The Sinhala conquest of the Tamil nation
[Editors note: The Poverty of Michael Roberts’ Enlightened Humanitarianism by Martin White, read over 900 times to date, elicited a number of responses among which were those of Nicolai. It is Nicolai’s last response that Martin White takes up at length here.)
Sorry for my delay, Nicolai. Although events have moved on dramatically in the past few days, your questions, raised in a commendably honest spirit, are relevant and deserve an answer. Please also believe me that I speak respectfully to you even when I am being blunt. But permit me first, if you will, to set the scene. Briefly surveying the Vanni landscape, we find that the ‘outcome’ that Prof. Michael Roberts and others wished for – and in fact urged us all to wish for – has now become a grisly reality. The LTTE, once considered invincible, lies in tatters, its leadership obliterated by Sri Lanka’s victorious Sinhalese troops.
Now that the guns are mercifully silent, the northern Tamil masses, already shell-shocked and traumatized beyond imagination, find themselves locked up indefinitely in cages sealed with barbed wire, surrounded by gun-toting men speaking a foreign language, abducting and killing young men on the slightest suspicion, abusing women and girls as the mood takes them, and hoisting flags all about them that bear the menacing, sword-wielding symbol that represents their own proud, ancient nation.
Be under no illusions, Nicolai: the Sinhala conquest of the Tamil nation is what has been accomplished here. And only fools like our friend Nadesan, a self-professed Tamil who delightedly cheered on the Sinhala occupation forces, and knaves like Roberts (and other closet-colonialists) that provided the bare-faced racists with invaluable ideological cover on the international front, would dare to portray this self-evident reality differently.
I am afraid to say (and I promise I do not mean this unkindly, Nicolai), your questions to me sound hollow in the light of recent events. You list the LTTE’s atrocities (I could, in fact, list many more) and wonder whether I am a card-carrying supporter of the Tigers, and if so how I could claim to be in favor of decency. In the first place, Nicolai, it is not my place to be a supporter of the LTTE or not. That is solely a question for the Tamil people of the north and east, who may well have supported them through gritted teeth and an occasional queasy feeling in their stomachs, but who feared infinitely more so, and shrewdly it turns out, what the Sinhala nation had in store for them.
If you must know, personally I often daydreamed about how wonderful it would have been if Tamil people’s resistance to Sinhalese colonialism and occupation had been (or, I should say, remained) of the Gandhian variety. But then I would remind myself of the words of the great Nelson Mandela, that famous ex-‘terrorist’ of the anti-Apartheid struggle, who once pronounced, with characteristic wisdom, that the mode of struggle of the oppressed is usually determined by the nature of the oppressor.
To return to your question, though, I would despair for mankind if the limit of our moral imagination were simply the ability to list atrocities on both sides of a conflict, and to be content to leave it that. Just imagine you were witness to a horrific rape, Nicolai. What you observe, empirically speaking, is nothing more than two people ‘fighting’ – that’s if you choose, like our professor does, to strip it of its historical context. And yet, irrespective of the extent of the atrocities being committed by both sides, I would be the first to berate you if you failed to take into account that on one side was a rapist and on the other side a rape victim – one side fighting to conquer, the other fighting for independence, if you like.
I, and many others I suspect, would call you a moral pigmy if you failed to recognize that distinction, and I would call you a moral coward if you knew it and yet failed to speak out about it. In other words, though we all understand that aggressors and victims are both capable of behaving atrociously, still we can appreciate that from a moral standpoint the rape victim’s atrocities are not necessarily grounds for contributing to, or welcoming, her defeat.
If we can agree, then, at least that morality is about more than simply listing atrocities, my task is only to prove to you that the Sinhala/Tamil conflict is indeed a rapist/victim, colonialist/anti-colonialist scenario – which is in fact easily done. In case you are unaware of it, I would gladly chart for you the progressive escalation of Sinhalese racism – since Ceylon’s independence from Britain – that has taken us from mere name calling to concentration camps.
To sketch out some of the historical detail: we have gone from anti-Tamil discrimination to state-sponsored anti-Tamil mob violence; to the dismissal of a democratic endorsement of Tamil independence in 1977; to the mobilization of a large Sinhala occupation force to the north; to the massive expansion of the Sinhalese military presence; to one of the most ruthless campaigns ever waged against a civilian population; and finally to one of the most insidious, brutal and degrading occupations of the 21st century.
If that’s not enough for you, Nicolai, I suspect it won’t be too long before the tentacles of this salivating colonial monster (that I characterized in my original essay) begins to seek out its next victims – something the late, great Lasantha Wickramatunge was among the few of his own kind to grasp accurately, way ahead of Sri Lanka’s dopey academic class. Indeed, as the noise of the firecrackers down south begins to recede, and we’re left hearing again the crackling of the still-smoldering remains of Sinhala chauvinism’s latest Tamil victims, I encourage you, Nicolai and Nadesan alike, for your own sakes, to be in no doubt as to what has been unleashed.
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Mr. White, THANK YOU!!!! From a member of the SL Tamil diaspora. I have never come across your writing before, but plan to do so now. It is absolutely brilliant, heartfelt prose. I am moved by your discussion of the moral imagination.
Well said Martin.
Till the government and the majority understand that true political solution is needed to come to sustainable peace, Sri Lanka as a nation will never be free.
I meant peace, not free
This article has spoken extensively on the inability of others to realize that many of the victims who fight in this war do so for reasons perceived as just by them. On the contrary, I think few people fail to realize that the LTTE suicide cadre who blows him/herself up is doing so with the most selfless of intentions – a “higher cause” if you will. The people who manage to convince such a person to do so also have endless, seemingly moral justification for resorting to violence, which they proceed to ram into the head of the said freedom-fighter or suicide-bomber.
But it is not merely the apparently moral justification that we must scrutinize but also the underlying idea and the goal which that idea seems to dictate. The victims of the virulent idea will soon sacrifice themselves for it, dancing to the tune of the puppet-master espousing the idea, as we’ve all come to realize well enough over the past 30 years.
So what is the underlying idea or goal? Take a look at the standard Eelam text box ideas spread by this little essay.
1. “The Sinhala conquest of the Tamil nation”
2. “Sinhala occupation forces”
3. “Sinhala/Tamil conflict is indeed a rapist/victim, colonialist/anti-colonialist scenario” etc. etc.
And thus, the moral poverty of the ideas expressed in this article is laid bare. It is not for equality that this article fights, but for the establishment of a mini racist la-la-land. It is not a fight for a plural society, as any truly moral person would fight for in the 21st century, but a fight for ways and means to justify racial segregation. No amount of “justification” and references to crimes by the “Sinhalese occupying army” can hide the moral paucity of the ideas espoused here.
And thus, the author exemplifies one facet of this problem which stubbornly defies reasonable means of reconciliation: militant Tamil nationalism. Moral absolutes and vilification of the “other” provide a suitably glossy veneer in hiding the underlying, self-righteous racialism of the nationalist, be it Sinhalese or Tamil.
Sri Lanka, warts and all, is based on the notion of a plural society. There is no concept of a “Sinhalese Nation” or a “Tamil Nation” ensconced within it. Certainly, we’ve had teething problems implementing that idea since colonial times. Sinhalese nationalist sentiment and Tamil nationalist sentiment have unleashed themselves, mutually reinforcing each other and claiming as victims, all who stood in its path. The moderates have been valiantly battling those tides, trying to establish the society that any truly moral person in the 21st century must fight for – a plural one.
If you are the true moral stalwart that this article attempts to impress us as being, fight for equality *regardless of race*. Fight for a *plural society*. For the rights of every person who is oppressed.
But that’s not what the fight is for is it?
/Disgusted
This article exemplifies one facet of this problem which stubbornly defies reasonable means of reconciliation: militant Tamil nationalism. Moral absolutes and vilification of the “other” provide a suitably glossy veneer in hiding the underlying, self-righteous racialism of the nationalist, be it Sinhalese or Tamil. Let me clarify.
The author has spoken extensively on the inability of others to realize that many of the victims who fight in this war do so for reasons perceived as just by them. On the contrary, I think few people fail to realize that the LTTE suicide cadre who blows him/herself up is doing so with the most selfless of intentions – a “higher cause” if you will. The people who manage to convince such a person to do so also have endless, seemingly moral justification for resorting to violence, which they proceed to ram into the head of the said freedom-fighter or suicide-bomber.
But it is not merely the apparently moral justification that we must scrutinize but also the underlying idea and the goal which that idea seems to dictate. The victims of the virulent idea will soon sacrifice themselves for it, dancing to the tune of the puppet-master espousing the idea, as we’ve all come to realize well enough over the past 30 years.
So what is the underlying idea or goal? Take a look at the standard Eelam text box ideas spread by this little essay: “The Sinhala conquest of the Tamil nation”, “Sinhala occupation forces”, “Sinhala/Tamil conflict is indeed a rapist/victim, colonialist/anti-colonialist scenario” etc. etc.
And thus, the moral poverty of the ideas expressed in this article is laid bare. It is not for equality that this article fights, but for the establishment of a mini racist la-la-land. It is not a fight for a plural society, as any truly moral person would fight for in the 21st century, but a fight for ways and means to justify racial segregation. No amount of “justification” and references to crimes by the “Sinhalese occupying army” can hide the moral paucity of the ideas espoused here.
Sri Lanka, warts and all, is based on the notion of a plural society. There is no concept of a “Sinhalese Nation” or a “Tamil Nation” ensconced within it. Certainly, we’ve had teething problems implementing that idea since colonial times. Sinhalese nationalist sentiment and Tamil nationalist sentiment have unleashed themselves, mutually reinforcing each other and claiming as victims, all who stood in its path. The moderates have been valiantly battling those tides, trying to establish the society that we ought to be fighting for – a plural one.
If you are the true moral stalwart that this article attempts to impress us as being, fight for equality *regardless of race*. Fight for a *plural society*. For the rights of every person who is oppressed.
But that’s not what the fight is for is it?
Martin, most of the examples of discrimination and alleged persecution you cite are a result of the war, not a cause.
The IDP camps, which you brandish as the strongest of your examples, cannot have free movement for the people in them until a screeening process has been completed. Would you have the government just let them go as soon as they walk out of the war zone? What’s to prevent the fighters from mingling with the population in that case and regrouping later? The UN head is backing the government on this. He has said that the security measures are justified because there’s probably at least a hundred or two hundred fighters in there. (http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/638504)
There were four main issues before the war started: education, employment, development and colonization. Read here Pradeep Jeganathan’s analysis of the state of those issues.
http://www.pjeganathan.org/south-paw/2009/5/17/sri-lankas-conflict-an-interview-with-pact-part-iii.html
This commentary amply demonstrates that the moral depravity on the part of the author is likely of a higher level than that of Michael Roberts whom he criticizes – although I certainly don’t agree with everything Roberts stands for. Labeling others as moral pygmies is a further sign of his lack of maturity and wisdom.
It is precisely people like Maritn White who are responsible for fueling the fires of outdated nationalistic emotions among educated people. The “rapist-victim” metaphor is first of all only a metaphor not a fact and as “Somewhat disguested” has clearly pointed out is the classic metaphor of “othering” relationships between people at all levels. While this relationship might characterise some people’s relationships in all societies, including in Sri Lanka, unfortunately for people like Martin White, most people’s relationships are not that morally depraved. Human beings can communicate across cultural, religious, ethnic and gender divides when they set their minds to it.
And it is our responsibility to encourage that communication by our writing – rather than alienating people like me, who have always stood for a federal solution (peaceful co-existence and power sharing) in Sri Lanka, and others who might be persuaded to do so if people like Martin White stop writing their hate speeches.
What Mr. White does not seem to grasp is that although the two ethnic groups might be polarized today, we have existed peacefully at various other times in our centuries of history and it is possible to do so if our leaders and people commit themselves to doing so. However much extremists might try to construct two separate ethnic communities with two different histories, the fact is that we are islanders who lived at the crossroads of sea routes for centuries – while Tamil, Sinhala or English-speaking today, we have different degrees of Vedda, Tamil, Sinhala, Arab, Malay, Portuguese, Dutch and British ancestry and histories within us and denying one or the other ultimately impoverishes us.
We need to build on our commonalities not deny them, as Mr White (what an appropriate name for someone espousing racist ideas!) does. My advice to you Mr. White – start thinking grey for a change – not black and white and maybe we can start finding solutions out of the box that people like you put people into.
Thank you Mr. White,
I have not read your work but i will in the future. Absolutely great writing and extremely analytical. It does not matter if many do not agree with you. The need of the hour is to give a hearing to others views as well.
MANY THANKS FOR THE OTHER “COMMENTORS”, Keep the dialogue of diverse views going. If we keep communicating with sincerety and tenacity, we will see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Mr White, people like you who utter words like Sinhala nation and Tamil nation has been the curse of our island. Devising people with heinous notions of division ruining peoples lives. Bitter lessons were learnt through this whole war. Those lessons are specific to each individual depending how they were involved in the conflict so I’m not gonna state what they are.
You sound to me as a racist Tamil with burning desire for the Eelam still. Your disappointment in the LTTE getting decimated is ringing throughout this prose.
The real victims here were the innocent people who were just pawns of thought schools like yours.
If war is still what you’re seeking. Pick up guns again. No guns or bombs scare us anymore. DO TRY!
Let us cut to the chase.
What are the sinhalese willing to give to the tamils?. This is the question on which the future of the country hinges. Post mortems on who did what to whom is useless.,We cant get the 100,000 killed back, nor can we regain the place where ceylon was at independance vis a vis the other nations in south asia by these debates. The behaviour of the government in the last week, does not give us tamils any confidence in the future shared or otherwise. As I have said on several other previous posts it is upto the sinhalese to now come up with a proposal we cant refuse, or try to implement the final solution that the sinhala nationalist want. However in the modern world this is called genocide and as a race you will be tarred with it for eternity. Gothabhaya’s recent interview, and kohona’s disapointment that the world is not congratulating them on their great victory is just the beginning. In the mean time we the tamils have to look at our behaviour in the past and try to improve it and carry forward the struggle till either we are wiped out or get self determination.
Dear vanangamanithan, well well.. if that’s genocide then by golly every single country that has ever waged war or defended itself in war is guilty of genocide. Just because these LTTE sympathisers beat up genocide drums does not change the facts or the ground situation! Please access UN and other databases of civilian casualty figures in various modern conflicts. You’d realise most of you Tamil diaspora are living in far atrocious countries!
LTTE declared a war on the Sri Lankan people. SL Gov was in fact the defenders not aggressors. The final aggression was a tactical move to eliminate the threat. Which any state is entitled to do and should do. And people die in war – so those who think they can protect “their” people with arms should revise their strategy instead of acting like racist fools. At least they bloody well should have known that people fight back just the way they felt compelled to fight.
Point is when LTTE used to slaughter people in border villages and ethnically cleanse them or kill innocent civilians in cold bloody using suicide bombers or over run then poorly trained army bases and massacre soldiers in cold blood. We didn’t cry! We went back to the drawing boards and waged the war that was served to us. Rest is history! We can replay this whole episode over and over if there are people who just don’t get the point.
That’s why I always believe peaceful means are the win win solutions even though it may not get you anything. All LTTE had to do was to be reasonable and genuine during peace talks. In war you lose everything.
I meant..
That’s why I always believe peaceful means are the win win solutions even though it may not get you “everything”
@ Martin White
“find themselves locked up indefinitely in cages sealed with barbed wire, surrounded by gun-toting men speaking a foreign language, abducting and killing young men on the slightest suspicion, abusing women and girls as the mood takes them, and hoisting flags all about them that bear the menacing, sword-wielding symbol that represents their own proud, ancient nation.”
This shows how much distorted is you picture about current affairs and how you have become the trumpet of LTTE. I’ll list my reaction to your dubious comments in order.
1. How are you sure that Tamil people people will be behind barbed wire for eternity? You possess a god-given power to foresee in to the future? There are half a million mines in the area. Until they are cleared these people cannot return to their homes.
2. Abducting and killing young men – What would you do to the LTTE carders who are mixed with the civilians? Let them go free? Then ask USA to free the Al Queda prisoners as well.
3. bear the menacing, sword-wielding symbol – And you have been having selective amnesia to realize that LTTE flag had a Tiger with a background of two guns! How menacing was that.
And on final note, no where in the history of Sri Lanka there was a Tamil Nation. SL had only one nation, that is Sri Lankan nation. Tamils are another race who live in this country.
Wrong question, Mr. Vanangamanithan. It needs to be which Sinhalese are going to offer which Tamils what, and which Tamils are going to do what, given the current situation? I also pity you for being able to think of only two options to face the current dilemma – self-annihilation or self-determination. And if you think a bit more rationally it would be obvious to you that even if all Sinhalese were to want that (and those I know don’t) they will be unable “to wipe out” (your words, not mine) all the Tamils in Sri Lanka and the diaspora plus the 60 million Tamils in South India. If people choose the wrong means to achieve their ends, they eventually have to pay for it – whether they happen to be Sinhalese, Tamil or any other extremists. The majority of South Indian Tamils, for example, showed what they wanted by the way they voted in the last Indian elections.
Recent developments in the world showed us the hardships faced by people even in high positions due to scarcity of cash. Even a three hundred year tradition maintained by the British Parliament was thrown over board due
involment in the defence of sordid money affairs.The LTTE knew very well how to exploit the timely situation created by the worldly recession to their advantge.They had the most needed cash to oil the palms of all the Lawyers,Writers and Politicians and turn the world opinion in their favour. What we saw and what we still see how the whole revolted against the Government of Sri Lanka (to save the terrorist LTTE) is the a result of the oiling of palms.Best the for Sri Lankans now is to enjoy the fruits of the hard won freedom and ignore all the rumblings.
Dear Observer
We the tamils will wait patiently to see how this plays out. The demand for Devolution and self government will not go away. in fact the events of the last six months have made us more determined. The Demise of the LTTE has removed the last impediment for us to get greater support from the democratic world. As I said in the earlier post, you have to come up with your solution now. You have no more excuses.
““find themselves locked up indefinitely in cages sealed with barbed wire, surrounded by gun-toting men speaking a foreign language, abducting and killing young men on the slightest suspicion, abusing women and girls as the mood takes them, and hoisting flags all about them that bear the menacing, sword-wielding symbol that represents their own proud, ancient nation.”
Well said. I couldn’t agree more. As I have mentioned elsewhere, these people lack the benefit of any institutions. They have absolutely nothing to fall back on. The Sri Lankan Government will not protect them. The Sri Lankan military will certainly not protect them. Their safety, to some extent, is guaranteed by UN protocols, but the Sri Lankan Government has denied them even this right. What is worse is that while they are stuck in these camps, their land, homes, and other properties have been confiscated by the Sri Lankan Government.
“What are the sinhalese willing to give to the tamils?”
Even though all of us know the answer to that question, none will take adequate measures to find a better solution. Here is the short answer to that question:
(I) Colonization
(2) High-security zones on top of prime agricultural farmland
(3) Prevention of Terrorism Act (applied exclusively to Tamils)
(4) A perpetual military presence
(5) Lack of equal employment and educational opportunities
(6) Kidnappings, torture, rape, execution, mass graves
With the sole exception of Ranil Wickremasinghe, who happened to be a Christian, this is what every Sinhala-Buddhist President has offered the Tamils for 60 years. The international community is wasting time beating around the bush funding silly detention camps which it barely has access to. It should impose economic sanctions against Sri Lanka until there is a regime change (if regime change is even possible). If that doesn’t work, then NATO needs to get involved. The Tamils can return to their own lands and homes, a demarcation line can be drawn, and the protection of borders assigned to NATO soldiers.
By the way, I have read on a different blog that after the “final battle” the Sri Lankan Government killed more than 10,000 Tamils (including wounded militants) burned their bodies, and dumped the ashes into the sea. It does not take a great leap of logic to observe that the Sri Lankan Government is mortally afraid of the LTTE, and will resort to murdering any number of Tamils, given the possibility of association between the two.
Finally, I believe China and Russia need to be kicked off the UN Security Council. Particularly China, with its record of atrocities in Tibet, has no right to shield its allies from Western scrutiny.
The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi and the Tamil Congress were the first to have racist names for political parties. The 1949 Maradana declaration of the Arasu Kadchi called for “driving out the invaders from the Tamil homelands”. That was in effect a war cry which was put into place more definitely in the Vadukkoddai resolution. So we Tamils declared war. The TULF got a vote from the Tamils in 1977 even to push for separation. But Amirthalingama and JRJayawardena managed to come up with a solution – and he was assassinated by the LTTE. The assassins of the TULF cannot claim to inherit the vote of 1977. If the TULF leadership had not been killed, they would have found an honorable solution without the bloodshed. Now, we have lost. The only hope is that the Victor is magnanimous. My grandparents lived in Mavattipuram. But I live in Mt Lavinia and I think this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society is far better than the mono-ethnic Apartheid type “exclusive Tamil Homeland” that Mr. White (not a Tamil even by name ?) espouses. There are Tamils with non-Tamil names like “Roberts”, “Wakeley Paul”, Phillips, Gomez, Edwards, “Lena” Martensz, etc., but this is the first time I have come across the name “White” among Tamils. Mr Martin White is indeed a rare breed. His rape analogy is a straw enemy he erects so that he can wax eloquent about an inappropriate paradigm. He thinks calling some one a Knave is enough to dissipate an argument! Rare breed indeed.
I do not know what right this UK people have regarding Sri Lanka. Sinhalese writers, Journalist look how these “…..” bullying us using the LTTE issue to attack Sinhalese.
We Singhalese have only one Country that is Sri Lanka. Tamils are a minority in Sri Lanka. They have to abide the Countries law as other minority ethnic fractions. We cannot give them our land. Tamils shall go back to Tamil Nadu if they want a separate state.
Did UK give up Northern Ireland to Ireland? Did Israel give up occupied lands back to Arabs? They US and UK attacked Iraq and justified killing thousands of Iraqis to find WMD which has never been found. This UK “…..” justifies all these and harasses us.
Sinhalese writers, Journalist shall attack these bullies. Wake up !!!!!!!!!
This is a fascinating article (an Indian view) written by an ex-Indian Diplomat who served in Sri Lanka sometime ago – if you thought that the Tamil Tigers were a local problem then this writer dispels the myth totally and alludes to the role that India played and the changing political fortunes of the time in the south Asia region. A very good article written in empathetic style that is meant to lance the collective conscience of India.
For those of you who are unaware of the Munroe doctrine that is referred to in this article check this link after reading the article:
http://en.wikipedia..org/wiki/Monroe_Doctrine
Blood on our hands, but this too shall pass
M K Bhadrakumar
May 19, 2009
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran’s [Images]death circa May 19, 2009, in circumstances we would never quite get to know, concludes a morality play.
As the curtain comes down and we leave the theatre, the spectacle continues to haunt us. We feel a deep unease and can’t quite figure out the reason. Something rankles somewhere. And then we realise we have blood on our hands.
Not only our hands, but our whole body and deeper down, our conscience — what remains of it after the mundane battles of our day-to-day life �is also dripping with blood.
Prabhakaran’s blood. No, it is not only Prabhakaran’s, but also of 70,000 Sri Lankan Tamils who have perished in the unspeakable violence through the past quarter century.
All the pujas we may perform to our favourite Lord Ganesh [Images]each morning and evening religiously before we march ahead in our life from success to success cannot wash away the guilt we are bearing — the curse of the 70,000 dead souls.
Our children and grandchildren will surely inherit the great curse. Oh, God, what a bitter legacy!
A long time ago, we created Prabhakaran. We picked him up as an urchin from nowhere. What we found charming about him was that he was so thoroughly apolitical — almost innocent about politics. He was a simpleton in many ways, who had a passion for weapons and the military regimen. He suited our needs perfectly.
Which was to humiliate the J R Jayewardene government in Sri Lanka [Images]and teach it a hard lesson about the dangers of being disrespectful to India’s status as the pre-eminent power in the Indian Ocean. Jayewardene was too Western-oriented and behaved as if he never read about the Munroe Doctrine when he read history in Oxford. We didn’t like at all his dalliance with the Israelis and the Americans in our very backyard.
So, we fostered Prabhakaran and built him up as a pinprick on Jayewardene’s vanities — as a Bhindranwale of the Deccan.
Then, as time passed, we decided that he had outlived his utility as we had come to develop an entirely different outlook towards the pro-Western orientation of the Colombo government by that time. Our egotistic leader in New Delhi [Images]who detested Jayewardene was no more in power and the new soft-spoken leader didn’t share his predecessor’s strong political antipathies.
So, we arm-twisted Prabhakaran to tone down and fall in line with our changed priorities. But we didn’t realise that by then he had become a fully-grown adult.
He resisted our blackmail and pressure tactic. When we pressured him even more and tried to collar him, he struck back. He dispatched assassins to India and killed our beloved leader. And he became our eternal enemy.
Yet, we couldn’t do anything to harm him. He had already become so strong — an uncrowned king among his people. So we waited. We are a patient lot. Who can match us in infinite patience, given our 5000 years of history? Our cosmic religion gives us a unique wisdom to be patient and stoical and to bide our time.
And then, the opportune time came. We promptly moved in for the kill by aligning ourselves with Prabhakaran’s enemies. We armed them and trained them in better skills to kill. We guided them with good intelligence. We plugged all escape routes for Prabhakaran. And then, we patiently waited as the noose tightened around Prabhakaran’s neck.
Today he is no more. Believe it or not, we had no role in his death. How and when he died shall forever remain an enigma wrapped in a mystery. We will of course never divulge what we know.
All that matters is that the world woke up to the death only after the May 13 polling in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Otherwise, the parliamentary election results may have gone haywire against us. Strange are the ways of the Indian democracy.
We have had our revenge. Nothing else matters for the present.
What lies ahead? We will continue to make noises about a “political solution” to the Tamil problem that Prabhkaran championed through violent means.
Of course, let there be no doubt that we will periodically render humanitarian assistance to the hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians who have been herded into camps and may languish there till the dust settles down. We will demonstrate that we are indeed capable of the milk of human kindness. After all, the Sri Lankan Tamils are part of our historical consciousness.
But we must also be realistic. We know in our heart of hearts that the scope for a political solution in the fashion in which our leaders seem to suggest publicly is virtually nil.
The Sinhalese will never allow the world to dictate to them a political solution. More so, they will promptly and conclusively rebuff any attempt by us to seek a role in what they will now onward insist as strictly their internal affair.
Always remember that Sri Lanka is the last bastion of Theravada Buddhism and preserving that legacy is the Sinhalese people’s precious tryst with destiny. At least, that is how they feel. We have to accept the weight of their cultural nationalism.
They see Sri Lanka as the land of the Sinhalese. How would they allow us Indians who wiped out Buddhism with such ferocity from the subcontinent interfere with their keen sense of destiny as the custodians of that very same great religion? Never, never.
If we try to pressure the Sinhalese, they will approach the Chinese or the Pakistanis to balance our pressure. They are capable of doing that.
The Sinhalese are a gifted people. We all know few can never match their terrific skills in media management. They have always lived by their wits.
Equally, they are fantastic practitioners of diplomacy. We suspect that they may in fact have an edge over us on this front, for unlike us who are dissimulating from day to day as if we’re a responsible regional power and dissipating our energies in pastimes such as hunting down Somalian pirates in distant seas, they are a highly focused lot.
They have the grit because they are fighting for the preservation of their country’s future identity as a Buddhist nation.
Only last week, they showed their diplomatic skill by getting the Russians and the Chinese to stall a move in the United Nations Security Council to pressure them.
The Europeans fancy they can try the Sinhalese for war crimes. What naivety!
We asked the Sinhalese in private many a time how they proposed to navigate their way in the coming period. They wouldn’t divulge.
But we know that it is not as if they have no solution of their own to the Tamil problem, either. We know they already have a blueprint.
See, they have already solved the Tamil problem in the eastern provinces of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara. The Tamils are no more the majority community in those provinces.
Similarly, from tomorrow, they will commence a concerted, steady colonisation programme of the northern provinces where Prabhakaran reigned supreme for two decades. They will ensure incrementally that the northern regions no more remain as Tamil provinces.
The Tamils will be made into a minority community in their own northern homelands. They will have to live among the newly created Sinhalese settlements in those regions to the north of Elephant Pass.
All this will indeed be within Sri Lanka’s “federal structure”. Sri Lanka will continue to adhere to parliamentary democracy.
Give them a decade at the most. The Tamil problem will become a relic of the bloody history of the Indian subcontinent.
The Sinhalese are good friends of India. Our elite and their elite speak the same idiom. We both speak good English, play golf and like chilled beer. We should, therefore, wish them well.
As for the blood on our hands, true, it is a nuisance. But this is not the first time in our history that we’re having blood on our hands.
Trust our words. No lasting harm will be done. Blood doesn’t leave stains.
(The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served in Sri Lanka in the 1980s)
I think I have missed something when I learnt history… which Tamil Nation are we talking about in this article…? From what I know, Sri Lanka is a single nation where Sinhala, Tamil [+ Colombo Chetti], muslim, Burger, Malay.. all these people live.
Nayana!
You have articulated very well the right way forward. This is what your army commander said a while ago. Sri Lanka is a Sinhalese State. If the tamils and the other minirities want to live ther, They better learn to behave.
Bravo.
Tamils have grievances and the world knows it including Sinhalese.Past is past
and the future is shaped through a learning process acquired by the knowledge
of experience and education.The whole world is today in need of peace.While
there’s no guarantee that the govt will give everything Tamils want,equally no
guarantee Tamils will agree to everything on offer.All communities will have to
work really really harder to achieve some result.All three major communities have a history of their contribution towards the beauty of then Ceylon.As it is
the govt that has taken up the responsibility to bring the country back to where
it was, they are the ones to be generous.
Thank you, Mr Bhadrakumar! You have stated very clearly the history behind the Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka and framed the problem in an excellent and realistic manner. I wish that tamils living outside Sri Lanka (proTiger diaspora) would read this article and realize that their chest beating and war cries are all wasted counterproductive efforts. They should instead start directing their money and energies to get into profitable commercial ventures from their locations while working with folks back in Sri Lanka.
If we ask any expert anthopologist who knows about Sri Lanka about the origins of Sinhalese and Tamils they would say unhesitatingly that the two peoples are identical and have mixed a lot. The racial/ethnic differences have arisen over the last few hundred years. Buddhism is recognized world over as an excellent philosophy for human conduct. It is now preached in the US (at UC Berkeley) not as a religion but as a philosophy that could easily coexist with other religions like christianity, islam, etc. Buddhism has a lot in common with hinduism too – similar to christianity and judaism. If the extremist sinhala-buddhists could be rehabilitated (in some camp) the whole nation could go forward as one people with no conflict due to language or religion. I am a tamil who does not speak tamil but sinhalese and english – who am I in Sri Lanka? There are many people like me caught in a no man’s land due to this stupid conflict. I am a christian but I value the contributions that the buddhist culture has made to the type of christianity practiced in Sri Lanka — which is very different from the materialistic cult type christianity practiced mostly in the west. Whether we have the labels sinhalese tamil hindu or buddhist stuck on us we are all one people and could get along — as long as powerful forces in the world let us do that!
vanangamanithan >>
You asked: “What are the sinhalese willing to give to the tamils?”
The Sinhalese should give Tamils equality, nothing more, nothing less.
You would be absolutely correct in not expecting anything less.
If you are expecting anything more, it’s only your own racialism which dictates it, and you are pretty much on your own fighting for such primitive ideals in a modern day and age.
Dear Bemused observer
What exactly is the equality that you talk about.? Please enlighten us. Then look at the past actions of the goverment and tell me if there is any equality in any of their actions to date since independance.If you think your government has given equality you are deluded. If you have the guts to do so have a free referandum among the tamils and see if they think what they have from you is equality.
vanangamanithan >>
Why jump the gun? Where did I say there weren’t problems? If you’re quite down with jumping to conclusions, you might want to look at the problems in Sri Lanka today with fresh eyes. Your 60 year old “grievances” are no longer the reality, and the things that need to be addressed today are entirely different. The sooner you realize that and get your mind out of mythical 17th century kingdoms (yes, Tamil and Sinhala nationalists have both had a nasty habit of manufacturing their own versions of history), the better.
And I’m answering your question of what you ought to expect. Your expectations and fight should be for equality, not for some silly Eelam, which is what has brought neither to you.
The struggle for equality and dignity is the nobler and more diffcult path. The struggle for Eelam on the other hand, is the baser and easier path. It is no wonder that a good many people will go for the latter than the former. it takes character, strength, and wisdom, such as that of the Dalai Lama, to take the high road of non-violence. Look at how he addressed the Chinese people before the Olympics:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.220.htm
That is what is called leadership.
“Pragmatist” tells us of the dilemma of having a mixed identity in Sri Lanka. He is actually fortunate. The rest of the people in this country are as mixed as he or she is but most are on denial. Every Tamil has a Sinhalese in him. Every Sinhalese has a Tamil in her. If we keep hating, labeling and killing the other, all we do is hate, label and kill part of ourselves.
Dear Mr. White.,
“The Sinhala conquest of the Tamil nation”. It is correctly said, I believe.
Because it is virtually 100% Sinhalese army marched in to the Thamil areas. This summarises the whole situation.
All that harbor great hate towards the Sinhalese, feel resentful about the crushing of LTTE, don’t be dismayed. This is a huge victory for the present of Sinhalese yet a small one in the long term. I know very well that the numbers don’t stack up well for us Sinhalese. Statistically it’s a certain and Buddha has fore concluded this outcome. We’re well aware of our march to extinction (carrying the last flames of Buddhism to our grave, as the keen eyed ex-Indian ambassador noted). It is our fate. When the Sinhalese’ time comes to face their great enemy (sooner or later it is inevitable, whoever the adversary that maybe – it could very well be you racist tamil nationalist lot seeking a country coming back bigger and stronger) outnumbered and over whelmed with superior fire power, we will pick up arms and whatever else that is available to defend ourselves too, in vein. Roles reversed..sigh…
Remember one thing though.. we won’t cry to the world to save us. UN need not convene in emergency sessions nor it will matter to us. Like Veera Kappetipola each one of us will beg to be beheaded before our fellow brother or sister. We will be wiped out to extinction. Don’t bother to remember the Sinhala race after that. Rejoice and roam our lands and enjoy Eelam or whatever nations you desire after that. We won’t be here to care anymore. May our slayers be well in the future that follows. No hard feelings after all. Let’s try and maintain some peace until then even for a short period. Time we have here is precious.
If “Dear Mr. White” is right, all the Sinhalese extremists can die in peace knowing that their “Sinhalese” genetic material is passed on safely to the next generations by their “Tamil” brothers and sisters. What does it matter really – in the very long run, the whole human species is bound for extinction. Long live the cockroaches – they shall inherit the earth!
However, there is another scenario that we might envisage. All the irrational people on both sides of this puny Sri Lankan conflict kill off each other. The rational and humane among our children or grandchildren survive. They will reject all this tribalist nonsense and work towards buidling a South Asian community with our neighbours. It will be the second largest block in the world, and th only one capable of standing up to or cooperating with China to make the world a better place for those who want to try at making a brighter future.
Humanist you got one thing wrong, you’re Sinhalese by heart, not by blood! I know Tamil brethren who are more Sinhalese than some “blood Sinhalese”.
Anyway I wasn’t advocating that we kill each other. Just hold on to peace until the inevitable dawns upon us. Nothing is forever.
The point I am trying to make is that there are no Sinhalese or Tamils by “blood” (or even by “genes” – the more scientific idea) in Sri Lanka. Talking about blood is totally outdated. Blood comes in several types all over the world – A, B, AB and O. All human “hearts” I think are made out of the same physical material as well. And we all experience very similar “human” feelings with our hearts.
We are all born into an ethnic “category” by virtue of being born to our parents. Mine happen to come “officially” from one ethnic group in Sri Lanka – I’ll keep you guessing on which one that is! However, I have studied the history and culture of Sri Lanka and it is very clear that we are all a mixed people. I for one am glad knowing that I am part of this mixed Vedda, Sinhala, Tamil, Arab, Malay and European heritage – that is what makes us “gifted” as the Indian diplomat rather ironically observed, especially when we are not fighting each other. If more people understood this, I think we can start thinking of the real problems in this world- like poverty, hunger and disease- which certainly are not ethnic but human problems. Perhaps we can even start thinking of ourselves as South Asians, so that we are better placed in the geopolitics of the world.
Here’s a story reported from an IDP camp. This should help open the eyes of those who may still wish to unleash more terror in SL:
“After receiving first aid, her pale eyes became a little clearer. With three children living abroad, ‘Eswari’ was trapped in LTTE captivity for months from where she escaped death miraculously.
“Emmidam ippodu edurume illai” (Now we do not have anything) she murmured. The tears were dried up, but she was weeping.
A retired government teacher begged: “ Please do not quote me. My children are living abroad”.
I met some more hostages whose kith and kin are living abroad. And it struck me they had contributed their hard earned money for this agony and destruction of their own people.
Those who willingly or unwillingly made their contributions to the LTTE might not dream of hearing or seeing this tragic scenario again.
Murugesu too crossed the lagoon at last. He had big dreams for his children. But when the offensives were getting tougher and the terrorists were getting more fierce on those fleeing, he dropped those dreams and lived only to see a day that he could cross the lagoon of Nandi Kadal. “
“This should help open the eyes of those who may still wish to unleash more terror in SL:”
Only party still unleashing terror in Sri Lanka today is the government.
Hello Martin White:
Thank you for your response and also for your history lesson. It is all part of my quest to find out the truth. I am lucky enough to be here in Sri Lanka with an open and moderate mind.
No I will not be reading the Daily Lies (uhm I mean News), Defence.lk or Tamilnet. I will be figuring out my own “Ground Views”. Give me a couple of years and I will get back to you on the “moral pygmy” topic.
Hi Humanist and Pragmatist, you guys make some sense to our conflict, I totally agree with you and I hope there are more Sri Lankans like you guys. As I studied bit of Sri Lankan history and I came to the same conclusion, that we all are a mixed people, especially Sinhalese and Tamils from vedic time. So if we can educate hard line Sinhalese who think they are so ” lion blooded” and tamils who think they are much better human being than Sinhalese, that we all are from same stem.
People like Mr.White and some famous figures like MIA and Jena jananayagam are not helping the cause, its seems to me that they not trying bring us together but divide us, with some certain issues. As a matter of fact I like how M.I.A’s dad thinks and how he wanted do things in those days and would wanna do certain thing in the near future.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=42105
_____________________________________________________________
That is what is called leadership.
“Pragmatist” tells us of the dilemma of having a mixed identity in Sri Lanka. He is actually fortunate. The rest of the people in this country are as mixed as he or she is but most are on denial. Every Tamil has a Sinhalese in him. Every Sinhalese has a Tamil in her. If we keep hating, labeling and killing the other, all we do is hate, label and kill part of ourselves.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well said humanist!!!!
Im trying to explain these things to my friends and family, some are agree with some aren’t but all of them wanna stop hating each other and find a solution to this conflict and live in harmony as a one nation. Any humanist or Pragmatist wanna contact me… plz do…
Dude_Da_Casanova@yahoo.co.uk