Forum on...
Tamil Eelam?
From:
Savitri Satyavan, UK
10 October 2000
Dr. Viswanathan says that in 1983,
he took evening classes for the 'boys' of Tamil Eelam
near the foot hills of Kholi Malai, Salem District. He does not mention who the
'boys' were, but I imagine that such evening classes would not have escaped the
watchful eyes of the Research Analysis Wing of India.
Dr.Viswanathan says:
"To Eelam as an ideology, we as Tamil
people certainly extend our support but to Eelam as an aggressive and militant
strategy we are within our rights to express our reservations and to offer
alternative opinions."
But what does Dr.Viswanathan mean
when he says 'Eelam as an ideology'? He must know that 'Eelam' refers to the
whole island that was named Sri Lanka by the Sinhala Buddhist dominated
Constituent Assembly in 1971. Ofcourse, Varadaraja Perumal's EPRLF is the 'Eelam
Peoples Revolutionary Front'. Is that the Eelam ideology that
Dr.Viswanathan supports?
On the other hand, if Dr.Viswanathan
really meant to say 'Tamil Eelam as an ideology', what 'ideology'
is he talking about? He says that 'to Eelam as an ideology, we as Tamil people
certainly extend our support'. Does he (as a Tamil) support the struggle
for Tamil Eelam? Does he (as a Tamil) support the struggle for an independent
Tamil state? Does he agree that it is only two independent peoples
who can associate with each other in equality? Does he agree that true inter
dependence can only come with independence.
If he does, how does he square the
circle when he also says that he has always emphasised the need for a 'federal
set up'? Does he mean a 'confederal' setup? Or is it that his 'Eelam
ideology' is one that is content to accept a 'federal set up' where a
Sinhala Buddhist dominant centre will rule? Is his so called 'Eelam
ideology' a brew of President Kumaratunga's 'devolution package', the views of
Varadaraja Perumal's EPRLF and the views of sections of the Research Analysis
Wing of India - directed to perpetuate alien Sinhala Buddhist rule of the Tamil
homeland?
From:
Nagalingam Ethirveerasingham, US,
5 October 2000
Vanakkam. The questions that Dr.
Viswanathan posed as his justification for dissuading Tamils from seeking a
separate nationhood, are similar to the propaganda that so called Sinhala and
Tamil moderates, including academics of the same vein, in Sri Lanka use in their
attempt to change the mind of Tamil professionals, especially Tamil
teachers. It is a part of a concerted effort of the PA government.
tamilnation's
response to Dr. Viswanathan, is accurate, thorough, rational, and expressed and
argued with evidence and precedent. The tone and colour of
tamilnation's response to
an emotional subject where
death, destruction and other inhuman acts are committed by the enemy with
impunity, is worthy of emulation by its readers. The respect you have
showed to Dr. Viswanathan and to the subject, the time and effort you took to
respond to a letter that questions the validity of the struggle of the Tamil
people, is appreciated by your readers.
Though Dr. Viswanathan tried to frame the questions as if he was a neutral
inquirer, seeking genuine answers, it is apparent that his intent was to engage
the reader, and to change the reader to his stance on the issue.
tamilnation has proved
that it is a formidable force, armed with truth, to counter those who glibly
repeat derogatory propaganda slogans, and desecrate the motives of those who are
making the ultimate sacrifice to regain and safeguard the decency and the rights
of our people. I like to thank tamilnation
for its response, on behalf of its readers and the Tamil people in general, to
questions that challenge the rights of the Tamil people to self determination,
nationhood, and equality.
From:
Dr.V.N.Viswanathan, Chennai,
30 September 2000
....I believe
that players - read cultural nationalists - are quite often annoyed or become
critical when they find alternative opinions expressed. The issue is an
extremely sensitive one; one that is close to the hearts and emotions of the
people involved. It is for this reason alone that
I really hesitated over a very long period of time to express my opinion on
this emotionally charged issue in tamilnation.org.
But I seriously argued for recalling the IPKF
from Sri Lanka since it was abetting the genocide program of the Sinhalese army
- India Quarterly, Vol.23, Dec-Jan 1989.
Besides in
July 1983 when the mass murder of Tamils took place in Colombo, I took part
in government sponsored protest movements, donated money to my capacity, and
took evening classes for the 'boys' of Tamil Eelam - I remember it was near the
foot hills of Kholi Malai, Salem District.
In many of my letters to the Hindu, the Indian
Express and Washington Post, I always emphasized the need for a federal
set up, as a solution to the ongoing ethnic strife in Sri Lanka and
thus put to an end further human loss. It is estimated that at least 65,000
people died since the escalation of the armed conflict in 1983. This is a great
sacrifice unparalleled in recent national self-determination movements.
|
Comment:
The tremendous sacrifices that have been made by the people of Tamil Eelam,
should compel us to confront the question as to why the 'need for a federal
set up' has not been recognised and acted upon by Sri Lanka
governments during the past several decades. To continue to repeat the
mantra 'federal set up', 'federal set up', as the solution
to the conflict, is to call upon the people of Tamil Eelam to follow
in the footsteps of the mice who, in their wisdom, concluded that the
solution to their conflict with the cat, was to bell the cat. The mice were
then left with the problem of who was to bell the cat - and how?
The story is silent as to what eventually happened to the mice. The armed
resistance of the Tamil people did not just happen and the views of
Ana Pararajasingham merit attention:- "....While it was
the years of
discriminatory administrative and legislative measures that drove
the Tamils people into staking a political claim for a federal form of
government ... the main impetus for
the armed struggle (was)... the state
assisted/orchestrated pogroms during the first twenty-five years of Sinhala
rule... The war is the result of the Sri Lankan political establishment's
policy of
seeking to beat the Tamil people into submission..."
Dr.Viswanathan may also want to recognise the force of reason in
the views expressed by LTTE's political adviser, Anton
Balasingham in
Politics of Duplicity: -
"... (Those) who are genuinely concerned about restoring peace and
ethnic harmony to the island, should not ignore the threat posed by
Sinhala-Buddhist racism to the peace processes aimed at ethnic
reconciliation. This racism, well entrenched and widely institutionalised in
the religious and political structures of the Sinhala social formation has
been the real impediment for peace and for the negotiated resolution of the
Tamil ethnic conflict. The
tragic political history of the Tamils, that spans more than half a
century,
with instances of deceits, double crosses and treacherous betrayals,
illustrates the salient truth that Sinhala-Buddhist racism has been the real
culprit behind all ill-fated attempts at resolving the Tamil ethnic
conflict.
It is not the so called 'Tamil terrorism' that stands in the way
of a negotiated political settlement but Sinhala-Buddhist racism that
remains the stumbling block for peace. What is characterised as 'Tamil
terrorism' is a bogey created by Sinhala-Buddhist racist forces to demean
and discredit
the armed struggle of the Tamil people and to justify
an unjust war
against the Tamil nation. Those who have taken up arms as the last
resort to defend their people against racist oppression and tyranny are not
terrorists. The real terrorists are those who preach
the satanic doctrine of pure race and pristine religion and call for
war, violence and bloodbath against the Tamil people..."
'...We will seek the views of the Mahanayaka Theras on each and
every paragraph, clause and line of the draft Constitution so that they
could correct us, where we have gone wrong...'' Sri Lanka Prime
Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, and President Kumaratunga
loyalist, 14 August 2000
|
At any point of time in the future, do you think
that the Sri Lankan Tamils will accept the leadership of people from Tamil Nadu
in the grand project of Eelam? In the context of mushrooming caste oriented
party politics in Tamil Nadu, even the erstwhile Tamil leaders will find it
difficult in holding their support base. Political consciousness and development
has made everybody to think on their own - thanks to the spread of political
education and the communication revolution. As a student of political science
and as a participant of Tamil Nadu politics I am sure that the Tamils in India
will not accept the leadership from Jaffna.
|
Comment
: Yes, caste
orientated party politics will not further Tamil togetherness.
Yes, 'political consciousness and development has made everybody to think on
their own - thanks to the spread of political education and
the communication revolution'.
But as the recent
Fifth State Conference of the Tamizhar Desiya Iyakkam
demonstrates, Tamil togetherness will continue to grow despite the anxiety
displayed by sections of the Brahmin establishment and despite the efforts
to paint Tamil togetherness as 'chauvinism' and as a 'bogey'.
In the end, the question of leadership is a question not so much about
'leading' but 'serving'. A story is related about
Mahatma Gandhi. He was asked whether he sought power. He replied 'No, I
seek to serve' and then added truthfully, ' I recognise that when I
serve, power will accrue to me.' Leadership is not an end in itself. As
Tamil togetherness grows, and as more and more Tamils, who seek to serve the
Tamil people as a whole, emerge, they will find an answering response
from the people to whom they belong.
"...What if we considered
‘leadership’ to be the capacity of a community to create a new future? What
if we saw leadership as inverting a new reality and creating new
possibilities? From that perspective, leadership has nothing to do with
hierarchies or distribution of decision making authority. Instead, if a
community is successful at creating its future and influencing its destiny,
then it has good leadership. And if it isn’t, it doesn’t." (Peter
M Senge Author of "The
Fifth Discipline : The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization") |
People in Tamil Nadu today, well understand the
hollowness of Dravidian ideology. In fact the
Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu can be seen
as an opposing force to Dravidian bargaining power at the national level. To the
surprise of all of us, today, Dravidian ideology has been confined to the Tamil
speaking people of Tamil Nadu and its significance was not so high in north-east
part of Sri Lanka in the beginning, because of the absence of Brahmin community
in the social structure.
|
Comment
: Admittedly,
questions concerning the limitations of the 'Dravidian ideology' will need
to be examined. Shan Ranjit has raised some of the issues in his article
'The Decaying of the Dravidian Movement'. Yes, the
Dalit movement may be seen as an opposing force to 'Dravidian bargaining
power at the national level'. But, few will deny that the leaders of the
Dravidian movement, from Periyar E.V.Ramaswamy to C.N.Annadurai,
M.Karunanithi and M.G.Ramachandran have made important contributions to the
growing togetherness of the Tamil people. "...the term
Dravida, like Arya, had no ethnic significance. There was nothing in ancient
tradition or literature to show that the terms stood for different races.
But there were two distinct cultures, Tamil culture and Vedic culture...
racial characteristics of skin and colour were due to climatic and
geographic influences.... the Dravidians were those who spoke Dravidian
languages... There is a consensus of opinion among anthropologists that the
application of the terms 'Aryan' and 'Dravidian' to signify racial
categories should no longer muddle... thinking..."The
Dravidian Problem - Dr.D.M. Rasanagaiam
"...Among the Tamils,
Tamil language is the emblem of Tamil ethnic identity. ...although
language constitutes the single most characteristic feature of a separate
ethnic identity... ethnicity is frequently related more to the symbol
of a separate language than to its actual use by all members of a
group. Tamil language functions as the emblem of Tamil identity because
of the existence of the various symbols of boundaries in Tamil culture.
(Jacob Pandian -
Caste, nationalism, and ethnicity : an interpretation of Tamil cultural
history and social order ) |
International market forces will encourage
crystallization of ethnic groups on a broad 'ethnic factor' with a large number
of members between states in India and across nations.
|
Comment
: International market
forces do act across state territorial boundaries. However, the words of
Hans Kohn in the 1940s continue to be relevant: "It
is a fact often commented upon that this growth of nationalism and of
national sectionalisms happened at the very same time when international
relations, trade, and communications were developing as never before; that
local languages were raised to the dignity of literary and cultural
languages just at the time when it seemed most desirable to efface all
differences of language by the spread of world languages. This view
overlooks the fact that that very growth of nationalism all over the earth,
with its awakening of the masses to participation in political and cultural
life, prepared the way for the closer cultural contacts of all the
civilisations of mankind, at the same time separating and uniting them." (Hans
Kohn: *Idea
of Nationalism -
A Study of its Origins and Background, 1944) |
I believe that 'Hinduata' is in indirect support
of the Eelam cause not because of cultural affinity (Tamil language) but because
of the religious (Hindu) connection - note the gradual growing popularity of BJP
in Tamil Nadu and how the Dravidian parties alternatively make alliance with the
Hindu rightist BJP. This political game plan has certainly neutralized the
benefits of the Dravidian movement and in consolidating Tamils of the world
under one banner.
| Comment :
The Tamil people are linked with the peoples of the Indian subcontinent not
only through religion, but also through a shared heritage and the shared
concerns of the majority world (the so called third world).
We are Tamils. We are also Indians. But we are Indians because we are
Tamils. - and if we were not Tamils, we would not be Indians. In the
end, the national freedom of any people can only be secured by a
voluntary pooling of sovereignties, in a regional and ultimately in a
world context. Sumantra Bose had something to say about
this in States,
Nations, Sovereignty - Sri Lanka, India and the Tamil Eelam Movement,
1994 - "...The
poetical and philosophical vision that is required today has been eloquently
articulated, ironically enough,
by radical Tamil nationalists ('chauvinists' and 'separatist terrorists',
according to the official wisdom), in l985:
'We know that in the end,
national freedom can only be secured by a voluntary pooling of
sovereignties, in a regional and ultimately in a world context. And
we recognise that our future lies with the peoples of the Indian region,
and that the path of a greater and larger union is the (eventual)
direction of that future. It is a union that will reflect the compelling
and inevitable need for a common market and a common defence and foreign
policy, and which will be rooted in the common heritage that we share
with our brothers and sisters not only of Tamil Nadu but also of India
as a whole. It is a shared heritage that we
freely acknowledge and it is a shared heritage from which we derive
strength -and we know that we too, as a people, can....contribute to
that strength.' ( The Thimpu Declaration,
Satyendra in N.Seevaratnam ed.,
The Tamil National Question and the Indo Sri Lanka Accord,
Konark Publishers, New Delhi, pp142-43) (emphasis added).
"
|
Today the grand plan of Tamil Eelam has been
derived from the visions of intellectuals belonging to mainstream Tamil
Eelam politics. Self-determination movements have their inspiration from
Karl Marx, the greatest intellectual of the 19th century.
| Comment
: The Tamil Eelam struggle has grown from the ground - it was not a
'top-down' phenomenon. And, here it may be useful to reflect on
the words of
Velupillai Pirabaharan as to how he became a freedom fighter
: "...Perform your duty without regard to the fruits of
action', says the
Bhagavad Gita. I grasped this profound truth when I read the
Mahabharata. When I read the great didactic works, they impressed on me the
need to lead a good, disciplined life and roused in me the desire to be of
service to the community. Above all,
Subhash Chandra Bose's life was a beacon to me, lighting up the path I
should follow. His disciplined life and his total commitment and dedication
to the cause of his country's freedom deeply impressed me and served as my
guiding light." As for Karl Marx, Tom Nairn was
right when he said that the theory of Nationalism was Marxism's great
historical failure. "Nationalism
has proved an uncomfortable anomaly for Marxist theory and precisely for
that reason, has been largely elided, rather than confronted. How else to
account for the use, for over a century of the concept of the 'national
bourgeoisie' without any serious attempt to justify theoretically the
relevance of the adjective? Why is this segmentation of the bourgeoisie - a
world class in so far as it is defined in terms of the relations of
productions - theoretically significant? (*Benedict
Anderson -Imagined
Communities : Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism ) |
To Eelam as an ideology, we as Tamil people certainly extend our support but
to Eelam as an aggressive and militant strategy we are within our rights to
express our reservations and to offer alternative opinions.
| Comment :
"...the political and the military are not separate, but form one organic
whole... guerrilla warfare is essentially political, and ... for this reason
the political cannot be counterposed to the military... ....The people's war
is considered (by some) to be a technique, practised in the countryside and
subordinated to the political line, which is conceived of as a
super-technique, 'purely' theoretical, 'purely' political. Heaven governs
the earth, the soul governs the body, the head governs the hand. The Word
precedes the Act. The secular substitutes for the Word - talk, palaver,
chatter -precede and regulate military activity, from the heavens above...
First, one cannot see how a political leadership... can remain aloof from
technical problems of war; it is equally inconceivable that there can be
political cadres who are not simultaneously military cadres. It is the
situation itself, present and future, that requires this: 'the cadres' of
the mass armed struggle will be those who participate in it and who, in the
field, prove their ability as its leaders..." (Revolution
in the Revolution? - Regis Debray, 1967) |
Any ideology close to people's emotions
almost always loses reason and moves away from the basic premise on which it
grew.
| Comment
: Admittedly, a mindless emotion will sooner, rather
than later, lead to the dead end of frustrated endeavour.
At the same time, a mind divorced from the heart, by denying that emotion is
an integral part of cognition, also loses rationality. The truth is that we
need both mind and
heart - reason and emotion, together, constitute a whole - a whole which is
not simply the sum of the separate parts. "....While accepting that
uncontrolled emotion can be a source of irrational behaviour... reduction in
emotionality may constitute an equally important source of irrational
behaviour, as the data from prefrontal damage illustrate ...emotion is an
integral part of what we call cognition. If there is an impairment in
emotion, there is no rationality.. ."
(S.
Anandalakshmy in 'Thinking with the Heart - and Pillai Thamizh' - Fifth
National Lecture in Child Development, Lady Irwin College, New Delhi, March
1, 1997)
"...Man is of less terrestrial mould than some would have him to
be. He has an element of the divine which the politician ignores. The
practical politician looks to the position at the moment and imagines that
he has taken everything into consideration. He has indeed studied the
surface and the immediate surroundings, but he has missed what lies beyond
material vision. He has left out of account the divine, the incalculable in
man, that element which upsets the calculations of the schemer and
disconcerts the wisdom of the diplomat..." (Sri
Aurobindo, Political Writings 1907) |
Most of the arguments put forward by
tamilnation.org are untenable and
unconvincing. I am quite amused by their comparisons to my points of argument.
Asserting that my arguments are a mere academic exercise, they are not prepared
to develop a vision for their own project, where I am more concerned with real
political issues. But I must acknowledge the painstaking efforts of my fellow
Tamils in drawing resources from all kinds of critical thinking.
| Comment:
Dr.Viswanathan is, ofcourse, entitled to hold and express the views that he
does. Again, to each, his own amusement - though, it may have been
helpful if Dr.Viswanathan had specified which of the 'arguments' put
forward by tamilnation were
'untenable and unconvincing' - and, also his reasons for saying so. Be
that as it may, tamilnation
does not take the view that 'academic research' is irrelevant. It is
relevant. However, if Dr.Viswanathan is seeking to help in 'developing a
vision' for the struggle for Tamil Eelam and is 'concerned with real
political issues', he may want to attend to the words of
*Blaine Lee in
The Power Principle : Influence With Honor:
"...When you get on the platform, the first thing anyone wants to know is
why they should listen to you. What have you done? What have you
accomplished? What are you accomplishing now? What do you radiate that
confirms or negates your words? How much congruence is there between your
behaviour and your words? That's what credibility is all about. It is
the example of your life that is the foundation for trust. Trust comes when
others perceive the match between your words and your actions.
Have you actually done
what you are inviting others to do? Have you been there, in the trenches,
where they live and breathe struggle? Are you doing so now, under the same
circumstances and in the same situations in which they must act? Have you
earned the right to be listened to? Why should they believe you?...
Credibility is not about looking good... It is always the life of the
leader that gives credibility to the vision.... 'Walking your talk' is so
obvious, it is common sense. But what is commonsense is seldom common
practice... In critical situations, when you should speak up to stand for
something, the words you don't speak may out weigh all the words you have
ever deliberately spoken..."
To repeat yet again, Gramsci's words,
'The error of the intellectual consists in believing
that it is possible to know without understanding and especially without
feeling and passion ...without this emotional bond between intellectuals and
the people-nation ...the
relations between intellectuals and the people-nation are reduced to
contacts of a purely bureacratic, formal kind; the intellectuals become a
caste or a priesthood...'
One of those intellectuals who retained the emotional
bond with his people was LTTE leader
Sathasivam Krishnakumar, who paid with his life so that the struggle may
live. He belonged not to the pseudo intelligentsia which reads
books that other people write, to find ideas which they can then expound or
worse still, pass off as their own. He belonged not to the pseudo
intelligentsia which writes and thinks in English and has little
understanding of that which is felt and thought by the Tamil people.
Sathasivam Krishnakumar, abstracted and conceptualised his own life
experience, read widely, sought to integrate that which he read with his
life and then set about influencing a people to action. To him, theory was a
very practical thing - and all of us may have something to learn from his
life. |
From:
Dr.V.N.Viswanathan,
Reader in Political
Science, Presidency College, Chennai-600 005,
24 September 2000
Dear Readers,
History has taught us
that there are no prescriptive means of achieving nationhood or securing the
success of ethnicity based movement for national self determination. Anyone who
is familiar with Sri Lankan history would definitely appreciate the
long Tamil struggle against the Sinhalese government since 1948. The
role of moderates and radicals towards Tamil Eelam is well known.
However project Eelam
has some inherited deficiencies such as the place and
the political future of Indian Tamil in Sri Lanka and the
Muslims in north-east area of an independent Eelam. I invite comments in
building up arguments in favor of Eelam formation and non-formation.
The idea of a separate
Tamil state came into being with the passage of the
Vaddukodai Resolution in 1976 by the Tamil United Liberation Front. Eelam is
the ancient Tamil name for Ceylon; it was adopted to liberate Tamils from the
oppressive Sinhalese rule
based on a holy trinity - Land (Sri Lanka), Race (Sinhalese) and Faith
(Buddhism).
It was believed that an
independent Tamil state would fulfil the aspirations of Sri Lankan Tamils.
|
Comment:
The struggle for an independent Tamil state addresses not only the
aspirations of the Tamils of Eelam. It has also found an answering
resonance in the hearts of more than
70 million Tamil people living in many lands and across distant seas -
and that response is growing, year by year. 
"...I do not doubt that there are many
young people among the Jewish community in the United States who would do
exactly what our young people are doing in Palestine. We are not a better
breed; we are not the best Jews of the Jewish people. It so happened that we
are there and you are here. I am certain that if you were in Palestine and
we were in the United States, you would be doing what we are doing there,
and you would ask us here to do what you will have to do."
(Golda Meir to the
Council of Jewish Federations in Chicago, 1948) |
Impatient Tamil youth
have
resorted to violent means to achieve Eelam since the late 1970s.
|
Comment
:
It was not 'impatience' but the felt need to survive as a
people that led to the
lawful armed resistance of the people of Tamil Eelam. Dr.Viswanathan may
want to reflect on the record set out in
Indictment against Sri Lanka, and also on the words of
Paul Sieghart, International Commission of Jurists in March 1984
"Communal riots in which Tamils are killed, maimed, robbed and rendered
homeless are no longer isolated episodes; they are beginning to become a
pernicious habit."
and
ask himself the question, which the Czech President Vaclaw Havel
asked of himself:
"...Throughout my life I have held in high regard all
those who joined internal resistance movements during the Second World War
and defied Nazi power. I have always asked myself: were I confronted with
the same situation, would I be able to do what they did - to risk my life
every day for the values I believe in. To me,
resistance fighters have always personified the highest standards of moral
strength, courage, and fidelity to oneself, standards that have offered
to me a permanent challenge...." |
The
conflict between the Tamil militants and Sri Lankan Army has been continuing
since then.
| Comment :
The conflict is an
an armed conflict. But it is also more.
The documented record proves that it is also a genocidal war waged by
Sri Lanka against the people of Tamil Eelam - and
Jean Paul Sartre's Statement 'On Genocide'
at the Second Session of the Bertrand Russel International War Crimes
Tribunal on Vietnam, held in Denmark in November 1967, helps us understand
the reasons for the actions of the alien Sinhala ruler:
"Against partisans backed by the entire population, colonial armies are
helpless. They have only one way of escaping from the harassment which
demoralizes them .... This is to eliminate the civilian population. As it is
the unity of a whole people that is containing the conventional army, the
only anti-guerrilla strategy which will be effective is the destruction
of that people, in other words, the civilians, women and children..." |
What will be the future of an independent Tamil
state? Will Tamil Eelam be able to survive in the long run? What will be the
problems faced by it?
Firstly,
the territorial contiguity of Eelam will pose severe problems. It
constitutes as demanded by the Tigers, the northern and eastern provinces of Sri
Lanka, which is roughly 40 percent of its land area and 60 per cent of the sea
coast. The Muslims in the Amparai district have ruled out joining a separate
Tamil state.
| Comment:
The Muslims
in the East are Tamil speaking.
However, admittedly, the historical memories of a people and their heritage
are important determining factors in the creation of their group
identity. Tamil political parties in the 1950s and later failed to pay due
regard to this separate Muslim identity. It was one thing to count Muslims
as 'Tamil speaking' for action against the
Sinhala Only law
- it was another thing to insist that Muslims were Tamils.
It was this different group/ethnic identity that was exploited by the
Sinhala government during the 1980s and later in the East. It was Sri
Lanka's deliberate policy (assisted by Mossad) to use Muslim Home Guards.
The notorious Special Task Force worked hand in hand with these Home Guards.
Again, the very fact that the Sri Lankan armed forces did not attack Muslim
villages in the East, but only Tamil villages sowed further seeds of
dissension. The Sinhala army used this tactic to build up support amongst
Muslims. But, in the longer term, the Tamil speaking Muslims in the East,
may well find a closer affinity with their Tamil bretheren than with
Sinhala Buddhist fundamentalism. |
Eelam has large
Sinhalese majority areas.
| Comment:
Here, it may be helpful to secure an understanding
as to how this has come about. The words of Robert
Kilroy-Silk, M.P. and Roger Sims, M.P United Kingdom Parliamentary Human
Rights Group Report, February 1985 are particularly relevant:
"Witnesses also confirmed allegations made to us that whole villages
have been emptied and neighbourhoods have been driven by the army from their
homes and occupations and turned into refugees dependent on the government
for dry rations... The human rights transgressed in such a course of action
do not need to be detailed here... More important is that rightly or wrongly
it tends to lend credibility to the view so frequently put to us that it is
the Government's objective either to drive the Tamils out of the north and
east in sufficient numbers so as to reduce their majority in the north and
in the east, a process that would be aided by the Government's announced
policy of settling armed Sinhalese people in former Tamil areas... or to
drive the Tamils out altogether. We cannot make a judgement on this issue.
We can say, without doubt, that the Government is driving Tamils from their
homes and does intend to settle Sinhalese people in these areas. This, at
least, lends support to the more extreme version believed by most Tamils." |
It is also doubtful
whether over 40 per cent of the Sri Lankan Tamils, settled in the south will
migrate to the Jaffna peninsula. Even if they do, they will have to start life
afresh, for which opportunities are very limited.
| Comment: At
the time of India's independence more than 40% of Muslims lived
outside Pakistan, but this did not prevent the demand for Pakistan gaining
an irresistable momentum. Again, more Jews live outside Israel than within
its boundaries.
A national liberation struggle is no afternoon tea party. It
is the pain and suffering of a people that cements their togetherness.
Distress binds them together and reinforces their determination to resist
alien rule. It is participation and involvement in that resistance, and in
shared goals, that has forged unity. ".. to have
suffered, worked, hoped together; that is worth more than common taxes and
frontiers conforming to ideas of strategy... I have said 'having suffered
together'; indeed, common suffering is greater than happiness. In fact,
national sorrows are more significant than triumphs because they impose
obligations and demand a common effort. .. A nation is a grand solidarity
constituted by the
sentiment of sacrifices which one has made and
those that one is disposed to make again. " (Ernest Renan: Que'est-ce
qu'une Nation? Paris 1882) |
Secondly, there is fear that Eelam will be ruled
by the LTTE in a
fascist and authoritarian manner. There are also possibilities of a civil
war breaking out over power sharing, considering
the bitter rivalries between various Tamil groups.
| Comment :
"...when the Tamil Eelam struggle triumphs, I would like to believe that a
people purified by pain and suffering will find, in freedom, a new strength
and energy to build anew. There are thousands of young Tamils who have
proven their integrity and their capacity to serve - and who will be able to
give leadership to the people to whom they belong, so long as they continue
to remain mindful that means and ends are always inseparable. That is not to
say that political differences will not exist within the framework of an
independent Tamil state. But such differences will take as given, the
existence of an independent Tamil Eelam, and will not be directed to its
destruction.... "
Nadesan Satyendra in When Pirabaharan Triumphs, 22 October 1998 |
Jaffna Tamils and Batticaloa Tamils differ in
social organisation, economic activity and cultural practices. There are Hindus
and Christians.
There are serious caste cleavages. Though there have never been any clashes,
relations between the upper caste Vellalas and lower caste Karaiyars and
Mukkuvars have never been cordial.
| Comment:
The differences that exist among the people of Tamil Eelam pales in
comparison with the differences in caste, religion and language that existed
within India, but such differences did not prevent either
Mahatma Gandhi or
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose from committing his life to India's struggle
for freedom from alien British rule, in the same way as the people of Tamil
Eelam are today committed to securing freedom from alien Sinhala Buddhist
rule.. "A nation is an imagined political
community... because regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation
that may prevail in each, the nation is always conceived as a deep
horizontal comradeship. Ultimately, it is this fraternity that makes it
possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not
so much to kill, as
willingly to die...." (*Benedict
Anderson -Imagined
Communities : Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism ) |
Thirdly, the economic
viability of the future Eelam is not encouraging. The major area comprising the
Tamil homeland falls under the arid zone. It was for this reason that many
Tamils moved south in the past.
|
Comment
:
The Tamils moved South because under British rule and under
Sinhala Buddhist rule, economic development of Tamil Eelam was neglected.
"To say that a state cannot pursue its aims because there is no money, is
like saying that an engineer cannot build roads, because there are no
kilometres."
Ezra Pound quoted by Prof. Giacinto Auriti |
One can argue that the
future Tamil State could survive on funds that Tigers get from expatriates and
through narcotic smuggling. Can Tamil Eelam become another apex of the 'Golden
Triangle'?
|
Comment
:
Many visitors will find this remark from an academic, (a Reader in
Political Science,
Presidency College, Chennai ) a revealing one. The fact is that uptodate,
not even the avowed enemies of the struggle for Tamil Eelam have been able
to produce any evidence to show that the liberation struggle has engaged in
narcotic smuggling. In the absence of such evidence, Dr.Viswanathan should
not be surprised if many Tamils conclude that his remarks, in this
regard, are simply a smear, directed to support an anti Tamil Eelam agenda,
and do not reflect the disinterested pursuit of an academic engaged in
furthering understanding and knowledge. |
Fourthly, what will be
the nature of relations between Tamil Eelam and partitioned Sri Lanka? It is
possible that the two entities will slip back over the ages, when the Tamil and
the Sinhalese kingdoms were at war seeking supremacy over each other. Before the
integration of the island by the British into a single administrative unit in
1833, no king was content to rule only a part of the island, as it was
considered a single contiguous territory by both ethnic groups. In addition to
this historical legacy, the deep-rooted Indo-phobia will in come to play. An
independent Tamil state will be considered a satellite of India.
| Comment:"....The
question is whether the two peoples sitting together as equals cannot agree
upon political structures which protects each of their interests. If Germany
and France were able to put in place such 'associate' structures despite the
suspicions and confrontations of two world wars, it should not be beyond the
capacity of Tamil Eelam and Sri Lanka to work out structures, within
which each independent state may remain free and prosper, but at the same
time pool sovereignty in certain agreed areas. Sovereignty is not
virginity..."
Sri Lanka - Tamil Eelam: Getting to Yes |
Fifthly, international recognition is important
for a modern state to survive in an
increasingly interdependent world. The international community does not like
any
further proliferation of new states.
The US was categorical when it asserted that Tamil Eelam would be a dead planet
without any acknowledgement from the world community. Can a new state afford
to take such a risk?
| Comment :"...
During the 19th century too, the states of the then 'international
community' regarded themselves as 'the arbiters of who becomes
states and who doesn't become states'. It was against this dictat of the
then 'international community' (read 'then colonial rulers') that the
freedom struggles of the colonial peoples gathered momentum in the 20th
century. Then, as now, existing states found common cause in resisting the
struggles of peoples to free themselves from alien rule. India's struggle
for freedom did not have the acceptance of the international community.
Neither did Indonesia's struggle for freedom. But eventually, the
'international community' weakened by two world wars, found that they were
no longer able to bear the cost of imposing their dictat on struggles for
freedom..."
(
Mr.Collacott is appalled..) |
Alternative thinking
is very much essential in the globalised world today. It is only on this premise
that I want to collect the opinions of others who are interested in the same
line of thinking. Thanks.
| Comment
:
Yes, alternative thinking is very essential. However, the attempt to
secure stability by maintaining the status quo is only a beguiling
temptation. The reasoning is not dissimilar to that
which was urged a hundred years ago against granting universal franchise. It
was said that to empower every citizen with a vote was to threaten the
stability of existing state structures and the ruling establishment. But the
truth was that it was the refusal to grant universal franchise which
threatened stability.
Self determination
is not a de stabilising concept and it is the refusal to recognise
the right of a people to free themselves from alien rule that promotes
instability. Self determination and democracy go hand
in hand. If democracy means the rule of the people, by the people,
for the people, then the principle of self determination secures that no one
people may rule another - and herein lies its enduring appeal.
And, in the end, Dr.Viswanathan may want to remind himself
that academic research is not an end in itself. The oft quoted words of
Gramsci bear repetition, yet again:
'The error of the intellectual consists in believing that it is
possible to know without understanding and especially without feeling and
passion... that the intellectual can be an intellectual if he is distinct
and detached from the people-nation, without feeling the elemental passions
of the people, understanding them and thus explaining them in a particular
historical situation, connecting them dialectically to the laws of history,
to a superior conception of the world... History and politics cannot be made
without passion, without this emotional bond between intellectuals and the
people-nation. In the absence of such a bond the relations between
intellectuals and the people-nation are reduced to contacts of a purely
bureacratic, formal kind; the intellectuals become a caste or a
priesthood...' |
From:
V. Thangavelu Canada 5 June
2000
I find Bhagawan’s
response to my piece very
interesting. My first impulse was to ignore it ... but then I realise dissent is
an integral part of freedom of thought!
The national liberation struggle, both non-violent and
violent of the Tamil people, is now five decades old. Thus far we have paid a
very high price for our freedom -
thousands of lost lives and billions worth of property destroyed. There are
more than 18,000 Tamil war widows in the Northeast according to government
sources.
I find Bhagawan has only a superficial knowledge about Tamil
Nadu and
Tamil Eelam history and politics. This is revealed by his very first opening
sentence when he says "Tamils in Sri Lanka are faced with no choice and are
caught in between a ‘no win’ war" which sounds extremely patronising. In the
first place the armed struggle
for national liberation is a struggle waged by the entire Tamil Nation,
barring a few Tamil Quislings.
The LTTE
is the vanguard force and it is supported by the Tamil people. In other
words this is a peoples’ liberation war and no such war can be fought without
shedding blood and sacrificing lives, especially when you are confronted with a
ruthless enemy bent on genocide. So to lament that "It is my worry for the
cause of the war, which is very obvious. It is the effect of the war I am
concerned" is like saying one wishes to make an omelette without breaking the
egg.
Bhagawan says "I am beginning to wonder at the capacity of
the LTTE supporters in Diaspora to be diplomatic. Definitely these supporters
are not Tigers, if so, what are they doing here?" The short answer is ... the
Tamil Diaspora are not Tigers, they are only supporters. The national liberation
struggle have to be fought at many fronts, apart from the main battlefront,
there are other fronts. Since the Tamil Diaspora cannot make it to the battle
front, they are lending support from other fronts. Their role is exactly like
the role American Jews played in the creation of state of Israel.
Bhagawan wants to know whether I am a Tamil Nadu Tamil or
not. Why he is anxious to practice apartheid when we are struggling to bring a "growing
togetherness of more than seventy million Tamil people living in many lands and
across distant seas", I simply don’t understand.
 In
the past Chief Minister Karunanidhi himself has lent crucial support and
played an active part in the struggle for Tamil Eelam. As far back as in 1986,
he organised a successful conference under the auspices TESO at Madurai. The
present Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, late N.T. Rama Rao then Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh, George Fernandez, the present Defence Minister of
India were some of the prominent politicians who attended that conference. Later
in 1989 Karunanidhi resigned his MLA post as a protest against MGR’s government
indifference towards the plight of the Eelam Tamils.
So his present ambivalent stand is incompatible with his
earlier position... As tamilnation
responded "many Tamils, whether from Eelam or elsewhere, may have wished
that at this critical juncture in the struggle for Tamil Eelam, Karunanidhi, had
fearlessly articulated the justice of the cause of an independent state for the
Tamil people - and if that was not possible, TO HAVE REMAINED SILENT "(emphasis
mine). I repeat that if he cannot lend his support at this point of history for
any reason imagined or perceived, he should at least hold his peace. I would
have been very severe on him, but I am exercising restraint out of respect I
still have for him as one time follower who looked upon him as demi-god.
My concern is he should not go down in history... like a
modern day Nero who fiddled while Tamil Eelam was burning. If he calls himself
the leader of the Tamil Nation (Thamizh Enath Thalaivar) he should live upto
it... my criticism ... is well intentioned.
Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has again dramatically shifted his stand on Tamil
Eelam. This time it is positive and I hope he will stick to it. In the
meantime Bhagawan must take the time to read the wealth of material available in
the tamilnation web site to grasp
the dialectics of the Tamil Eelam liberation movement. That will help him to
direct his criticism elsewhere.
From:
Bhagawan, US 18 May 2000
Response to Thangavelu:
Tamils in Sri Lanka are faced with no choice and are caught in between a ‘no
win’ war. It is not my worry for the cause of the war,
which is very obvious. It is the effect of the war I am concerned. A
well-organised fighting force such as the LTTE has so far proved to be a
formidable entity inside Sri Lanka. Their formidable tactics carry with it the
element of surprise and the necessary knowledge to protect them, barring any
surprise presented to them by the Sri Lanka forces. But the civilians are most
vulnerable in the event of a confrontation or competition for supremacy.
I am beginning to wonder at the capacity of the LTTE supporters in the
Diaspora to be diplomatic. Definitely these supporters are not Tigers, because
if that was so, what are they doing here? I follow events in Sri Lanka,
particularly writings of the exiles. I found distinct differences between "Thangavelu’s"
writing and that of "Shanmugalingam’s"
.... Thangavelu in his ‘Karunanidhi
villain or saviour’, a reply to
Ramalingam Shanmugalingam agrees on matters positive and
harmless. However Thangavelu’s split reference to Karunanidhi as a likeable
Tamil scholar and devilish politician is uncalled for. I wonder if Thangavelu is
a Tamil Nadu Tamil. If so, he has every right to downgrade or elevate his
leaders, but if he is a Eelavar, it is not in good taste and definitely not
diplomatic to anger a recognised leader, who is part of the current BJP
Coalition Government in India. The BJP Coalition is a Hindu dominated
party and Hinduism, rightly or wrongly is Brahmin controlled. So what is
Thangavelu trying to do? I hope Tamils ... will learn quickly (to refrain
from such) propaganda and try to reduce Tamil enemies, if they cannot win
friends.
Response by
tamilnation:
It is right that not much is gained by a slanging match - and intemperate
language persuades nobody. The stand taken by M.Karunanithi may have to be
understood in the context of the importance that he attached to the DMK's
'parliamentary' political role. Karunanidhi and the DMK are not part of a
guerrilla movement and it would be wrong to require them to act outside the laws
of India. They are ill prepared to do that. Having said that, many
Tamils, whether from Eelam or elsewhere, may have wished that at this
critical juncture in the struggle for Tamil Eelam, Karunanithi, had
fearlessly articulated the justice of the cause of an independent state for the
Tamil people - and if that was not possible, to have remained silent. The
words of Tamil Eelam leader, Velupillai Pirabaharan, to the people of Tamil Nadu
in December 1995, may help to focus our minds and our hearts.
It is true that the
question of Brahminism has bedevilled the growth of Tamil national consciousness
for several decades. In the 1920s, it was Periyar E.V.Ramasamy
who extended his attack on casteism and Brahminism to an attack on Hinduism -
and indeed to all religions as well. E.V.R threw out the Hindu child with the
Brahmin bath water. One consequence of EVR’s atheism was that spirituality in
Tamil Nadu came to be exploited as the special preserve of those who were
opposed to the growth of Tamil nationalism. Today, there may be a need to learn
from E.V.R. - and not simply repeat that which he said or did. Hinduism
and Brahminism are not the same.
From: Anonymous
USA, 22 January 2000
I applaud the contribution made by the tamilnation
website in disseminating factual information regarding the plight of Tamil (NOT
Tamilians nor Demalas!!!) people of Ceylon. These heroic people have paid dearly
like no other in the history of mankind. The battle that is being fought is a
fight unto death. It is a fight for the survival of the Tamils in Ceylon. It is
fight for the preservation of the Tamil culture in Ceylon. It is a fight for the
heart and soul of those brave people who lost their lives and those Tamils
bravely withstanding the
genocidal war waged by
Sinhala chauvinism. It is a fight for the very survival of our heritage in
the seat of Tamil culture in Ceylon -Jaffna.
Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that we have the unconditional support of
the Indians, especially the Indians of Tamil Nadu. In many a conversation I have
had with Indians of Tamil Nadu, I sense no empathy, not even a fleeting concern
for their neighbours in Northern Ceylon. On more than one occasion, I had been
asked "Has Pirabaharan been captured and executed" by these Indians of Tamil
Nadu! My point is that the Tamils of Ceylon are in this alone and we need to
understand this.
The Sinhalese PA Government, controlled and manipulated by the perniciously
racist Kandyan Sinhalese (viz: the Bandaranayake clan) is engaged in a
systematic and well orchestrated effort to decimate the Tamil intellectuals and
Tamil political leadership while its military is conducting the holocaust of the
Tamil populace in North and North-East Ceylon. I implore the Tamil leadership to
tighten up its security. A leaderless organisation is an aimless organisation.
Let's pray to Marudathipillayar that we do have the depth of leadership, the
tactical military shrewdness of
Pirabaharan and his associates and the will to fight until an Independent
Tamil Eelam is established in Ceylon.
Response by tamilnation:
Whilst it is true that the struggle for Tamil Eelam may not, today, have the
unconditional
support of the people of Tamil Nadu, there may be a need to recognise the
contributions made by Tamil Nadu leaders such as
M.G.Ramachandran,
V.Gopalasamy, P.Nedumaran, S.Ramadoss - and even
M.Karunanithi. We may need to recognise that the limited nature of the
support extended by them, may have something to do with their chosen role in
'parliamentary politics'. They were (and are) not members of a 'guerrilla
movement'. At the sametime, we may also need to recognise the
deep underlying roots that tie the Tamil people together. The
tamilnation believes that this togetherness of the Tamil people
is a growing togetherness. It will grow year by year - as, indeed, it has grown,
year by year, during the past several decades, sometimes slowly and at other
times more rapidly. And this particular river is not about to flow backwards.
The
words of Tamil Eelam leader, Velupillai Pirabaharan, to the people of Tamil Nadu
in December 1995, may help to focus our minds and our hearts:
"On behalf of our people, I wish to express my affection and gratitude to
the people and leaders of Tamil Nadu for voicing passionately their support
for the Tamils of Eelam who are struggling for their liberation against the
genocidal oppression of the Sinhala regime. The
waves of sympathy that sweeps across Tamil Nadu whenever Eelam
Tamils are repressed has always been a deterrent to our ruthless enemy and a
great source of hope and relief to our aggrieved people. It also impresses
upon the world that the
Eelam Tamils are not alone and not without support...
We are united and determined by the passion for freedom. We are confidant
that
the setbacks of today will turn out
to be
the victories of tomorrow. We are firmly convinced that our land which
bleeds today will become a free land one day. Though our enemy has been
adopting devious methods to alienate us from the outside world,
from the world Tamil community and
from Tamil Nadu where
our deep roots are embedded, the support and sympathy generating from
Tamil Nadu have given us moral inspiration and determination..."
|
