“Unfortunately all the actors in the drama, the Sri Lankan Govt., the Tamil Rebels as well as the Govt. of India have not been able to agree on this and fashion a solution . Each had their own grievances and kept distancing themselves from each other.”__________________________________
by S.Gopal
(February 28, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has been one of the most tragic episodes in South Asian history . Here are two groups of people with culturally similar ancestral roots with similar way of life and outlook pervading in most of South Asia , but who have built up animus over years divided by language and to some extent religion. Though being Buddhists , many a Sinhalese is an ardent devotees of Hindu Gods and can be seen worshipping in the five Easwarams ( Siva temples four of which are in Sri Lanka ) or at Tirupati. Many a Hindu prays in a Buddhist Vihara. Why then Sri Lanka , a beautiful island , described as a tear drop in the Indian ocean, has been rendered asunder by an incredibly brutal ethnic conflict in the past few decades ?
The book by M.R. Narayanaswamy “Inside an elusive Mind – Prabhakaran “ brings out with cogent clarity the evolution of the LTTE in this conflict with the personality of Prabhakaran as the background. Both factually and analytically the book does justice to the topic.
India has always been in an unenviable position in this ethnic conflict. While holding correctly that it is not in India’s interest to divide Sri Lanka into two nations , it has also never been able to ignore with equanimity the problems faced by the Tamils of Sri Lanka , due to the passions it created in Tamil Nadu, if not for anything else. Back in 1971 the Sri Lankan Tamils were greatly encouraged by the birth of Bangladesh with India’s midwifery. Many of the Srl Lankan Tamils have never been able to accept the reality that India’s strategic calculations do not include an independent Eelam. However late S.J.V. Chelvanayagam the respected leader of the then Federal Party seemed to accept this logic mentioned to him by an Indian Diplomat but said that the tamils of Sri Lanka had always looked up to India for help in achieving an autonomous region in a unified Sri Lanka where they could live honourably . Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Policy on this issue in the late 1980s was probably centered on achieving this.
Unfortunately all the actors in the drama, the Sri Lankan Govt., the Tamil Rebels as well as the Govt. of India have not been able to agree on this and fashion a solution . Each had their own grievances and kept distancing themselves from each other. Meanwhile the dynamics of perceived injustices and communal conflagration of 1983 finally led to the strengthening of the rebels . particularly the LTTE , at the cost of the moderate TULF and brought Prabhakaran to his current status as the undisputed representative and strongman of the Tamils. Prabhakaran who had enjoyed considerable support in Tamilnadu for a long time as a fighter for the Srilankan Tamil’s rights cut himself off irrevocably from this support by the foolish act of assassinating Rajiv Gandhi under the belief that Rajiv Gandhi’s return as Prime Minister will bring to naught , LTTE’s efforts to achieve Independent ‘Eelam’. Not only the rest of India but even the Tamils in Tamilnadu reacted with such horror and anger that any hope of a rear base for Prabhakaran in Tamil Nadu was lost for ever. Most of the Tamils in Tamil Nadu took it as a slur on them since the assassination took place in Tamil Nadu where Rajiv Gandhi was quite popular. From the status of a leader able to hold confabulations with a Prime Minister of India and a Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu , Prabhakaran is today a fugitive from Justice in India. Moreover his terrorist acts outside the theatre of liberation war ( viz. the north east of SriLanka ) again led his organization to be treated as a terrorist organization and not a liberation movement. His acts of assassination and bombings in Colombo , not to speak of using child soldiers have certainly not helped him in his quest for international acceptance. Today he has to deal with the bitter truth that India has outlawed him and his organization and so has the U.S.
The induction of Indian Peace Keeping Force in Tamil Areas has been, in hind sight, one of the gravest mistakes by India. It tried to pit one of the finest fighting machines in the world against a group of highly motivated guerillas. As brought out in the book , it had no idea of the terrain and was given a completely wrong assessment about the motivation and capability of the LTTE. As one of the army officers put it the Indian army was asked to fight a war with one hand tied at the back. There have also been stories , many perhaps exaggerated , about atrocities by the Indian Army .In fact the motivation of Dhanu the assassin of Rajiv Gandhi is attributed by some to such an atrocity . All these were indeed avoidable.
The book by Narayanaswamy traces the history of the LTTE’s freedom struggle quite ably . He could have probably gone more into the psychological profile of Prabhakaran. What made this shy school drop out metamorphose himself into a ruthless leader of a killer organization . Is it simply the urge to get the Sri Lankan Tamils justice or is there more, like unforgettable trauma of watching atrocities on Tamils including some of his close relatives ? What are the qualities in him that made a lot of young people willingly kill themselves for the cause at his behest ? Whatever may be the final outcome of LTTE’s quest for a place in the sun for the Srilankan Tamils, Prabhakaran remains a unique figure in the annals of liberation movements and so is his organization.
The peace process in Sri Lanka is on , raising hope both in India and Sri Lanka that there could be an enduring peace between the two communities with Tamils getting their due rights in a unified country. This would need two important changes in the mind set of the two communities. The Sinhalese would have to accept that Tamils need to be recognized as a distinct ethnic community and would therefore have to be given their rights of language and dignity of administering themselves in their region – very much like what it is in India today. The Tamils , more specifically , LTTE, would have to accept a solution of autonomy within a unified Sri Lanka . Going by the private views and public statements of Prabhakaran given in Narayanaswamy’s book , would it be a false hope ?
But let us hope.
Lastly , however much any Govt. in India would like to stay disengaged from developments in Sri Lanka , Geography and ethnic politics would not let that be. If for some reason , Prabhakaran is no more an arbiter of the fate of the Sri Lankan Tamils , would it be back to square one in ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. If so, would India be again dragged into the conflict and a déjà vu situation. Hence India could and should now be a part of the conflict resolution mechanism as it and it alone can guarantee the implementation of any solution. A stable Sri Lanka with India enjoying a relationship of trust and affection with both the communities in Sri Lanka is in the interest of India’s security.
by S.Gopal
(February 28, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has been one of the most tragic episodes in South Asian history . Here are two groups of people with culturally similar ancestral roots with similar way of life and outlook pervading in most of South Asia , but who have built up animus over years divided by language and to some extent religion. Though being Buddhists , many a Sinhalese is an ardent devotees of Hindu Gods and can be seen worshipping in the five Easwarams ( Siva temples four of which are in Sri Lanka ) or at Tirupati. Many a Hindu prays in a Buddhist Vihara. Why then Sri Lanka , a beautiful island , described as a tear drop in the Indian ocean, has been rendered asunder by an incredibly brutal ethnic conflict in the past few decades ?
The book by M.R. Narayanaswamy “Inside an elusive Mind – Prabhakaran “ brings out with cogent clarity the evolution of the LTTE in this conflict with the personality of Prabhakaran as the background. Both factually and analytically the book does justice to the topic.
India has always been in an unenviable position in this ethnic conflict. While holding correctly that it is not in India’s interest to divide Sri Lanka into two nations , it has also never been able to ignore with equanimity the problems faced by the Tamils of Sri Lanka , due to the passions it created in Tamil Nadu, if not for anything else. Back in 1971 the Sri Lankan Tamils were greatly encouraged by the birth of Bangladesh with India’s midwifery. Many of the Srl Lankan Tamils have never been able to accept the reality that India’s strategic calculations do not include an independent Eelam. However late S.J.V. Chelvanayagam the respected leader of the then Federal Party seemed to accept this logic mentioned to him by an Indian Diplomat but said that the tamils of Sri Lanka had always looked up to India for help in achieving an autonomous region in a unified Sri Lanka where they could live honourably . Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Policy on this issue in the late 1980s was probably centered on achieving this.
Unfortunately all the actors in the drama, the Sri Lankan Govt., the Tamil Rebels as well as the Govt. of India have not been able to agree on this and fashion a solution . Each had their own grievances and kept distancing themselves from each other. Meanwhile the dynamics of perceived injustices and communal conflagration of 1983 finally led to the strengthening of the rebels . particularly the LTTE , at the cost of the moderate TULF and brought Prabhakaran to his current status as the undisputed representative and strongman of the Tamils. Prabhakaran who had enjoyed considerable support in Tamilnadu for a long time as a fighter for the Srilankan Tamil’s rights cut himself off irrevocably from this support by the foolish act of assassinating Rajiv Gandhi under the belief that Rajiv Gandhi’s return as Prime Minister will bring to naught , LTTE’s efforts to achieve Independent ‘Eelam’. Not only the rest of India but even the Tamils in Tamilnadu reacted with such horror and anger that any hope of a rear base for Prabhakaran in Tamil Nadu was lost for ever. Most of the Tamils in Tamil Nadu took it as a slur on them since the assassination took place in Tamil Nadu where Rajiv Gandhi was quite popular. From the status of a leader able to hold confabulations with a Prime Minister of India and a Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu , Prabhakaran is today a fugitive from Justice in India. Moreover his terrorist acts outside the theatre of liberation war ( viz. the north east of SriLanka ) again led his organization to be treated as a terrorist organization and not a liberation movement. His acts of assassination and bombings in Colombo , not to speak of using child soldiers have certainly not helped him in his quest for international acceptance. Today he has to deal with the bitter truth that India has outlawed him and his organization and so has the U.S.
The induction of Indian Peace Keeping Force in Tamil Areas has been, in hind sight, one of the gravest mistakes by India. It tried to pit one of the finest fighting machines in the world against a group of highly motivated guerillas. As brought out in the book , it had no idea of the terrain and was given a completely wrong assessment about the motivation and capability of the LTTE. As one of the army officers put it the Indian army was asked to fight a war with one hand tied at the back. There have also been stories , many perhaps exaggerated , about atrocities by the Indian Army .In fact the motivation of Dhanu the assassin of Rajiv Gandhi is attributed by some to such an atrocity . All these were indeed avoidable.
The book by Narayanaswamy traces the history of the LTTE’s freedom struggle quite ably . He could have probably gone more into the psychological profile of Prabhakaran. What made this shy school drop out metamorphose himself into a ruthless leader of a killer organization . Is it simply the urge to get the Sri Lankan Tamils justice or is there more, like unforgettable trauma of watching atrocities on Tamils including some of his close relatives ? What are the qualities in him that made a lot of young people willingly kill themselves for the cause at his behest ? Whatever may be the final outcome of LTTE’s quest for a place in the sun for the Srilankan Tamils, Prabhakaran remains a unique figure in the annals of liberation movements and so is his organization.
The peace process in Sri Lanka is on , raising hope both in India and Sri Lanka that there could be an enduring peace between the two communities with Tamils getting their due rights in a unified country. This would need two important changes in the mind set of the two communities. The Sinhalese would have to accept that Tamils need to be recognized as a distinct ethnic community and would therefore have to be given their rights of language and dignity of administering themselves in their region – very much like what it is in India today. The Tamils , more specifically , LTTE, would have to accept a solution of autonomy within a unified Sri Lanka . Going by the private views and public statements of Prabhakaran given in Narayanaswamy’s book , would it be a false hope ?
But let us hope.
Lastly , however much any Govt. in India would like to stay disengaged from developments in Sri Lanka , Geography and ethnic politics would not let that be. If for some reason , Prabhakaran is no more an arbiter of the fate of the Sri Lankan Tamils , would it be back to square one in ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. If so, would India be again dragged into the conflict and a déjà vu situation. Hence India could and should now be a part of the conflict resolution mechanism as it and it alone can guarantee the implementation of any solution. A stable Sri Lanka with India enjoying a relationship of trust and affection with both the communities in Sri Lanka is in the interest of India’s security.
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