Tamil Nadu should not be an obstacle to India's emergence as a world leader ?

by Charles.S.Perera

(October 27, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) It was a sad day for India when political manoeuvres started by Jinnah resulted in its territorial breakup in 1947. However India despite this unforeseen loss to its great national loss, went through difficult times sacrificing its national leaders, suffering economic hardship to keep together what remained after Jinnah broke away a part of it. Different leaders with different visions kept the Indian dream alive. In that background the present day Indian leaders have been working hard to make the Indian dream a reality.

Today, India has shed its drab cloaks of poverty and sufferance, to emerge into being on the road towards economic leadership in Asia. Its power still lies in its territorial unity. If there is another break away, India will fall into a bitter internal political struggle which will weaken the International role it is about to play.

India lost a part of her great dream , as she was about to win her hard fought Independence, when Jinnah decided to break rank, more for personal gain, rather than through any religious faith, depriving I India the pride of being the whole of Indian empire , which was a British colony, that became independent.

To-day when India has come out victorious through its socio-economic struggle, to stand before the portals of International politics, to play a greater role as a rich and a powerful leader of Asia, on equal terms with the high and mighty International Community, Karunanidhi of DMK, flaps his wings to imitates Jinnah in an attempt to create an Eelam for the Tamils. These are the political tactics of an uninformed politician , both physically and mentally feeble. It was so when Jinnah decided to turn its back to his friends in the independence struggle, he died 13 months after declaring the separate Nation of Pakistan.

Unlike Jinnah, a son of a rich merchant , who was not from the people like the other political leaders of the Indian Congress who spear headed the Independent movement, Karunanidhi, had humble beginnings, having immigrated from AP. His well known poetic work for his favourite terrorist Thamilselvan, was the end product of his early training as a film script writer, and early writing of stories based on history and social reforms.

He has a record for winning elections, and popular for his wit and oratory. He was a Tamil literary figure.

His connection to LTTE terrorists has a long history. "Interim report of Justice Jain Commission which over saw the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination indicted Karunanidhi for abetting the LTTE. The interim report, recommended that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and the DMK party be held responsible for abetting Rajiv Gandhi's murderers." However, these allegations had been left out in the final report.

These South Indian political leaders had their beginnings in the South Indian Film Industry. Most of these film extravaganzas were about gods and humans, the good and the bad, to thrill the spectators that thronged into film halls. That may be why even their political manifestations , ring back to South Indian films that catered to popular taste.

These politicians unfortunately still think they are acting in their "Cinemas" and play to please the "gallery" without understanding the political implication of "modern" India, which has risen to be a powerful Nation, which now competes with the rich nations of the world, in all fields of activity such as in the Finances, Sciences, technology, and even atomic energy.

But the Karunanidhis of Tamil Nadu cannot understand these political configurations, and blinded by petty racial interests, is trying to betray the country by supporting a terrorist group.

The stakes at the portal of India are greater, and therefore it should maintain its internally undisturbed unitary state, to play its role as one of the leader nations of the world. That would be a pride for all States that make up India. Therefore, the uninformed, politicians of the DMK with their coteries of Film Directors, Poets and racial inspired groups, should be more concerned with India's own position , without getting interested in affairs of neighbouring sovereign states.

India as one of the emerging leader Nation, has to keep within certain norms of political behaviour to win the respect of the world. It cannot attack a neighbouring sovereign state like Sri Lanka at the behest of Tamil Nadu to protect a community that has only a nominal relation to Tamil Nadu.

Tamils of Sri Lanka are a part and parcel of the Nation of Sri Lanka. The matters regarding the Sri Lanka Tamils is a matter that should be left for Sri Lanka to solve without making difficulties for the Government of Sri Lanka. The role of India as one of the Leading Nations in Asia, is to maintain peace in the region and help its neighbours to fight terrorism which India , speaking at world Forums, has sworn to do

India should therefore, without relying on the nondescript politicians to work for national unity, make it the policy of the Central Government to inform the masses of the importance of India remaining united, for it to play a bigger role in International Politics.

It should keep the masses of the progressive development of India in different fields of activity, and arouse a National pride. They should get away from their narrow racial and local interests to see India as a leader and cooperate with neighbouring nations , not as rivals or antagonists but as friends. - Sri Lanka Guardian