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Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
( November 5, 2014, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) Recently the following response was
invoked in relation to the caste issue within the Tamil community:
‘In the late 1960s there was the famous Maviddapuram temple
entry case where Chellappah Suntheralingam MP of the Vellala caste opposed the
entry of Harijans to the temple while the then Superintendent of Police, Jaffna
Ramachandra Sunderalingam supported the right of the Harijans to enter the
place. The press reported this under the headline 'BATTLE OF THE SUNS.' The
police won the case if I remember right. General Secretary of the Ceylon
Communist Party (Maoist) N. Shanmugathasan also backed the Harijans.
The 'elite castes' looked down upon not only the Harijans but
also hill country Tamils of Indian origin and Batticaloa Tamils.’
My response to the above included the following:
[The above picture of Mr. Sutharalingam confirms the personal
family background in which Mr. Suntharalingam was groomed to be a leader. To
the extent of that inheritance Mr. Suntharalingam owed a debt to that
hierarchical system. One of his close family members recently disciplined me
through our lawyer for taking my seat allocated to junior lawyers in the
Colombo Court of Appeal! Our lawyer asked me to sit there – because he was
conscious of my high contribution to the law. But not so the Lingam relative! But
I accepted that as part of that system to which I was still officially an
outsider – just like the junior castes that would not have been allowed entry
to the temples. That Mr. Suntharalaingam’s daughter Mrs. Isha (Lingeswari)
Pasupati – comes first and leaves last to organize the monthly Yoga Swami pooja
in Sydney. Most of the menial jobs are done by her and she rarely comes to the
front – even though she has every right to do so not only as founding member of
that group but also as the wife of a leading Tamil – Mr. Samy Pasupati. An
unjust Tamil leader could not have had the honor of fathering such a humble
lady. As I often say – there is often conflict between duty and personal
interests. One who is yet to settle her/his dues to the system which groomed
her/him – is not entitled to express personal Truths.(Yes Minister). I myself
had to renounce the benefits from my official position – to challenge the
official system here in Australia. The punishment included prison and the
mentally ill label – but the opportunities through realisation of the true
needs of Australia – were the real returns – much richer than the benefits
foregone. The current parallels of the two Suntharalingams are President
Rajapaksa and (former) Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. As individuals they
may have lived in harmony – within their own True realities. Politics is one
sided – at that time at that place. Hence it is often habitual and emotional.
So long as such a one sided decision is acceptable to majority – that decision would
go towards maintenance of harmony at that place at that time. It would not work
outside that ‘local’ environment.]
After sharing that with community members I watched again that
particular episode of ‘Yes Minister’ under the heading ‘a clear conscience’
followed by the episode ‘if the right people don’t have power – the wrong
people get it’. The wrong people for the Civil Servant included Politicians and
Voters and the regional governments driven by the politicians and voters. The
senior civil servant also distinguishes between general democracy and ‘British
Democracy’.
I noted this also to be the case in terms of Land Rights and
other issues as follows:
1. Between National Government of Sri Lanka and Provincial
Government in Northern Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan Democracy
2. Between UN and Sri Lanka – American Democracy
When reading the Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘Unsolicited
Tenders (Procurements) For Mega Projects, Create ‘Mega’ Corruption’ by fellow Australian of Lankan
origin – Mr. Upasiri de Silva, I saw in my mind, the picture of subjective
power – i.e.- Australian ‘telling’ Sri Lankan ‘explaining why “Unsolicited
Procurements (Tenders)” can harm the deflated economy of Mother Lanka and
provide “Black Money” to make Rajapaksa family, the richest in Asia.’
The measure is Australian and not Sri Lankan. However weak the
Democratic component in Sri Lankan system may be – Australians do not have
subjective powers over Sri Lankans and v.v. The first duty of a Sri Lankan with
lower status is to separate her/himself and question the authority of the
Australian – including those of Sri Lankan Sinhalese origin. The other way is
to come through global structures. If the author Mr. Upasiri de Silva - had
been asked to write on Australian officials in charge of such tenders – it is
highly likely that he would not get far. This is the reason why many migrants
from Sri Lanka accept racial discrimination in Australia while rejecting it in
Sri Lanka. They are largely here for economic purposes. Our Australian status is
as high as the level at which we discover Truth about us as Australians. I did
so through the University which had new American leadership, progressed to
State Government and proceeded to Federal Government. In terms of Terrorism –
Mr. Howard was listening to his American counterpart – compromising on his
responsibilities to global government through UN structures. The issue of war
refugees was a good opportunity to invest in that system and its higher values.
Mr. Howard compromised and thus lowered our earnings to protect ourselves.
I took the gradual approach – by taking action against
individuals on the basis of Racial Discrimination and then consolidated to the
institutional level. How they took it became their problem once I drew the line
of separation in my mind. As per the Human Resource guidelines, the officials
concerned ought to have separated themselves from me and taken up Equal
position until they knew otherwise on merit basis. Subjective powers could be
used to bring a junior in the system under the senior’s umbrella. But where the
junior had actually completed that role successfully – all work beyond that –
is ownership work and even if that structure does not recognize it – Natural
Powers do. A wise leader would treat the person as a ‘governor’ – with respect
above the administrative hierarchy.
In people rich countries like Sri Lanka and India – this stage
is often reached by the genuine worker more quickly than in money rich
countries like Australia and America. Hence the Australian or American
guidelines would not suit Sri Lanka. If they were to be implemented – Sri
Lankan Government would need to create more jobs at the top and employ
foreigners to operate that part of the system – as the British did. The other
alternative is through ‘service’ by expatriates in their own fields of
expertise – the path I have chosen.
Leaders on both sides of the Sri Lankan war failed to realize
the values of success. This failure was due to their dual systems – one to
receive money and the other to spend money. The two do not meet naturally. The
wider the gap the longer it would take for us to realize peace
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