| by Lt Col CR Sundar
( March 5, 2013, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The deepest psychological wound rankling the minds of every veteran in Tamilnadu is the killing of Tamilians during the Indo-Srilankan war of 1987-90 by the Indian Armed Forces. To every Tamilnadu veteran the memory is akin to a switch blade thrust into ventricles the of his heart that is twisted relentlessly and ruthlessly day after day.
Those who are no more with us have gone on because the agonies were unbearable. The rest of us endure those aches which hurt the very core of our being; and what is more, we shall continue to so suffer till the day we are carried away to our cremations.
This pain has to be assuaged. The Congress Party which ordered the war against Srilankan Tamils and Dravidian Parties which the tacitly acquiesced to the conduct of this war have to atone for the killing of Tamilians in Srilanka.
History will not forgive us if we do not do so. It did not forgive us when the East India Company used Tamil soldiers for crushing the anti British resistance movement in South India. 73 Carnatic Infantry was raised in Thiruchirappalli entirely with Tamil people in 1776. In 1799 this unit, rechristened as 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Madras Native Infantry was part of a force which captured the Srirangapatna Fort. Under the orders of Governor General Richard Wellesley every one found inside the Fort was put to the sword and Srirangapatna town was plundered.
This event was not regretted for by the Tamil society and as a consequence India was brought to its knees and suffered the ignominy of being slaves of the British for the next 150 years.
The same unit, now as 2nd Battalion the Madras Regiment led the attack against Tamils in Srilanka. They decimated the unarmed and lightly armed Tamil population between 1987 and 90 and set the stage for the mass genocide of the Tamils by the Srilankan Army in 2009.
The guilt in the conscience of the military veterans of Tamil Nadu is deep and is being exacerbated day after day by recent events. Hence the profound desire among them to seek forgiveness from the Tamils of Srilanka and their decision to make amends.
The blame for the woes of the Tamils of Srilanka rests squarely on the shoulders of the Congress party and its then leader Rajiv Gandhi and also on all the leaders of all the Dravidian parties of Tamil Nadu personified by Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha.
It is undeniable that the Bofors scandal was at the root of the anguish suffered by the Tamils of Srilanka. Rajiv Gandhi’s larceny had been exposed. Instead of returning the money and resigning in the spirit of a good national leader Rajiv Gandhi tried to divert the attention of the nation by involving the Army in Srilanka. Karunanidhi and Jayalalaitha, in their own way, ensured the support of Dravidians for Rajiv Gandhi much against the will of the Tamil people.
But neither Rajiv Gandhi nor Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha could match the devious and deceitful cunning of Jayawardhane or Premadasa, the then Srilankan leaders who managed to twist and turn the events in such a way that the Tamils of Srilanka became the foes of the Indian Army.
Thus unfolded the saddest chapter in the history of the Indian Army and the heartrending saga of cruelty against Srilankan Tamils.
Having said that, there are two important lessons the nation should learn here. The first is that the days when it was believed that war is ‘diplomacy by other means’ are long gone. In this era ‘war is economic activity’ by other means. Before deploying the armed forces the nation has to calculate the monetary profits and losses of the act. The Congress Government under Rajiv Gandhi did not exercise this wisdom. Thus India took economic losses. Worse still, the Indian Armed Forces lost face in the international arena.
The second, and even more important lesson is that our nation’s foreign policy is a matter which has to be well considered and should form part of a long term strategy. While deciding questions of how to deal with other countries our own and the other countrys’ past, present and future should be well studied and analysed. Here too the Congress governments down the ages have proved incompetent.
Soldiers will do what they are ordered to do. The soldiers of the Madras Regiment did their duty and no culpability shall befall on them.
But the full responsibility for the ignominious actions rests with the Congress Party and the Dravidian Parties of Tamil Nadu who have supported the Congress Party. Ironically those parties that deserve to be punished are ruling over the Tamil people.
This is what riles the conscience of the military veterans of Tamil Nadu. This is why we seek the forgiveness of Srilankan Tamils.
The Tamil Nadu State ExServicemen’s Cell is united in its determination to make amends by removing the Congress Party at the Centre and all the Dravidian Parties from power in Tamil Nadu.
We resolve to bring in Bharatiya Janata Party governments at all levels and provide succour to the Tamils of Srilanka.
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