|
Selected
Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha
Twenty Books on Eelam Tamils
- for reference and research -
[see also Books
on Eelam at Tamil Nation Library]
1 November 2004
* indicates link to
Amazon.com
bookshop on line
This list was originally prepared by me to aid one young reader of
my writings in the
sangam site.
Early this year, he solicited my choices for study on the history and politics
of Eelam Tamils. For convenience, I have arranged my selections chronologically
rather than alphabetically by the author and provide annotations highlighting
the merits and probable demerits in each of my selections. From the published
dates of the books, one can easily assess, upto what events the books cover.
Among the academics, Professors A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Kingsley M.de Silva and
Stanley J.Tambiah have individually authored more than one book on Sri Lankan
political history and I have selected for this list, what I consider as
representative of their works.
Ten of the twenty books selected were authored by non-Sri Lankans.
This is partly by chance and partly by choice. This is because, Eelam Tamils
have been poor record keepers and have to depend on foreigners to keep a
reasonable record of their culture. Among these ten books, two were
autobiographies; Leonard Woolf�s Growing (1961) and Adele Balasingham�s The Will
to Freedom (2001). Dixit�s Assignment Colombo (1998) is a memoir.
Of the ten books authored by Sri Lankans in my selection, I have
included five written by two eminent Tamil academics; Professor
Jeyaratnam Wilson and Professor Stanley Tambiah. This is also
telling in that only these two academics � both of whom were
teachers in the University of Ceylon and who later emigrated to the
universities in Canada and USA � have published works which are
worthy of their reputation as scholars.
Definitely, few other old books exist as well, which record the
Tamil culture in Sri Lanka and are worthy to read. But, the problem
is one cannot find them easily available for sale; or even if
available the prices are rather high. These include, Ebenezer
Cutler�s Life and Letters of Samuel Fisk Green of Green Hill (1891),
Mudaliyar C.Rasanayagam�s Ancient Jaffna (1926), Tarzie Vittachi�s
Emergency �58 (1959), S. Ponniah�s Satyagraha (1963) and
M.D.Raghavan�s Tamil Culture in Ceylon (1971). Thus, my list is
limited to titles published since 1960 which may be available for
purchase. One can search the
http://used.addall.com for book availability. I like this
site.
1. Wriggins, Howard W:*
Ceylon � Dilemmas of a New Nation
(Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1960), 506 pp.
A worthy analysis covering the political development of
Ceylon from 1931 to the end of 1958, just before the
assassination of the then prime minister S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike.
Wriggins subsequently served as the American ambassador to Sri
Lanka, during President Jimmy Carter�s period. What Wriggins
inferred in his concluding chapter on the political institutions
is remarkably true, even now. To quote, �Political parties are
loose, personal associations rather than organized parties. They
lack orderly and accepted ways of changing or confirming
leaders, for sounding out memership opinion, or for resolving
internal differences.�
2. Woolf, Leonard:*
Growing � An Autobiography of the years 1904-1911 (Harcourt,
Brace & World Inc, New York, 1961), 256 pp; especially chapter II.
Jaffna [pp.21-131]
If one wants to learn how the Jaffna society looked like 100
years ago, this is the book to read. The author Leonard Woolf
(1880-1969), the husband of equally famous Virginia Woolf nee
Stephen landed in Jaffna, at a tender age of 24, as a rookie
civil servant of the then British Empire. Woolf had reminisced
about his stay in Jaffna (1905-1907) tenderly as an �innocent
imperialist�. On the pitfalls of describing from memory the
events which occurred more than five decades earlier, Woolf had
disarmed the reader with a charming caveat; �I have tried in the
following pages to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, but of course I have not succeeded. I do not
think that I have anywhere deliberately manipulated or distorted
the truth into untruth, but I am sure that one sometimes does
this unconsciously. In autobiography � or at any rate in my
autobiography � distortion of truth comes frequently from the
difficulty of remembering accurately the sequence of events, the
temporal perspective.�
After serving in Jaffna, Woolf was posted to Kandy and then
promoted as Assistant Government Agent to Hambantota. While
serving in Kandy, Woolf was privileged to view the so-called
�sacred tooth relic� of Lord Buddha. His verdict is blasphemous
to Sinhalese Buddhists. To quote, �I have seen it, as I said, at
close quarters three times and I should say that, whatever else
it may be, it has never been a human tooth. If my memory is
correct, it is a canine tooth, about three inches long and
curved.� (p.144).
3. Farmer, Bertram H: Ceylon � A Divided Nation (Oxford
University Press, 1963), 74 pp.
Rather than a book, this is a booklet, as indicated by the
author in his Introduction. Lucidly written, this is the first
work by a �foreigner� [a Fellow of Cambridge University] to
prophesy the disintegration of a �contraption� called �unified
Ceylon�, which was created by the British colonial policies in
1833. The title says it all. The booklet�s another plus point is
it�s foreword, written by Viscount Soulbury, where the architect
of the island�s second major constitutional reform in the 20th
century provides a belated mea culpa for his short-sightedness.
To quote Soulbury, �Unhappily and for reasons indicated by
Mr.Farmer, the death of Mr.D.S.Senanayake led to the eventual
adoption of a different policy which he would never have
countenanced. Needless to say the consequences have been a
bitter disappointment to myself and my fellow Commissioners.�
4. Nyrop, Richard et al: Area Handbook for Ceylon
(Foreign Area Studies [FAS], U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington DC, 1971), 523 pp.
This multi-authored comprehensive handbook was prepared by
the American University, Washington DC, in four sections and 25
chapters �to be useful to military and other personnel who need
a convenient compilation of basic facts��. Though the
information presented in three sections (political, economic and
national security) consisting of 13 chapters are dated now and
only of interest for historical purposes, the information
provided in the first 12 chapters, pages 1 to 224 � ethnological
and anthropological facets � are still of value for students of
Sri Lankan history.
5. Wilson, Jeyaratnam, A :*
Politics in Sri Lanka, 1947-1973 (MacMillan Press, 1974),
347 pp.
In seven chapters, Wilson provides a solid overview of
post-independent political trends in Ceylon, through the first
seven general elections until 1970. The period covered overlaps
with Prof.Wilson�s professional career as a teacher in political
science at the University of Sri Lanka, from 1952 to 1972.
Having married Susili Chelvanayakam, the daughter of Federal
Party leader S.J.V.Chelvanayakam, the author was a privileged
observer of Sinhala-Tamil politics during this period, from a
vantage perch.
6. Holmes, W. Robert: Jaffna (Sri Lanka) 1980 (The
Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Jaffna
College, Jaffna, 1980), 542 pp.
A sound and clean ethnological portrayal of Jaffna society �
the city and the peninsula � in the 20th century, before the
emergence of Velupillai Pirabhakaran and LTTE, by an American
historian. Sadly, the Jaffna described by Robert Holmes in 1980
is no more now. Still, the book is worth for reading, for
author�s insight as a non-Tamil who had lived in Jaffna for more
than a decade, from 1948 to 1960 and taught at Jaffna College,
Vaddukoddai.
7. De Silva, Kingsley M.:*
A History of Sri Lanka (C.Hurst & Co, London, 1981), 603 pp.
A comprehensive general survey of Ceylon�s history in one
volume. The main text consists of 38 chapters and an epilogue,
ending with a mention of Mrs.Sirimavo Bandaranaike�s expulsion
from the parliament on 16 October 1980 by the maneuvers of her
nemesis J.R.Jayewardene. While there is hardly any doubt that
the text is superbly written by one of the eminent historians of
Sri Lanka, the interpretations and pro-Sinhala bias of th author
(cryptically weaved into the text) have to be taken into note by
the readers with a critical eye. The asymetrical balance in the
text is also a demerit. The ancient history of the island (about
which there is much haze and controversy), from 500 BC to AD
1250 is covered only in first 78 pages. Subsequent 34 pages
covers the period from 1250 to 1600. Thus, the bulk of the text
� 450 pages � is devoted to the history of recent 380 years,
from 1600 to 1980.
8. Russel, Jane.: Communal Politics under the Donoughmore
Constitution 1931-1947 (1982), 358 pp.
This is a 1976 doctoral degree thesis of British political
scientist (born 1950) on the late British period of the island
history. It provides a good focus on the origin of Sinhala-Tamil
crisis in the 1930s, with S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike and
G.G.Ponnambalam at opposite ends. Between 1973-1976, Russell had
interviewed and corresponded with leading political players and
the then �budding talents� of the 1930s decade, such as S.Handy
Perinbanayagam, C.Suntheralingam, Sir John Kotelawala, P.de
S.Kularatne, G.G.Ponnambalam, A.Ratnayake, Colvin R.de Silva,
M.Vythilingam, J.R.Jayewardene and Dr.S.A.Wickremasinghe.
9. Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja.:*
Sri Lanka � Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy
(Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1986), 198 pp.
In author�s words, �This is an �engaged political tract�
rather than a �distanced academic treatise��This essay was
completed more or less in its present form by July 1984�� Thus,
this tract of Harvard University anthropologist Tambiah provides
a solid ethnographic and political background to the origin of
LTTE. Tambiah has analyzed the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots
perceptively. This is one work where I found the nefarious deeds
of race baiter Caluwadewage Cyril Mathew (of UNP) has been
briefly exposed. However, the name of SLFP�s Badiuddin Mahmud
(whose deeds preceded that of Cyril Mathew, in antagonizing the
young Tamils from the Sinhalese and also created friction
between Tamils and Muslims) has been left out.
Professor Tambiah�s summary of the strong Tamil influence in
contemporary Sinhalese culture, since the 13th century, is of
merit. For this summary, Tambiah had relied on the research
findings of historians G.C.Mendis, Lorna Dewaraja and
anthropologists Gananath Obeyesekere and H.L.Seneviratne. Nearly
two centuries of acculturation among the settlers from Tamil
Nadu and Kerala who resided in the coastal belt of Puttalam,
Negombo and Colombo districts and thus have switched their
ethnic identities as Sinhalese is also touched upon.
10. Manogaran, Chelvadurai.:*
Ethnic Conflict and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka (University of
Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1987), 232 pp.
The author states in his preface, why he wrote this book;
�There has been no comprehensive study by geographers of the
ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka which has been partially caused by
the inability of a community to preserve and develop a
well-defined geographical region considered to be its
traditional homeland. My aim has been to analyze among other
factors the geographical determinants of the conflict,
especially those dealing with the allocation of water on a
spatial basis for agricultural development and land settlement.�
Of the five chapters which makes the book, the third chapter
entitled, �Tamil Districts: Conflict over Traditional Homelands,
Colonization and Agricultural Development� is a valuable one.
11. Wilson, Jeyaratnam A.:
The
Break-Up of Sri Lanka : The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict
(C.Hurst & Company, London, 1988), 240 pp.
In the preface, author has noted, �My considered view is that
Ceylon has already split into two entities.At present this is a
state of mind; for it to become a territorial reality is a
question of time. Patchwork compromises, even if underwritten by
New Delhi, are passing phenomena. The fact of the matter is that
under various guises the Sinhalese elites have refused to share
power with the principal ethnic minority, theTamils�� Then, in
the last sentence of the penultimate chapter, Professor Wilson
had stated his objective of authoring this book; �My purpose has
been to offer an explanation of how the situation in the country
developed to its present tragic impasse.� In 230 pages, he had
succeeded in his mission.
In reviewing this book to the Mainichi Daily News, Tokyo (April
30, 1989), I summed up as follows: �The merit and demerit of
this book lies in its descriptive style of providing meticulous
details of names and events. Non-Sri Lankans, other than those
specializing in Sri Lankan studies, may find reading such
details a tough assignment. However, journalists who cover
contemporary Sri Lankan events will benefit much from reading
this book.� However, during the past 15years � after reading
numerous insipid and error-ridden commentaries of foreign
journalists covering the Sri Lankan beat � I�m convinced that an
academic book like this should taste like castor oil to mediocre
journalists. This book is also an anathema to partisan Sinhalese
analysts and to the sin-eaters among Tamil politicians.
12. Anderson, Jon Lee and Scott Anderson:*
War Zones, (Dodd, Mead & Co, New York, 1988), pp.173-233.
Journalist brothers had covered the Sri Lankan civil war (in
the form of oral histories) and between the covers provide a
comparison with four other civil wars which raged simultaneously
in mid 1980s in Northern Ireland, El Salvador, Uganda and
Israel. The unusual format of oral interviews to tell the story
provide a fresh perspective to the extant literature on Eelam
Tamils. Andersons had stated why they adopted this format, as
follows: �There is always war. It is not a strange thing; in
much of the world, war is commonplace and people learn to live
with it�Our experiences gave us a desire to show how people cope
when living in the midst of conflict, and we felt that the best
way to do this was to let people tell their own stories in the
form of an oral history.� Only one chapter of the book covers
Sri Lanka. But within the 60 pages allocated to this chapter,
voices of quite a number of prominent Tamils � circa mid 1980s �
have been recorded for posterity. These include, TULF leader
Amirthalingam, academic Radhika Coomarasamy, journalist
S.Sivanayagam, LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham, EROS-LTTE
commander Balraj, government official Marianpillai Anthonimuthu,
Batticaloa Citizen Committee leader Sam Tambimuttu, Catholic
priest Father Chandra, LTTE commander Kumarappa and EPRLF
spokesman Loganathan Ketheeswaran. It is rather ironic that
quite a number among these met with untimely deaths
subsequently.
13. Rajan Hoole et al :*
The Broken
Palmyra � The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka, 1990, 464 pp.
This book provides a good chronological synopsis of events
which happened in the Jaffna peninsula from 1983 to 1989. The
demerits of the book are, the sociological and psychological
interpretations relating to the birth and growth of LTTE, which
are biased and filled with half-baked criticism. In search for
their �truth in all its nakedness�, the four authors pointed
accusing fingers on Tamil society as a whole. Thus, the book
took an easy route to popularity among the anti-LTTE pundits in
Colombo and Chennai.
14. Tambiah, Stanley J.:
Buddhism Betrayed? - Religion, Politics & Violence in Sri Lanka
(University of Chicago Press, 1992), 203 pp.
A controversial book by one of the leading anthropologists of
our generation. It stirred the proverbial hornet�s nest in Sri
Lanka. The book tells the story of how Sinhala Buddhist priests
(known as bhikkus in local lingo) belonging to the three sects �
namely Siam Nikaya, Amarapura Nikaya and Ramana Nikaya �
influenced the Sinhalese politics in the island from 1880s to
1980s. Anti-Tamil riots of 1958 and 1983 are chronicled, but the
1977 anti-Tamil riots have been overlooked. The raw material for
the book was based on the published literature of Sinhalese
academics such as K.N..Dharmadasa, K.M.de Silva, Gananath
Obeyesekere and Kumari Jayewardene.
15. Wilson, Jeyaratnam A.: *
S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism
1947-1977 : A Political Biography, 1947-1977 (Hurst & Company,
London, 1994), 149 pp.
The only available English biography of Eelam Tamils�
acknowledged leader for 20 years (1956-1977). Penned by his
son-in-law and political scientist, the author stated in his
Preface, �I have sought in these pages to explain and analyse
Chelvanayakam�s career and character from within. For I knew him
intimately and was privy to his innermost political thoughts
between 1953 and 1977�There are times when the needs of a
potentially extraordinary person and of history coincide and
this occurred in the case of S.J.V.Chelvanayakam. He was the
right person at the right time.� In a brief review of the book
[Tamil Times, Jan.1995, p.29], I had noted previously, �Chelva
has much to offer for future biographers. Prof.Wilson has just
opened the route. Others can follow him for a richer harvest.�
16. Narayan Swamy, M.R.: *Tigers
of Lanka From Boys to Guerrillas
(Vijitha Yapa Bookshop, Colombo, 2nd edition with Epilogue, 1996),
358 pp
An Indian journalist�s version of the origin and growth of
LTTE, from late 1970s to 1991. An epilogue, inserted in the 2nd
edition, provides author�s impressions on the �Fall of Jaffna in
December 1995�. Though sympathetic to the Indian interests, the
book provides a readable account on the strengths of LTTE and
its leader. The last three sentences in the epilogue are
prophetic; �If the LTTE�s posturings were not enough,
Kumaratunga has vowed not to talk to the Tigers until they lay
down their weapons, obviously aware that it is one demand which
Prabhakaran would never, never agree to. Even if the two sides
agree one day to talk through a mediator, one cannot be very
optimistic. And whether you like the LTTE or not, whether the
other Tamil groups whole-heartedly back a devolution package or
not, no peace process can succeed in the
face of a veto by the Tigers.�
17. Dixit, J.N.:*
Assignment Colombo (Vijitha Yapa Bookshop, Colombo,
1998), 393 pp.
Jyotindra Nath Dixit served as India�s High Commissioner to
Sri Lanka, from April 1985 to April 1989, a critically tumultous
period of recent times. This book is Dixit�s version of history,
in the events he played a prominent role, which include the
ill-fated Rajiv Gandhi-Jayewardene Accord (1987) and induction
of Indian army in Eelam. Undoubtedly the book presents a slanted
view promoting the �India knows best on what�s good for Eelam
Tamils�; but, the bias is mildly counter-balanced by Dixit�s
frank appraisals on the duplicity of Sinhalese politicians and
perceptions on Pirabhakaran�s tenacity and valor to defend the
rights of Tamils.
18. Samarasinghe, S.W.R. de A. and Samarasinghe Vidyamali.:
Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka (Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD,
1998), 214 pp.
A handy reference book, providing a chronology of important
events which had occurred in Ceylon since 10,000 BC to the end
of 1995. The main text consists of brief sketches of notable
personalities, parties and events in 269 entries from A to Z.
Majority of the entries related to only the 20th century. Among
the 23 personalities who receive individual recognition, Tamils
are represented by only three individuals; alphabetically,
Amirthalingam, Chelvanayakam and Pirabhakaran. Authors being
Sinhalese, subtle anti-Tamil bias is revealed in the
interpretation of the events described.
19. Balsingham, Adele: *
Will to Freedom, The: An Inside View of Tamil Resistance
(Fairmax Publishing Ltd., Mitcham, 2001), 380 pp.
One of a kind of book; an autobiography of an Australian
nurse (born in 1950), who linked with the LTTE leader
Pirabhakaran, via her husband Anton Balasingham. It contains
valuable information on the origin, growth, struggles and
successes of LTTE, covering the 1980s upto 1998. Adele
Balasingham provides smart answers to the LTTE critics. Thus,
this book has a special value in countering the cryptic
anti-LTTE bias present in the books such as The Broken Palmyra
(by Rajan Hoole et al.), Tigers of Sri Lanka (by M.R.Narayan
Swamy), and Assignment Colombo (by J.N.Dixit).
20. Sivanayagam, S:
The
Pen and the Gun, 2001 - Selected Writings 1977 to 2001
(Tamil Information Centre, London, 2001), 292 pp.
This book mainly consists of 80 editorials the author had
penned between 1977 and 2000, for four journals; Saturday
Review, Tamil Information Magazine, Tamil Nation and Hot
Spring. It also includes a few tracts and elegies. Of the
tracts, Sivanayagam�s �Open Letter to the American Ambassador in
Sri Lanka�, dated March 11, 2001, is a memorable one.
Though it was addressed to Mr.Ashley Wills, the then American
ambassador in Colombo, its text seems timeless in its appeal.
Among the elegies, those describing the activities and services
of educator Handy Perinbanayagam, Senator S.Nadesan, attorney
K.Kanthasamy, journalist Rita Sebastian, Professor Alfred
Jeyaratnam Wilson and Professor Christie Jeyaratnam Eliezer are
meritorious.
|
