Paattali
Makkal Katchi has appealed to the Indian government to immediately
recognise Tamil Eelam...
The best news, after the fall of
Elephant Pass and
Pallai to the LTTE forces in April, has come not from Jaffna battlefront
but from another front – the diplomatic front. I am referring to the news
carried by The Hindu (May 5) that "the Paattali Makkal Katchi has appealed
to the Indian government to immediately recognise Tamil Eelam for which the
Tamil Tigers have been waging a battle."
At an emergency meeting of the PMK State executive it was also resolved
to appeal to the United Nations to intervene and help create an independent
Eelam, so that the war in the island would soon end.
The founder of the PMK, Dr. S.Ramadoss who briefed press reporters at the
end of the meeting said that he welcomed the Indian Government’s stand of
not supplying arms to the Sri Lankan government or sending troops to crush
the Tigers. He also warned India not to allow any other major power to gain
a foothold in the island under the guise of establishing peace. "India
should not hesitate to take counter measures," he said.
To Tamil Nadu watchers the call by PMK to Indian government to recognize
an independent Tamil Eelam should cause no surprise. Dr.Ramadoss and his PMK
have been for a long time consistent in extending support to the national
liberation struggle of the Tamil people spearheaded by the LTTE.
As a political leader Dr.Ramadoss never wavered in his support of the
LTTE even at the worst times. During the witch- hunting days following Rajiv
Gandhi’s murder and threat of TADA dangling overhead Dr.Ramadoss stood his
ground. On the threat of arrest for supporting LTTE, Dr.Ramdoss replied in
his own characteristic style. He said "I am ready to pay the price and go to
jail for supporting the LTTE. After me my place will be taken by my son. And
after him my grandson will court arrest."
Dr.Ramadoss, unlike Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who apparently has lost
his "fire and brimstone" politics due to old age, never minces his words. He
always calls a spade a spade to the point where it might look or sound
"undiplomatic" in the eyes of the orthodox politicians. Even Vaiko, the
fiery but cautious MDMK leader, has to lie low for a long period for fear of
TADA. It is only after he got elected as a Member of Parliament in 1998 he
slowly came out of the woods.
Vaiko’s principled politics, barring the brief flirtation, albeit a
political compulsion, with Ms. Jayalalitha’s AIADMK during the 1998 general
election, has earned him the respect of leaders like Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister A.K. Advani both of the BJP. The fact he
declined to accept a portfolio, when other political leaders were falling
over each other to secure a ministerial berth, even after he was pressed to
do so by Prime Minister Vajpayee has helped to enhance his image as a
self-less politician not after posts, pomp and glory.
History after nearly 400 years has presented a golden opportunity for
the Tamil people to carve out a state of their own...
It is not an open secret that Tamil people are pinning their hopes on
these two courageous leaders coupled with
Chief Minister Kalaignar
M. Karunanidhi of the DMK, K.Veeramany of DK and P.Nedumaran of the
Tamil National Movement to garner support for a de jure independent Tamil
Eelam in the political and diplomatic fronts.
History after nearly 400 years has presented a golden opportunity for the
Tamil people to carve out a state of their own. Such opportunity comes only
once in 1000 years. In more than one sense Tamil Eelam is not creating a
brand new state. It is the restoration of status quo ante – resuscitating
the Jaffna Kingdom that the Tamil people lost to the Portuguese invaders (AD
1619) in the battlefield.
Rightly speaking Britain
should have restored the Jaffna Kingdom to the legal heirs before they
left the shores of Ceylon, which they failed to do. Instead Britain made the
fatal error of handing over the whole country to the Sinhalese in a
silver-plate in 1948 without the consent of the Tamils. The current war is a
simple but costly exercise to evict the Sinhala occupation army out of the
Jaffna Kingdom lock-stock and barrel!
The fall of EP followed by Pallai within a matter of 8 days has brought
about a sea change in the thinking of the political and ruling circles of
India. The events unfolded so rapidly and so sudden, it took some time for
Prime Minister Vajpayee and South Block bureaucrats ( mostly Congress Party
sympathisers who were hoping to hear the news of LTTE defeat, but not the
defeat of Sri Lankan government forces) to digest the dynamics and
dimensions of the change in political and military terms. It is no
exaggeration to say that the Indian government, including its military, as a
whole was taken by surprise by the turn of events!
We should thank Prime Minister Vajpayee, Home Minister L.K. Advani,
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Defence Minister for denying
President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government lethal weapons to kill more
Tamils under the guise of fighting "terrorism" which she has vowed to do
even now.
Indian government decision to turn down the Sri Lankan government’s
indirect request for arms and ammunition and the direct request for naval
assistance to evacuate the 40,000 troops trapped in Jaffna came as sweet
music to Tamils around the world. Unlike the previous Congress government
that arrogantly rode roughshod over the wishes and opinion of the people and
the government of Tamil Nadu, the BJP displayed enormous sensitiveness to
Tamil opinion. This was evident by the personal invitation extended to the
Chief Minister of Tamilnadu M. Karunanidhi by Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee to come to Delhi for consultations.
There is no question of Tamil Nadu government or its people ever agreeing
for supply of arms by India to Sri Lanka, which will be used to kill fellow
Tamils. As already mentioned for far too long successive Sri Lankan
governments have killed and maimed thousands of Tamils under the guise of
fighting "terrorism". And the Sri Lankan government’s oft-repeated ‘mantra’
" the preservation of the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty" is a
euphemism to justify the unjust war against the Tamils and their demand for
equal rights with the majority Sinhalese.
Chandrika’s oppressive rule marks an epoch consisting of blood stained
pages of our history...
Ever since the dawn of independence every Sri Lankan government without
fail resorted to
discriminatory legislative and administrative acts
to deprive the Tamils of their language and educational rights. The first
blow dealt against the Tamils is the
deprivation of a
million Tamils of Indian origin of their citizenship and voting rights
in 1948/49 followed by the
enactment of Sinhala Only Act in 1956.
The worst onslaught against the Tamils came in the form of
state sponsored
Sinhala colonization of the Northeast provinces- the traditional
homeland of the Tamil people for centuries. These Sinhalese illegal
settlements were meant to change the demographic composition of the existing
population in the Northeast.
These Tamils who work in the tea and rubber plantation sector and who
form the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economy are the worst exploited working
people in the whole world. Their living conditions and standards are no
better than what obtained when they were brought in as indentured by the
British two centuries ago.
The discriminatory manner in which Sri Lanka treats Tamils of Indian
origin is indicative of its subtle, if not open, hatred for India and
everything Indian. One time every one of the Hill country Tamils was
derisively called "kallathony" meaning illegal immigrants by Sinhalese
chauvinists. The only exception appears to be Lord Buddha himself.
Although
President Chandrika Kumaratunga got elected on a peace platform,
promising peace at cost, her five-year rule turned out to be an unmitigated
disaster as far as the Tamil people are concerned. Her relentless pursuit of
the "War
for peace" military campaign,
which she has again vowed to "relentlessly pursue the military option"
has caused nothing but death, destruction, displacement, hunger and
starvation. Her rule was the worst tyranny ever suffered by the Tamils.
"Chandrika’s oppressive rule marks an epoch consisting of blood stained
pages of our history. Her tyrannical rule has left a permanent scar on the
soul of the Tamil Nation" was how
the
LTTE leader Prabhakaran described Chandrika’s rule over the Tamils. He
further dubbed Chandrika’s 5 years rule as a curse on the Tamil people and a
monumental tragedy.
I am recapping this piece of history to remind the Indian government and
its South Block policy makers the true racist character of the Sri Lankan
governments past and present.
Tamil people are the natural allies of India...
The Sri Lankan
governments in the past never bothered to promote or cultivate genuine
bilateral relationship with India. On the other hand they developed very
close relationship with countries like Pakistan and China at the expense of
India. When the necessity arose Sri Lanka’s ruling class never failed to
play the Chinese or Pakistan card as the case may be in an attempt to
‘check-mate’ India.
It is necessary for India at this crucial stage to identify those
fundamental Indian interests that will guarantee the security of its
southern flank against India’s enemies. Only an independent Tamil Eelam will
provide such guarantee at all times and under all circumstances. The Tamil
people are the natural allies of India because of the cultural, religious
and historical ties the Tamils have with India. With Tamils of
Tamil Nadu the
relationship is that of mother and child’s umbilical cord.
India need not entertain fears that an independent Eelam will fuel
secessionist forces in Tamil Nadu. This is a myth spread by the anti-Tamil
Brahmin controlled press in Tamil Nadu with ulterior motives. West Bengal
never joined Bangladesh though Bengali language is common to both the
people. So the time has come for India to take a decisive decision that will
affect its course of history for the next 1000 years.
