Tamil Nadu moves to centre stage

The most important outcome of last week’s emotional outburst in Tamil Nadu is that the Tamil state has moved to centre stage in the decision making process about Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem.

Till now, the Indian Central Government made the decisions and kept Tamil Nadu informed. Last week it changed. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi was consulted at every stage of the decision making process.

When Sri Lanka invited the Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to visit Colombo for talks, Delhi contacted Karunanidhi and told him about that.  Karunanidhi raised no objection. Then, Sri Lanka wanted to send Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa to Delhi and Delhi inquired from Karunanidhi whether it was alright. Karunanidhi saw no objection.

At noon on Sunday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi telephoned Karunanidhi and assured him that the central government would look after the interests of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and told him that Mukherjee would fly that evening to Chennai to brief him about the talks he had with Basil Rajapaksa.

After meeting Karunanidhi at his Gobalapuram home in Chennai, Mukherjee told the media, “The Chief Minister assured me he will not precipitate any crisis for the Indian Government.”

Again, on his way back home, he told the media in Kolkata that Karunanidhi was satisfied with the initiative the Centre had taken to help the Tamils caught in the conflict between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE.

Mukherjee said he obtained assurance from Sri Lanka that all humanitarian assistance including food, medicine and shelter will be provided through the International Red Cross under supervision of the UN. He said India offered 800 tonnes of relief and the Tamil Nadu Government also agreed to provide relief materials.

On Monday, Karunanidhi appealed to the people of Tamil Nadu to contribute their mite to the suffering Tamils in Sri Lanka. He asked for food, clothes and medicines. He said while food and clothes could be handed over to respective district collectors, monetary contributions could be made to ‘Sri Lankan Tamils Relief Fund.’

Basil Rajapaksa has told journalists in New Delhi that Indian medical teams would be allowed into Sri Lanka to provide aid to affected Tamils.

Karunanidhi revealed to the media on Sunday evening, the substance of the Basil Rajapaksa- Mukherjee talks in answer to a question.

Question: Will there be a ceasefire?

Answer: He told me that this struggle is going on for more than 40 years. This cannot be brought to an end in just four days.  We asked for a ceasefire to protect the civilians from hardships. Now, Sri Lanka has given an assurance that they would not attack civilians. An environment has been created for talks. How it should be done is being considered. No decision had been made on whether India or another nation or another organisation should play a role. No obstacle now exists for discussing about talks and taking action on it.

Mukherjee told the media at Chennai that three matters were discussed during his talks with Basil Rajapaksa;

• Plight of the civilians in Wanni.
  
• Political solution should be worked out and
  
• 13th Amendment should be implemented.
  

Two more important outcomes should also be noted.  The first was the racial unity among the Tamil and the Sinhalese communities. The 90 million Tamils, living in various parts of the globe, have been emotionally united for the fist time in the long history of the Tamil race. A similar process has taken place among the Sinhalese. The polarisation of which I spoke in one of my earlier columns, has now taken a wider form. It has become Tamils versus the Sinhalese.  This should not be allowed to grow.

The second outcome is more disturbing. In parts of Tamil Nadu, secessionist sentiments have been voiced. Now it is being voiced guardedly. “If the central government is not interested in the Tamil people, why should they be part of India?” many ask.  The thought that the Tamils have no place in decision making is also growing.

The three incidents of violence that took place during the last week should be noted. The first was the attack on the Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner’s office in Chennai. The attackers were law students. The second was the burning of the Janata Party office in Madurai. The attackers were lawyers. The Janata Party is headed by Subramaniya Swami. The third was the destruction of the Rajiv Gandhi statue in Chennai.  The attackers are not known.

Basil Rajapaksa-Mukherjee meeting has defused the crisis but it has not passed away. Agitations in Tamil Nadu are continuing. film actors are staging a fast on November 1 and Karunanidhi has only postponed the implementation of the decision to pull out his members from the central government.

He was asked by the media whether he was happy with the actions taken by the central government. His reply: “My satisfaction will be total only when the promises given are implemented.”