Sinhalese, Tamils and Sri Lanka:Need for a paradigm shift

"The concept of the north-east merger was never viable and has been rendered obsolete. The north and east will remain separate and it will be futile and foolish to demand a merger. The Tamils in the east do not need it and do not want it. "
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By: Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

(June 26, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The war between the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka is over. The pursuit of an independent Tamil Eelam- an illusion- initially floated by the democratic political leadership of the Tamils, thereafter passionately pursued by various militant-terrorist groups, including the LTTE and finally carried forward in a highly organized, but fatally flawed manner by the LTTE, has proved to be just what it was- just an illusion!

What it has cost the Sri Lankan state in terms of financial, development and institutional degradation, I am sure will become topics of in-depth study. The financial and social cost to the Tamils of pursuing the illusion of Eelam will never be known in its true dimensions. The destruction wrought on Tamil society in the north and east of the Island, in social terms by the LTTE, independent of the ravages of war, are so deep and wide that it will be almost impossible to describe accurately or quantify in a reliable manner. While the destruction of the valuable collection of books, manuscripts and other documents in the Jaffna public library by forces aligned with the government were deservedly well publicized and remains an incident we have to be ashamed, the destruction wrought on the private libraries in the homes of Jaffna by the LTTE, though substantial, will never be known!

This destruction involved not only the history of individuals and families, but the efforts of generations of Tamil intellectuals. Further, the intellectual, spiritual, mystical and cultural traditions in the north and east that had evolved over thousands of years of Tamil history were trashed, trampled and destroyed. The deliberate cultivation and enabling of the dregs of Tamil society by the LTTE has also left the unique value system of the Tamils, in total disarray. These losses can never be fully regained. The psychological scars left on the people will take generations to heal. While the physical injuries may be healed faster and over come, Tamils in particular have to find ways to deal with thousands of handicapped. and disabled over several decades.

The total destruction of the caste system can be cited as the only benefit accruing from the decades that were dominated by the Tamil militants and the LTTE. This benefit has been unfortunately negated by the emigration and displacement of the standard bearers of the Tamil culture and identity – the middle and upper classes. The Tamils may have become largely a caste-less society, but in the process they have also become a society lacking in ‘Class’ (high quality).

The Tamils of the north and east may need several decades to recover and become a normal people. The brain-washing that was part of creating the illusion of Tamil Eelam will be the most difficult to overcome. While a significant number of Tamils were disgusted with the LTTE and the other militants, now masquerading as democratic political groups, the illusion of Tamil Eelam had become part of the mental make up of most Tamils born since the 1960s. Their thought processes were influenced by various unsavory events that affected the Tamils and by perceptions that were reinforced regularly and most times invented and very effectively propagated. Many Tamils yet continue to harbour doubts as to whether the Sinhala polity can be trusted to play fair by them and accept their linguistic and cultural differences as part of the Sri Lankan mosaic. The hardest task for Sri Lanka will be to win the trust and confidence of the Tamils.

On the other hand, the Sinhala polity has its own fears of Tamil intentions for the future. The Sri Lankan armed forced have fought a hard and costly battle to overcome the LTTE- a formidable enemy- much to the delight of most Sinhalese. While a majority of Sinhalese harbour no malice against the Tamils and accept them as fellow citizens of equal standing, every single Sinhalese to the last man and women, is against the concept of a separate state for the Tamils. For years most Tamils will be considered ‘Closet Tigers’ and separatists by the Sinhala polity. This is natural as the Sinhalese were also the victims of Sinhala extremist propaganda and the LTTE propaganda and terror tactics.

While there were divisions among the Tamils on the question of Eelam, there was unanimity among the Sinhalese against the very thought of the Island being split asunder. The civil war fought over three decades and won on the battle front on behalf of largely the Sinhalese by the Sri Lankan armed forces (the potential gains for the Tamils are incidental), will make it very difficult for the Sinhala polity to view any exercise at devolution of political power without suspicion and as an alternate path to a separate state for the Tamils. There will also be many in the Sinhala political and religious establishment who will nurture and validate these fears, either through ignorance, short sightedness, malice or political expediency.

Tamil politicians of the past and present, and the Tamil militant movements- I should now say of the past- including the LTTE, failed to understand the deep seated Sinhala attachment to the concept of ‘ Sinhala Dwipa’ ( The ‘Sinhala Theevu’ of Bharathiar). The ‘Sinhala Dwipa’ is a concept that is at the core of the Sinhala psyche. It involves the attachment of a people, speaking a language spoken nowhere else, to the land they consider special because of its association with Lord Buddha. We can debate ad-infinitum whether the association with Lord Buddha is fact or fiction and whether the Sinhala language is as unique as believed, but it will make no difference to what the people believe.

The concept of ‘Eelam’ is no different, although it was hijacked by the Tamil politicians and militants, to define an unrealizable illusion. I remember the elders of Jaffna at one time believed in a similar concept of special identity and uniqueness, when confronted with Indian (mainly South Indian) influences. ‘Vaitru Valiyai nambinalum, Vadakathayanai nambathey’ (‘Even if you trust a stomach ache, do not trust the northerner’-English) was their constant refrain. Although there were significant linguistic, religious and cultural affinities, there was deep felt aversion to being overwhelmed by South India (north of Jaffna) by most Jaffna Tamils. Erudite Tamils in Tamil Nadu also recognized the antiquity and quality of Tamil spoken in the north and east of Sri Lanka, and the uniqueness of Sri Lankan Tamils. I also recall an elderly school principal describing the Tamils of recent Indian origin who had come to Jaffna as refugees after the 1977 riots as the ‘Fifth Column’.

The association of Lanka with the Ramayana and Ravana with Saivaism was another dimension in the Tamil sense of belonging to the Island. The location of four of the five (Pancha Easwarams) ancient and revered Saivite temples in Sri Lanka and the presence of the ancient Murugan temple in jungles of Kataragama supported Tamil beliefs. The Tamils who believe Sri Lanka is their land and has been their home for thouands of years, consider themselves also unique and have a special affinity for the parts of the Island they inhabit. This is the ‘Eelam’ that is mentioned in the Sangam poetry, is part of Tamil lore and is at the core of their passions.

The concepts of ‘Sinhala Dwipa’ and ‘Eelam’ are similar and define a passion for an Island by two groups of people who are closely related, speaking two different languages that are also closely related in many ways. Subramaniya Bharathy – a Tamil poet of great stature from South India– had no qualms about calling the Island ‘Sinhala Theevu’ and dream of not only constructing a bridge over Palk strait but also reconstructing the Adam’s bridge to form a highway ( “Sinhala Theevinukor Paalam Amaipoem , Sethuvai Meduruthi Veethi Samaipoem”) to Sri Lanka. Both the Sinhalese and Tamils of Sri Lanka, having lived on a small island close to giant India, had obviously developed a sense of uniqueness and a degree of anti-Indianism, to protect their culture and way of life!

The Sinhala politicians and influential elements in the Sinhala polity had failed to understand the passion the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils had for their Island and thoughtlessly and sometimes maliciously hurt and insulted these Tamils to their very core, by asking them to go back to India, where they were accused of having come. What should have been a struggle or even war for the rights and place of Tamils within Sri Lanka was unfortunately and thoughtlessly permitted to become struggle/ war for a separate state by the Tamil leadership of the day. The short sightedness of the Tamil politicians of yore in seeding the concept of an independent Tamil state within the Island and firing the imagination of disgruntled and immature youth in its pursuit was one of the tragedies of Sri Lankan history.

The failures of the Sri Lankan Sinhala leadership to sense the direction in which the Tamil struggle was evolving and take wise political decisions to remove the root causes, was a further tragedy. The wise steps Jawaharlal Nehru’s government in India took to politically diffuse the separatist movement in the Madras state (now Tamil Nadu), is an example the Sri Lankan governments should have followed. Pride, prejudice and sheer stupidity came together among both the Sinhalese and Tamils to foment an unnecessary, costly and beastly war that has almost destroyed the Tamils as a people and left the Sinhalese severely diminished in terms of their humanity and political maturity.

The time has now come for a paradigm shift in the thoughts, way of life and political process among the peoples of Sri Lanka. The war that has just ended has only proved how stupid we have been. In a narrow sense an unnecessary war has been both lost and won by the citizens of the same country! Whether a war should have been fought over the issues under dispute, will be judged with distaste by our future generations. In a broader sense the war itself was a loss for all peoples in Sri Lanka. If the just concluded war and misery that it has entailed do not jolt us into rational thinking and pragmatic reactions, we are doomed as a nation.

Recognition of the right of Tamils to be Tamils and Sri Lankan citizens of equal status should be the foundation on which the future Sri Lanka is built. This concept should apply to every other community in Sri Lanka. The voice of the majority of citizens, and not only the voice of the majority among the Sinhalese, should be heard in the corridors of power. What is good for all Sri Lankans should be the concern of the government and not exclusively what is good for the Sinhalese, because they are a numerical majority who has a greater influence on electing politicians to office.

Power should be devolved on the existing provincial basis, for the people in different areas of the country to manage their internal affairs. Within the frame work of a united Sri Lanka, every citizen should be equal and should be equally protected, where ever he or she may choose to live. The right of every individual or community to be what they are and live according to what they believe must be respected within the boundaries of just law. Any activity that impinges on the rights of any one citizen or a community of citizens should be a criminal offence punishable to the utmost extent possible. Every citizen should have the right to live wherever he/she wishes in the Island, in peace and security. The rule of law should guarantee the rights of every citizen on the Island and protect them from the ravages of political expediency , security force excesses and mis-governance.

The 300,000 internally displaced people, living in refugee camps should weigh heavily on the conscience of our nation. The service men who have been maimed or injured and families of the dead servicemen who have been widowed and orphaned should also be our concern. The hapless victims of LTTE conscription and brain washing, and their families should also receive our sympathies. They are the unfortunate victims of the flaws in the Sri Lankan political system. They are the unfortunate victims of a liberator who had turned predator. They are the unfortunate victims of a fratricidal war. They are the unfortunate victims of our national stupidity. What we do to rehabilitate these unfortunates and how quickly we do it will define our nation to the world, after the macabre display we put on for the world to view in distaste, during the war.

The Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others in Sri Lanka and the Diaspora should come together in our millions, to be participants in this rehabilitation and re-building process. This would heal our wounds faster than anything else would. The government should pave the way for this to happen fast and efficiently. This is the tragedy that should catalyze us to come together to become Sri Lankans in the true sense of the word. Those who have backed the war from both sides of the national divide- whether Sinhalese or Tamil- should see and experience the misery they have caused. This should be their penance. The recent UTHR (J) report on how compassionately Sinhala servicemen treated the besieged Tamil civilians in the midst of war and the false propaganda alleging mass rape and murder, should be an eye opener for the Tamils.


The government should be forthright with the people and declare its intentions on how the national reconciliation process will be carried forward. This government is at its peak in popularity and will be elected hands down at least at the next national and presidential elections. The Sinhala people also trust this government, as never before. This is the opportune time to carry out the necessary political reforms in Sri Lanka. The minorities should be politically empowered and given a role to play in national affairs. The Tamils in particular have to be won to the cause of a united Sri Lanka. This would be the best insurance the nation could have against future insurgencies. The Tamils have to be trusted for them to become trusting. Tamils have to be given the time , space and peace of mind to evolve a new political leadership committed to national unity.

A political leadership that is largely unacceptable to the Tamils should not be thrust on them. A political leadership that is the product of the gun culture and is gun dependent or that has been supportive of the gun culture and terrorism, should not be imposed on the Tamils. Hounds trained to kill, pillage and prey should not be let loose on a people who are yet on their knees after a debilitating and brutal war. These groups and the individuals associated with them have mounted a well orchestrated campaign to convince the government they are popular and are the rightful heirs to the vacant Tamil throne! This prank if successful, will not only make fools of the Tamils, but the government as well. The government decision to hold elections, within months of defeating the LTTE and before normalcy has returned to the north, is unjustifiable and will be interpreted as an attempt stifle genuine democracy among the Tamils and impose a ‘Victor’s justice’ on them. There is definitely no need for elections of any type-Local Councils or Provincial Council- now.

Tamils on the other hand have to concentrate their efforts primarily towards recovery as a people, recovery of their economy and re-building their social fabric. This cannot be done without the support of the Sinhalese and the Sri Lankan government. Tamils cannot behave like the proverbial street dog that had been badly abused in the past, and as a result whines and begins to run with its tail tucked between its legs every time some one raises his hands innocently (akin to Pavlov's reflex)! Tamils should stop seeing a ghost behind every shadow and being on the defensive. Tamils should also not continue to harp on past grievances and complain about what they perceive as problems unique to themselves. Tamils have to learn to look around and see whether other Sri Lankans- Sinhalese, Muslims and others- share the same problems. Tamils have to regain their confidence and commit ourselves to a united Sri Lanka, without any reservations.

Tamils have to regain their place as an important component of the Sri Lankan mosaic. Tamil while learning their Tamil better, have to also learn Sinhalese and English. Tamils have to regain their culture, while learning about the cultures around them. Tamils have to become an outgoing people, instead of being insular and struck within their shells. Tamils have to stop being eternal complainers and find solutions to their problems from within. Tamils have to assert ourselves as a force for progress and democracy within Sri Lanka. Tamils need not become a supine people as a result. They should stand up fearlessly for their rights when justified. Tamils in the Diaspora should return and participate in the rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation process, without continuing to encourage the re-emergence of a past that has been devastating to their compatriots and relatives living in Sri Lanka. Tamils have the opportunity to become a better people with a new vision, at this tragic moment in their history. I hope they will be capable of meeting these challenges and God will help them do it.

Tamils have to also recognize they are not a homogenous people. The days of domination by the Jaffna Tamils over other Tamils are gone forever. The needs of the Jaffna Tamils are not the same as those of Tamils living in other parts of Sri Lanka. There are Jaffna Tamils, Vanni Tamils, Mannar Tamils, Batticaloa Tamils, Trincomalee Tamils, Amparai Tamils, Colombo Tamils, West coast Tamils (now being classified as Mukkuwar by some in the Sri Lankan government) and Hill Country Tamils. Each with different needs and different priorities, but linked by a common language. The needs of the Muslims, who speak Tamil and live amongst the Tamils are also different. Tamils have to accept the diversity amongst them and the fact that they have different aspirations in terms of their geographical dispersion. Tamils have to find a unity in their diversity, while Sri Lanka as a nation should also strive to find the unity amongst its diversity.

The concept of the north-east merger was never viable and has been rendered obsolete. The north and east will remain separate and it will be futile and foolish to demand a merger. The Tamils in the east do not need it and do not want it. The Tamils have to come forward to participate in national politics and seek membership in the national parties of their choice. Tamils have to strive to become national leaders acceptable to the Sinhalese and other peoples in Sri Lanka. Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka should be able to produce their own Narasimha Raos and Manmohan Singhs, as the minorities in India have.

The Sinhalese on the other hand should learn to treat the minorities, as a people who have been entrusted to their care. The Sinhalese should not view the minorities as enemies, competitors and usurpers. The minorities do not need special favours and dispensations. What they need is to be treated equally and be provided the opportunity to play in a fair game. How well the minorities do in Sri Lanka, will be a reflection on the greatness of the Sinhala people and the religion they practice –Buddhism. Sinhala politicians should begin to reflect the true nature of their people. Buddhist monks should reflect the essence of the teachings of Lord Buddha, in their words and deeds.

All Sinhalese should learn Tamil and begin to interact with the Tamils and Muslims living amongst them. The Sinhalese should visit the north and east now and view the ravages of war and the plight of the Tamils living in refugee camps. Sinhalese should begin to learn they share much in common with the Tamils. The Sinhalese should stretch a hand of friendship towards the Tamils and participate fully in the rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation process to the extent they can. Every positive gesture and word from the Sinhalese, however small, will go a long way in healing our national wounds. What Sri Lanka has to become is largely in the hands of the Sinhalese and it is up to them to shoulder their responsibility towards our common mother land and the other people, who are also her children. The right of being a majority in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religious country like ours, also involves the need to be inclusive, tolerant, considerate and magnanimous towards the minorities.

“ ONDRU PATTAAL UNDU VALLVEY,

OTTRUMAI NEENGIL ANAIVARUKUM THAALVEY”- (Tamil)

“ United we will prosper, divided we will all suffer” (translation)

-Sri Lanka Guardian