Pillaiyan’s Trgedy

"Then Chief Minister of the North-Eastern Provincial Council, Vardharaja Perumal had to unilaterally declare Eelam and seek refuge in India under circumstances somewhat similar to what is taking place now between the centre and the Eastern Provincial Council. Would Pillaiyan have to play the same tragic role tomorrow?"
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by Sankajaya Nanayakkara
Letter to the Editor

(January 06, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) In the beginning, the Sinhala and Tamil political leaders fought together for constitutional reforms from the British. In 1912, the educated Ceylonese seat returned a Tamil over a Sinhalese. Moreover, the Ceylon National Congress, which was formed in 1919 by the Sinhala and Tamil political elite, elected Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam as its first president.

The Tamil political leaders gradually began to entertain doubts and fears about the future of their people in an independent Sri Lanka. They feared that Tamils will be accorded second class citizenship in a Sinhala majority independent Sri Lanka. As a result, Tamil political leaders became very concerned about the ratio of Tamil representation in the legislature. The refusal of Sinhala political leaders to the creation of a separate communal electorate for the Ceylon Tamils of the Western Province contributed to the early polarization between the two communities. The universal suffrage, introduced in 1931, greatly increased inter-ethnic tensions. The pan-Sinhala board of ministers in 1936 confirmed the worst fears hitherto entertained by Tamil leaders.

Against this backdrop, in 1949, the Federal Party emerged as the champion of Tamil national aspirations. It had four basic demands:

A federal structure for the Tamil-speaking majority of the North and the East

Parity of status for the Tamil language

Cessation of Sinhala colonization in traditional Tamil-speaking areas

Sri Lankan citizenship rights for Tamils of Indian origin who want to reside in Sri Lanka on a permanent basis

The leader of the Federal Party, S.J.V. Chelvanayakam entered into agreements with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1957, and Dudley Senanayaka in 1965 to achieve the above objectives. Unfortunately, these agreements were breached by the Sinhala leaders due to the pressure of Sinhala supremacist forces and opportunist politicians in the opposition. Hence, Tamils leaders did not get the District Councils. Sinhala became the only state language. The Sinhala colonization schemes in traditional Tamil-speaking areas continued unhindered. Furthermore, in order to teach a lesson to Tamils, murderous violence was unleashed on them through Sinhala goon-squads in 1958 and 1977. However, one positive aspect of these otherwise unsuccessful agreements was the accordance of a degree of official status to the Tamil language in the North and the East. Unfortunately, even these constitutional provisions were not adequately implemented. The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) under the leadership of S.J.V. Chelvanayakam emerged against this background in May of 1976 to establish a sovereign Tamil state incorporating Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. The peaceful struggle for Eelam of the TULF soon metamorphosed into an armed struggle of militant Tamil youth.

1987 Indo-Lanka Accord

Through this particular accord, the government of Sri Lanka for the first time in history officially acknowledged the Tamil people’s political aspirations. Apart from the Eelamists, who would not settle for anything less than a separate state and Unitarists, who would never agree to devolve any measure of power to minorities, the progressive sections in both communities saw it as a step in the right direction and extended critical support. The 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord was a roadmap, and the central idea of the agreement is that the unity of Sri Lanka can come only through the accommodation (with reasonable limits) of political aspirations of diverse communities that makeup the fabric of Sri Lanka and not through suppression.

Unfortunately, the government of Sri Lanka at the time was not politically committed to implement the agreement. It was hell-bent on undermining it. For example, the concurrent list made a mockery of devolution of power to the provinces. Through constitutional trickery of this nature, non-allocation of financial resources, and arming the separatist Tigers, the center deliberately killed the North-Eastern Provincial Council, the child of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord.

Pillaiyan’s Tragedy

Sivenesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan was not so long ago a Tiger who fought to establish a separate Tamil state in violation of the constitution of Sri Lanka. At present, he is the Chief Minister of the constitutionally sanctioned Eastern Provincial Council. Pillaiyan’s lament is that the centre is not giving the provincial council the powers guaranteed under the 13th Amendment. In interviews with The Sunday Times (Nov 23, 2008) and The Nation (Nov 30, 2008), Pillaiyan says the centre ignores him and his Council even on basic matters such as, development projects concerning the East. By marginalizing the Chief Minister and the Eastern Provincial Council from playing an active role in matters concerning security and development in the East, and denying it the constitutionally guaranteed powers such as, police and land, the centre has reduced the Eastern Provincial Council and its Chief Minister to a mere show piece. Moreover, at the moment, the Sinhala supremacist elements within the government are using Karuna to undermine the Eastern Provincial Council. Their ultimate aim is to do away with all power sharing deals with minorities.

Then Chief Minister of the North-Eastern Provincial Council, Vardharaja Perumal had to unilaterally declare Eelam and seek refuge in India under circumstances somewhat similar to what is taking place now between the centre and the Eastern Provincial Council. Would Pillaiyan have to play the same tragic role tomorrow? Is this what Tamils who renounce separatism could expect from the Sinhalese? - Sri Lanka Guardian