Unleashing ethnic extremism

I wish to take your mind back to January 1939 when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the leader of the Sinhala Maha Sabha, declared at a public meeting in Balapitiya, “This is our country. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to save my country.”

G.G. Ponnambalam replied in the State Council, “This is our home. We are inhabitants of this country and we have as much right to have permanent and vested interests in the country.”

Sensing the danger of this clash, C. Suntheralingam, then president of the revitalised Jaffna Youth Congress warned, “Communalism on one side provokes communalism on the other, which in turn serves as an excuse for the growth of a more malignant brand of communalism.”

Please substitute the modern phrase ‘ethnic fundamentalism’ for ‘communalism’ and you will find Suntheralingam’s warning still appropriate. Sinhala fundamentalist position, expressed in recent weeks have generated an equivalent and opposite reaction - Tamil fundamentalism.

Most of you are aware of the Sinhala claim that Sri Lanka belongs to the Sinhalese and the reaction that erupted among the Tamils and the Muslims. The debate has now spread to Tamil Nadu and several speakers at Sunday’s demonstration of the Tamil film industry at Rameswaram claimed that Sri Lanka belonged to the Tamils.

Tamil poet Vairamuthu told the massive crowd that Sri Lanka was part of the ancient Thamilakam (Tamil country) and Vijaya and his followers, the founders of the Sinhala race, were intruders. “Now they are claiming the island for themselves and are trying to push out the Tamils, the original inhabitants.”  He also exhorted the Tamils to join hands and ‘fight to the last man’ to help the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Film director Vijaya D. Rajendar backed up Vairamuthu’s claim and added that they who assembled at Rameswaram formed ‘the Tamil brigade’ and another film director Seeman issued a warning to the Sri Lankan forces saying, “if atrocities against the Tamils continue, be warned that we will cross the sea and come there.”

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in his daily column in Murasoli, the official organ of the DMK, recorded on Monday his appreciation of the film industry’s support for their Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka. He had also exhorted the Tamils to express their unity by joining the state wide human chain demonstration of the Tamil emotion scheduled for yesterday (Tuesday) evening. He wrote, “My eyes will be searching for those Tamil souls that will array in strength in support of our brothers and sisters suffering in Sri Lanka.”

Karunanidhi who had been whipping up Tamil emotion for the past two weeks, had been instilling in the minds of the Tamil people that “Sinhalese army is killing the Tamil people.” The Tamil media in Tamil Nadu is following suit.

As Suntheralingam pointed out 69 years ago, Tamil fundamentalism is provoking Sinhala fundamentalism. Anyone reading the Sinhala newspapers and listening to the Sinhala radio channels will realise it. I am worried that this type of tit-for-tat fundamentalism will only worsen the situation and make it difficult for the government to come up with a solution to the ethnic problem.

Sinhala fundamentalists should take note of three developments. The first concerns the sentiments of the Tamil in Sri Lanka. Minister P. Chandrasekaran’s letter to Karunanidhi, expresses his support to his campaign for the rights of the northern Tamils, whose lives are in danger due to the ongoing military operations. The Sinhalese extremists who are calling him a traitor should realise that he had only expressed general feeling among the Tamil people.

Apart from the pain of mind the Tamils are suffering, because of the plight of their brethren in the Wanni, they are continuously harassed and made to feel that they are not equal.

The other two developments concern Tamil Nadu. The movement to get the Indian Government to lift the ban on the LTTE is growing. Pattali Makkal Kadchi leader Dr. S. Ramadoss told the media in Delhi that, the ban on the LTTE should be lifted and called it a freedom movement. He said, “The LTTE is fighting for the freedom of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka who are subjected to untold suffering.”

The next, concerns the growing support for the creation of Tamil Eelam. The main slogan shouted at the Rameswaram demonstration was: We will create the state of Tamil Eelam. Most of the pro-LTTE supporters are dinning into the ears of the Tamil people that, Tamil Eelam exists in the Wanni and they should rise in union and safeguard it.

Film director Bharathiraja told the Rameswaram meeting that he was there. “It is a just and Free State where women decked with jewellery could walk the streets alone, even in the night.”

 Next week is going to be crucial. Tamil Nadu’s deadline to get its parliamentarians to resign from Parliament ends next Wednesday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would do everything to avert that situation.

And Karunanidhi has shown signs that he would not precipitate a crisis for the central government. It looks like he would keep on pressurising the prime minister, but would not precipitate his downfall. On Monday he wrote in his column in Murosoli (mentioned above):

“I am happy that the Sri Lankan regime allowed the distribution of food materials to over 230,000 suffering Lankan Tamils in the (war-torn) northern part of the island, after our central government’s proactive intervention. This shows that our efforts did not go in vain.”

India is expected to tell Colombo to come up with a political package. Karunanidhi has told the central government that the right of the Tamil people to live in Sri Lanka as equal citizens should be ensured.

Will Sinhala fundamentalists permit the government to do it?