Are Tamils less respectable than White Americans and Sinhalese?

| by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( August 18, 2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) On 16 August, I received email from a fellow member of the Tamil Diaspora – giving details of the Senators of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE). The first in the list included in the communication signed by Mr Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran as Prime Minister of the Group - is Mr. Ramsey Clark with no apparent biological connections to Tamil Homelands. Next is Dr. Brian Seneviratne – who is a stronger and more active version of Mr. Ramsey Clark. Dr. Nagalingam Jeyalingam who is next on the list after the above two is introduced as follows: ‘Dr.Nagalingam Jeyalingam, M.D., originally from Tamil Eelam, who earned his MBBS degree from the University of Colombo is now resident in New York, USA, practicing as an ENT specialist and researcher. He now holds the distinguished position of Director of Clinical Research, Newburg in addition to being attending staff at both St. Luke’s and Cornwall Hospitals, New York. He is a member of some of the medical institutes in New York, and also the Assistant Clinical Professor at the Mt. Sinai Medical Centre. Dr. Jeyalingam and his family had been associated with the struggle of the Tamil people for many years. He and his family are well known in the USA for their relentless support for the cause of the Tamil people.’

To an independent reader with no ‘inner knowledge’ of TGTE – the order of priority in wisdom is (1) American (2) Sinhalese Australian (3) Sri Lankan Tamil (4) Indian Tamil (5) Canadian Tamil

TGTE is seen by most as the child of LTTE. LTTE claimed to fight for ‘sole governance rights’ for Tamils by birth and culture. Hence the above formation would be confusing to those who feel physically / biologically and directly connected to the LTTE.

To me – we have biological as well as mental / intellectual relations. LTTE fought on the basis of strict ethnic connections. Hence its make-up needs to reflect that if other Tamils were called ‘traitors’ for teaming up with non-Tamils at the official front. What happens inside is TGTE’s business. The ethic minded Tamil who is strongly committed to the Tamil Language will find the above appointments confusing. Tamils lost lives for the cause of Tamil Eelam, under the leadership of LTTE. Any make up that shows a different representation would be confusing to rural Tamils.

TGTE needs to get its structure organized to reflect its priorities. The way this Senate has been organized – to my mind, they are keen to ‘show’ support of intellectual relationships to impress the Diaspora – especially those on the borderline – not knowing whether they are Sri Lankans or Americans. Not many Tamils known to me are global thinkers, leave alone being persons of global consciousness. Until majority of us are – we need to ensure that we reflect through our visible structures – the inner strength of our ‘cause’ - self-governance in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Clark’s path is American. Tamils driven by faith in Eelam would have difficulty identifying with those who seem ‘foreign’. At American / Canadian levels – they may be part of the visible leadership – provided TGTE is multicultural. The Australian Sathya Sai Organization is for example led by Mr. Neville Fredericks – a White Australian. But Sathya Sai Organizations have committed themselves to multi-religious approach and promote ‘Unity of Faith’. TGTE needs to do likewise, if it is to keep these international celebrities at the top. But then where does that leave the LTTE leaders who claimed ‘sole representation’ ?

Tamils living outside Sri Lanka, using Sri Lanka as their medium towards self-governance – would use these personalities for self-governance in those other countries of their residence – including India. In addition – such moves would help apply pressure on the Sri Lankan Government. But any such gain would be lost to the extent it dilutes the faith of those in rural Tamil areas – who would ‘see and believe’. Without that faith – we do not have the moral authority to claim Tamil Eelam outside the official path. Faith leads us through the natural path and hence deviations from the official path are acceptable – but only to that extent. Our Truth will prevent us from hurting others except to protect ourselves. Any action that hurts beyond our true needs – brings us negative karma. The above carries a heavy doze of that. There are Tamil-looking wise persons within the Tamil community. TGTE needs to seek and find them.