dr.Jayabarathi maintains a website and
a very useful mailing list, 'Agathiyar'. You will find
the links to the website as well the mailing list
here
From Nagalingam
Ethirveerasingham, U.S.A.
31 March
1999
I am, like many other Tamils, grateful
to those who have created the Web page TamilNation. It,
with other web pages, is creating a virtual Tamil
Nation. Your work towards putting together the
electronic library is a source of
information for researchers.
From
Chinna A.Kannapiran, Australian National
University, Naru, 26 March 1999
Anbarntha Tamil
nanbarkalae,
When my Tamil Teacher taught me
that Tamil language is almost the first
language .."Kalthontri (after rock formation)
manthontra (before soil formation) Kalathae ( in that
period) munthotri (developed) moothakudi (first
people)" , I was imagining that he was exaggerating the
message because of his love for Tamil (or fanatic or
Uyarvu Navirchi Ani - in Tamil Grammar).
After reading
the web page: http://saturn.sron.ruu.nl/~jheise/akkadian/mesopotamia.html,
I was surprised to see some possibility of truth in my
teachers' perception. I reproduce below some of the
relevant materials of interest taken from
the web page referred
above and with a mixture of my
imagination:
1.Tamil people are
compared with the Sumerians:
" The people
responsible for the first monumental temples and
palaces, for the founding of the first city states and
most likely for the invention of writing (all in the
period of 3100-3000 BCE) are the Sumerians. The first
written signs are pictographic, so they can be read in
any language and one can't infer a particular language.
.....The Sumerians called their country ken.gi(r)
'civilised land', their language eme.gir and themselves
sag.gi6.ga 'the black-headed ones 'Sumerian' has no
known relation to any other language. There seems to be
a remote relationship with Dravidian languages (like
spoken by the Tamils, now in the south of India). There
is evidence that the Dravidian languages were spoken in
the north of India, being displaced by the arrival of
the Indo-European invaders around 1500 BCE. Because of
the term 'the black-headed ones', it is possible (but
far from proven) that the Sumerians are an early branch
of one of the people now living in southern
India."
In my view, if Tamil
linguistic experts are involved in research to decode
the Sumerian languages, there must be some interesting
finding. The western historians, in my view, are
handicapped because of their limited knowledge of
literary Tamil. Of course, we the Tamils may not be
able to understand even the Sangam Tamil... the biggest
generation gap in our language!
2. Some of the
Sumerian towns had names that resembles Tamil names
..Ur, Nippur and more so the name "Elam (Tamil Elangai)
and the Elamites (people of Elam):
The ruins of many
famous ancient cities, like Eridu, Ur, Nippur and Kish
are now far from the river, but were in the past
situated at the river banks.Modern Iran is roughly
equivalent to Persia and including in its south-western
part ancient Elam. The Elamites are the people of
Elam.
3. There is a
spurious belief in India that Sanskrit is the oldest
language and most languages are derivatives. The word
'Sans' and 'Script' means 'without' 'script'.
Historians indicated that when Aryans brought their
oral language, the Dravidians had a well developed
language (Tamil) with script and that's why they called
the Aryan language as "Sanscript".
4. There is another
research undertaken by Mr Arunachalam of Tirunelveli
District (Winner of the Chief Ministers Award and right
now a teacher in Government School), on the question
whether the languages spoken by Aborigines in Australia
have some relationship with Tamil language. (Interested
persons may refer to his book on that subject published
by St Xaviers College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli Dt,
India). He even suggested that the "boomerang' used by
Aborigines was equivalent to "kalari erithal' in old
Tamil literature which most of us thought as a highest
imagination but seems to be reality.
I am not a historian
but I love the history and more so the History of
Tamils. Nantri, Vanakkam and Meendum
Santhippom.
From M.Thanapal, Sydney,
Australia 24 March 1999
" (Re the Sathyam Commentary on the
National Lottery?)...The comment on
luck, bad luck, cynical enterprises and the quotation
from Golda Meir's speech added weight to the
commentary.
History does not move by itself. Intervention by
individuals is required to change the course of human
affairs. This is why when we talk of great revolutions,
of freedom struggles, of social change we often talk
about great individuals who by their sheer personality
(AALUMAI), capability
(AARTAL), and unique qualities
(THANITHTHUVAM) have been at the
forefront of change.
The Tamil national struggle is not a historic
accident. Hence it is insulting to suggest that the end
result of a national liberation struggle lies in some
luck - as in a lottery. At the same time (as pointed
out by Sathyam ) the Tamil national struggle is not unique.
As long as a group of people want to dominate and rule
another group of people without their consent, the
struggle becomes a historic necessity. But the success
or failure of the struggle is not determined by luck -
it is I think determined by the internal and external
conditions of the people and the leadership that
manifests the internal will of the people into external
action. Internal purity, courage, determination and a
willingness to sacrifice are necessary. But these alone
are not enough. These should be manifested in
action.
The advent of Velupillai Pirabaharan is not a historic
accident nor is he an Avatar. He is the manifestation
of the collective will of a people who have suffered
immensely and who continue to suffer under alien rule -
and, a people who have sacrificed much.
"Where there is a Philosopher there is a
Philosophy. Where there is no Philosopher there is no
Philosophy "
"Thathuvan enkundu thathuvam ankundu, Thathuvan
enkillai thathuvam ankillai " (Thirumoolar)
A true philosopher is a man of action, a
Karma Yogi. I think in Velupillai Pirabaharan, we have
a leader who will succeed not only in securing the
dignity, freedom and improved material conditions
of our udanpirappukal but also in creating a base for
the linguistic, cultural and spiritual upliftment of
all
Tamils, where ever they may live.
In the end, the outcome will not be determined by a
lottery but will be determined by two peoples sitting
in equality and creating structures to become free and
indeed, freely associate for the greater benefit of
both peoples. Vaalka Sathyam.
From Singapore: 16,18,20 March 1999
"Some questions which may help in a
theses I am writing:
(1) Can anyone please
tell me how many DMK political
parties exist in Tamil Nadu right now ? Which of these
are pro-LTTE and which of these are anti-LTTE
?....
Response from tamilnation:
It seems that at present there are four Tamil
political parties which declare their 'links' with the
Dravida movement initiated by E.V.R. One is the Dravida
Kalagam, another is the Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (DMK)
led currently by Kalaignar, another is the All India
Anna Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (AIADMK) led earlier by
MGR and currently by Jayalalitha, and the Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (MDMK) led by Gopalaswamy.
Ten MPs of MDMK & Samata Party submitted a
statement in March 1998 to the UN Commission on Human
Rights, expressing their solidarity with Eelam Tamils.
You will find their statement here.
This was followed by a letter dated 11 June 1998 where
the MDMK together with the Pattali Makkal Katchi
pointed out to the Indian Prime Minister that '"The
plainly genocidal nature of this war has gone
unreported despite the magnitude of the atrocities and
the high civilian death toll..." You will find the text
of this letter here.
The Indian ban on the LTTE was *not* on the ground that
it was a terrorist organisation. The Indian ban was
imposed because India was of the view that LTTE's
objective for a homeland for all Tamils disrupted the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. Again,
though the ban was imposed a few months after the
Rajiv
Gandhi assassination, the ban itself did not
explicitly or implicitly state that the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination had anything to do with the ban. You will
find the text of the ban here.
(2) Any idea where I can get the
Jain Commission report and the secret documents of RAW
?
Response from tamilnation:
You will find extracts from the Jain
Commission report here
(3) I am looking for
maps of Sri Lanka , especially a detailed map of Tamil
Eelam, the whole island and a map showing the close
connection between India (Tamil Nadu) and Sri Lanka. Can
you please help?
Response from tamilnation:
You will find some maps of Tamil Eelam,
Sri Lanka & Tamil Nadu here and also at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/tn
(4) On what
basis do the Tamils claim the Tamilian nature of the
Eastern province ? The Sinhalese claim and as the
statistics show, the ethnic groups are more evenly
proportioned in the east. How then are they claiming the
eastern province as Tamilian homeland ?
Response from tamilnation:
In 1881, Tamils, Sinhalese and (Tamil
speaking) Muslims constituted 64.8%, 4.2% and 25.9%,
respectively, of the population of Trincomalee
District. By 1981, the ethnic composition of the
district had changed to 33.7% Tamils, 33.6% Sinhalese,
and 28.9% Muslims. You will find a presentation by Professor Chelvadurai
Manogaran at the South Asia Conference on
Development, Social Justice & Peace, Catholic
University of America, Brookland, Washington DC, in
1996 of some interest. Please see also Sinhala
Colonisation of the Tamil Homeland.
(5) Also, I am aware of the fluidity in
notions of Sinhala majority etc. Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan as early back as 1931, protested the clause
found in the Donoughmore Constitution regarding the
change in the groupings of Sinhalese. Both types, ie.
Kandyan and Low Country were combined to form a clearly
over-powering majority. But despite this fact, how is it
logical for the Tamils to claim equal representation
politically prior to the resort to secession, given their
clearly minority status ? Would this not be
disproportional to their size ? And if this is the case,
would this not be injustice to the Sinhalese ?
Response from tamilnation:
The claim for fifty/fifty representation within the
confines of a unitary state was put forward by the
Tamil Congress in 1945 to the Soulbury Commission
appointed by the British government to examine and
discuss proposals for the constitutional reform of
Ceylon. At that time Ceylon was a British colony. The
claim was made on the basis of fifty percent for
all minorities (including the
Tamils in northeast, the plantation Tamils, Muslims and
Malays) and 50 percent for the Sinhalese. At that time,
the plantation Tamils resident in Central Ceylon
amounted to more than 12% of the island's population.
Nevertheless, the demand for fifty/fifty representation
was clearly disproportionate to the population mix. It
was a demand that was intended to prevent permanent
rule by the Sinhala majority within the confines of an
unitary state. Though the demand by the Tamil Congress
may be understandable, many Tamils today will agree
that the demand was ill conceived and that the Tamil
Congress should have demanded a Federal State.
Be that as it may, the political reality was (and
is) that the Sinhala majority was not willing to agree
to a federal state. Later events, proved this. Within
two years of independence (and in the aftermath of the
disenfranchisement of the plantation
Tamils), the Federal Party (Ilankai Thamil Arasu
Katchi) was formed in 1949 (by those who resigned from
the Tamil Congress), with the demand for a federal
constitution.
It was more than 20 years after the formation of the
Federal Party in 1949, and after a series of broken pacts and pogroms
culminating in the rejection in 1971 of the proposal
put forward for a federal constitution, that the Tamils
raised the demand for an independent Tamil state.
Dr.Colvin R.De Silva, Minister of Constitutional
Affairs in Mrs.Srimavo Bandaranaike's government in
1970, in rejecting the proposal for a federal
constitution, categorised it as 'division' and urged
the Sinhala dominated Sri Lanka Constituent Assembly on
15 March 1971:
"Mr. Chairman, there is a Unitary
Constitution in Sri Lanka. This has been there for a
very long time... If we were to divide the country and unite once again
we will face many problems as evidenced by our
history.. .. I submit this proposal for a Unitary
Constitution for approval by all sections of this
Assembly."
The Tamil leader S.J.V.Chevanayagam, thereupon,
resigned his Parliamentary seat and won a mandate for the establishment
of the independent state of Tamil Eelam in 1975 at
a much delayed bye election in his constituency.
Later, the Political Resolution unanimously
adopted at the First National Convention of the Tamil
United Liberation Front held at Pannakam (Vaddukoddai
Constituency) on 14 May 1976 presided over by Mr.
S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, Q.C, M.P. spelt out the rationale
for the demand - and pointed out, inter alia, that "
throughout the centuries from the dawn of history the
Sinhalese and Tamil nations have divided between them
the possession of Ceylon, the Sinhalese inhabiting the
interior of the country in its Southern and Western
parts from the river Walawe to that of Chilaw and the
Tamils possessing the Northern and Eastern
districts.."
The people of Tamil Eelam do not regard themselves
as a minority but as a nation, albeit, a fourth world nation. Here the words of
Bernard Q. Nietschmann are relevant:
"....the combatant and civilian base in an
embattled Fourth World nation do not
identify as citizens or minorities of the state,
or as rebels or insurgents against it. They identify as
a people with their own nation that has its own
territory and sovereignty..."
From Tamil Nadu,
India: 15 March 1999
You've a good site on
Tamilians. Please visit Maps of Tamilnadu at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/tn
Response from tamilnation:
Mikka Nanri. I have established a link to
your site both at the Tamilnation Tamil
Nadu page and at the Tamilnation History &
Geography page.
From California,
U.S.A. 9 March 1999
"On Tamil Language & Literature you
said 'Tamil is, perhaps, the oldest living language of
India.' But the book of 'Cultures of the World' says that
'Tamil was and still is the language of the South. In
fact it is the oldest living language in the world
today'. It is on page 20. The book was first published in
1994. Instead of saying it is the oldest living language
of India, you can say 'In fact it is the oldest living
language in the world today.' I think this is
better."
Response from tamilnation:
Tamil is undoubtedly a language of great
antiquity. However, historians have found it difficult to
determine with certainty its date of origin. This is,
ofcourse, a difficulty which Tamil shares with many other
languages. The appearance of a language is a gradual
process, from sounds to alphabets, grammar and literature
- and often reliable historical records are not
available. Professor S.Vaiyapuri Pillai comments, in his
well regarded 'History of Tamil Language and Literature -
Beginning to 1000 A.D':
"The earliest inscription in Tamil
belongs to about the fifth century A.D. and is a
memorial tablet of a Jain monk who gave up his life
after fasting for 57 days. The Brahmi inscriptions
found in Tamil areas (Madurai and Tirunelveli) and
assigned to the third century B.C. have not generally
been taken into account in discussions on the antiquity
of Tamil literature... We might naturally expect that
the Tamils had an ancient literature of which they
might be legitimately proud. Their civilisation is of
great antiquity and their ruling dynasties played an
important part in the third century B.C.... we may note
that the date of the Brahmi inscriptions gives us a
limit beyond which it may not be possible to go.
Literature can thrive only when the art of writing has
come into general practise among the learned. When the
alphabet itself is in its formative stages, it is
hardly possible for literature even to germinate. So we
have to conclude that there was no Tamil literature in
the accepted sense of the term, in the third century
B.C., if we accept the date generally assigned to the
Brahmi inscriptions.
But the traditional view is that there
existed three Tamil Sangams or Academies in which Tamil
literary were 'heard' and assessed, the first academy
lasting for 4440 years, the second for 3700 years and
the third for 1850 years. Altogether these three
Sangams lasted for 9990 years. Since scholars hold that
the last phase of the third Sangam was coeval with the
beginning of the Christian era, the first Sangam,
according to this tradition must have come into
existence about B.C.10,000! This tradition is recorded
in Iraiyanar Ahaporul, a work perhaps of the 13th
century... We may leave such fables alone and seek for
historical truth elsewhere....
Some scholars have persuaded themselves
that the inscribed seals from the Indus Valley support
the high antiquity of Tamil. But as Patrick Carlton (
Buried Empires, published by Edwin Arnold & Co,
1944, p.141) has observed, 'neither Prof Langdon nor
any other responsible authority has ventured to decide
in what language the inscriptions are written, still
less to offer a translation'..."
It may be helpful to examine the material
on which the book 'Cultures of the World' draws its
conclusions. It would seem that further research into the
origins of Tamil may be necessary before the view that
'it is the oldest living
language in the world', finds general acceptance. However
the fact that Tamil is a language of great antiquity is
beyond doubt - and the Tamil contribution to world
civilisation is also beyond doubt. And, many may
agree with the conclusion of Muthulilan Nedumaran (the
author of the widely used Tamil software, Murasu
Anjal):
The future of Tamil may lie not so much
in its antiquity but on its continuity. The cultural
identity (and the language) of a people and their
political freedom go hand in hand. Tamil nationalism is
rooted
in the past, but it is not a function of the past
alone. It is, today, given direction and purpose by the
aspiration
of a people to live in equality and freedom. Here,
the words of Subhas Chandra Bose's biographer will serve
as a caution:
"... it is a measure of the failure of Indian
nationalism that what in most countries would be
dismissed as delicious nonsense is still taken
seriously. Today P.N. Oak, ADC to Major-General Bhonsle
of the I.N.A., can claim respectable reviews in Indian
papers by writing books asserting that 5,000 years ago
India had an empire which included Britain. If the
world has not appreciated this, it is, argues Oak,
because the relevant chapters of world history have
been 'lost'. Bose was aware of India's ills, but he
often came close to endorsing the delicious nonsense of
pre-British bliss, if only for rhetorical purposes...."
(Mihir Bose in The Lost Hero : a
biography of Subhas Bose, published by Quartet Press,
1982)
From U.S.A. Ravi
Sankar 22 February 1999
You have a really neat web site. I am
collecting information on the Tamil population in the
world. I saw the number 70 million on your site. Can you
give me the source of the information. I was also looking
for a break up of the population - mainly outside India
and Sri Lanka. Thank you for your help.
Response from tamilnation:
The study that you have undertaken is
both necessary and timely. The figure of 70 million is
largely dependent on the Ethnologue (Languages of the World), 13th
Edition, 1996 estimate of the number of first
language Tamil speakers in the world as between 62 and 69
million. However, as I have pointed in the Language/Literature page at the
tamilnation website 'the number of first language Tamil
speakers in the world is difficult to estimate and this
remains an useful (and important) area for further
study.'
Dr. R.E. Asher in 'Descriptive Grammars'
(published by Croom Helm) concluded in 1981(18 years
ago):
"No accurate figures for the number of
Tamil speakers at the time of writing are available.
The provisional figure for the whole of India produced
by the 1971 census is 37,592,794. A reasonable
calculation, based on a projection of population
trends, would give between forty-five and forty-six
million for India as a whole in 1981, with some
forty-three million living in the southeastern state of
Tamil Nadu, which has Madras as its capital and Tamil
as its official language. If one assumes four million
or so in Sri Lanka (mainly in the north and northeast
and classified as Ceylon Tamils, Indian Tamils, Ceylon
Moors and Indian Moors), something approaching one
million in Malaysia and Singapore, and much smaller
minorities in many countries of the-world, including
Mauritius, Fiji, Burma, South Africa, some Caribbean
states and Great Britain, the total number of Tamil
speakers in the world at the present time might well be
in the region of fifty million."
You will find some estimates of Tamils
living in many lands in the Tamil
Diaspora pages of the tamilnation
website...Additionally, you may find the response in
the Tamil National Forum to a question raised from
Cambridge, Ontario in Canada some months ago, of some
use.
From Canada
30
January 1999
Holding hands together for our
liberation. Thank you for the wonderful tamilnation
website - which is the Thamil Eelam University .... Your
Web has everything ready made for us...
Response from tamilnation:
Many thanks for your continued encouragement. Mikka
Nanri. The efforts with tamilnation dot org are but a small
drop in a mighty ocean. It is true that the internet and
the world wide web are helping to bring a sense of
community and togetherness to thousands of Tamils, living
today in many lands and across distant seas. At the same
time, for many millions of Tamils living not only in
Tamil Nadu and Tamil Eelam but also elsewhere, the
'virtual reality' of the internet and the web may be far
removed from the existential reality of their everyday
lives - and it may be useful to remind ourselves of
this, from time to time. To the extent that sites such as
tamilnation dot
org help to build bridges, reach to the ground
and (hopefully) build a vibrant sense of togetherness,
they may truly serve - and here, each one of us, has
something to contribute, however small that contribution
may be.
There may also be a need for us to
communicate more in Tamil. The pioneering work of
Dr.K.Kalyanasundaram with his Tamil
Electronic Library is an important contribution to
Tamil togetherness. So too is the work of Naa Govindasamy
in the Singapore Tamil Web.
The recent TSCII standard Tamil fonts take the
Tamil digital renaissance a step further. To communicate
in Tamil, all that needs to be done is to download any
one of the freely avaliable TSCII conformat Tamil fonts,
install it in Windows, and change the screen font in your
e-mail programme to the particular TSCII conformant Tamil
font that you have installed. You can then read e-mail
sent to you by anyone using a TSCII conformant Tamil font
as well as in English - the sender does not have to use
the particular font that you are using, so long as the
sender uses *any* TSCII conformant Tamil font. For
*sending* email in Tamil one can use either Suvadi or Murasu Anjal. There are clearly,
limitations to the extent to which Tamil togetherness may
be nurtured in English.
From Sydney, Australia: 02
January 1999
M.Thanapalasingham writes...
Vannakam, Puthu Varusa Vallthukal.
Sathyam Commentary on An Exploration in respect of Tamil
national struggle was indeed written at the right time
- with an open mind . I intend to revisit a couple of
times in order to understand the whole concept. The
framework and the sub-sections are very useful to all
activists and academics alike. The framework seek to
address all the relevant issues with an open and caring
attitude. Ever since mankind entered into the foyer of
civilisation, the two sides of the same coin also
entered into the mind...
1.Wanting to be freed from all
shackles and be a universal man (Every Country is My
Country .....)
2.Longing to belong ...My people, My Country
....
Some tend to say we have to
reconcile. My heart says you start from your self so
that you can belong to something that helps you to
expand and truly belong and become free.
The republication of Ram! O Ram!
...nalla suthiyaka irruku.
Tamil
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