Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

24  September   2016

Who Endorses Whom?

Pushpa Muthumala, my friend and colleague during our training at Satchithananda Schokman, Wijeratne & CO, Chartered Accountants said that I was successful. That made me happy. There was relativity in it through herself. This would mean that our mind-orders were common in regards to assessing my achievements as a professional. Satchithananda Schokman, Wijeratne & CO where Pushpa and I had common experiences, is now called Price Waterhouse Coopers but to me and Pushpa and many others who value their experiences at that time at that place that institution is Satchithananda Schokman, Wijeratne & CO. We form various parts of that Institution. We endorse others and others endorse us. These endorsements are usually based on our experiences back then. Pushpa, by sharing with me as an individual supported me during the times I felt upset, hurt and sometimes ‘lost’. We thus had common experiences. Pushpa was there at the hospital when I had my first child. Pushpa’s friend Roshi and Jerry (a high status doctor) – came to the hospital to value me. I can picture these as if I had the experience just yesterday. They are all non-Tamils and back then we did not have to take positions as Tamils and Sinhalese. Now Pushpa is with her husband Muthu who is not very well. Being the soft person that Pushpa is it must be hard for her to take the lead role over a person like Muthu who worked for the UN. I felt that Pushpa needed my strength as an independent person and one of the ways in which I shared my strength was by accepting wholeheartedly, Pushpa’s assessment of myself as a successful person. I believe that when that happens – the Energies of motivation merge.

Manekshaw of Colombo Telegraph expresses endorsement of leading Tamils as follows:

‘Chief Justice K. Sripavan graced the annual prize giving of his alma mater, Jaffna Hindu College as the Chief Guest last Monday (19). Sripavan is the second Old Boy of Jaffna Hindu College to become the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka after late S. Sharvananda.

Jaffna Hindu College being one of the premier educational institutions in the North, the school celebrated its 125th anniversary last year.

Apart from Sripavan and late Sharvananda, Jaffna Hindu College has also produced several legal giants such as late Senator S .Nadesan QC and former Attorney General Siva Pasupathy.
Not only in the legal fraternity even in the fields of engineering and medicine several leading figures in the island as well as abroad remain as the proud products of Jaffna Hindu College.’

All of the above are part of the ‘official system’ and hence the assessment is ‘official’ rather than experience based. The report continues as follows:

‘…… It was not only these three teachers even late Senator S.R. Kanaganayagam, the father of legal luminary President's Counsel Kanag Easwaran, was a teacher at Ananda College before his entry into the legal profession.
The Head Master of the Primary School of Ananda College late V.T.S. Sivagurunathan even was an Old Boy of Jaffna Hindu College.

Chief Justice K. Sripavan speaking at the colourful event held at Kingsbury, Colombo in May this year in the presence of a large number of distinguished Old Boys of Ananda College, Colombo and Jaffna Hindu College praised the initiative taken by the Old Boys of both schools with farsightedness to organize the event to promote reconciliation between the North and the South.

‘Emphasizing the need of strengthening the unity and integrity in the country Chief Justice Sripavan said: "We should try to find out what it is that we want and, when once we know it, if we are firm in our view, and remain united there is nothing impossible for human beings to achieve. Bridges can be easily smashed but not so easily built, and the emotional and psychological bridges of life are far harder to rebuild and they also leave scars behind.

reflection ofconfusion

It is because we are divided, fighting one with another, undisciplined in our nature and not united, that we have all the confusion that we come across in this country. The confusion in this country is a reflection of the confusion in our own souls. If we are able to discover the element which is able to integrate our own nature, immediately we will find that there is nothing determined, that there is nothing fixed but the whole thing is open to us and it depends on us what we make of the future of this country." – Colombo Telegraph article ‘Old Anandians as authors: From Emergency ’58 to Road to Nandikadal’

Taking the position of Tamil in a country with race-based problems, is my duty. By accepting the position of Chief Guest at the Jaffna Hindu College, Justice Sripavan was also assuming certain duties. They must come ahead of his Truth or personal opinion. Given that Jaffna Hindu College is Justice Sripavan’s alma mater – that duty needs to be strongly based on experience at that place. To my mind that duty is to confirm that the Jaffna Hindu College experience was strong enough to support Mr. Sripavan to achieve a high position in places beyond Jaffna. The People of Jaffna who endorsed Mr. Sripavan have allocated also the DUTY to show his return value to the common heirs of that place called Jaffna.   Jaffna Hindu College demonstrates through its name – two areas of Diversity – (i) Tamil (ii) Hindu. Positions help us particularize and this requires certain degree of separation. Indiscriminate mixing of cultures often leads to loss of particularization and hence the indiscriminate enjoyment of pleasures which lead to abuse including of sexual pleasures and intake of pleasure drugs. That happened in the position inherited by Chief Justice Sripavan also. Had his predecessors been strong in the practice of Doctrine of Separation of Powers – many of the sufferings of ordinary Tamils would have been alleviated.

Within the Courthouse, the law is required to be interpreted differently and/or by different levels - by different positions. The litigant has the DUTY to interpret the law as per her/his experience in the issue. The lawyer has the duty to interpret the law as per her/his experience through her/his profession – starting with her/his professional gurus. In a democratic Court – the interpretation of the litigant when presented by her/himself  must be taken on equal footing as the interpretation of the lawyer. Jaffna Courts are far from demonstrating such democratic structure.

Justice Sripavan, as a judicial expert is expected to have knowledge of Prescriptive title rights. The problem with the indiscriminate mix of theory and practice was highlighted through Mrs Usha Sri-Skanda-Raja - daughter-in-law of another Judicial senior, through her article  ‘Dear Mr. Obama, Please Lift The Ban On The LTTE’

[My husband is my hero. He is a pioneer of the freedom struggle and a lifesaver. At age 19 he saved the lives of over 90 Tamils who had taken refuge in his family home having to flee their homes and run for their lives in the 1958 island wide pogrom against Tamils.

It was when SWRD Bandaranaike was Prime Minister and both he and J R Jayawardene a leading opposition politician at that time fueled communal hatred against the Tamils and was responsible for the violence that erupted against them.

The Tamils had virtually come running to the Sri Skanda Rajah home in Ratmalana a suburb of Colombo, some already stabbed on the way, leaving their burning houses and possessions behind, in the faith that they would be safe in Bavan's home. His father was then District Judge of Jaffna and it was hoped his family and home would be given protection (his father Justice Pon Sri Skanda Rajah later became Judge of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the island at that time next to the Privy Council in Britain).]

In bottom-up democracy – rebels need to express their Truth. Then they get the support of the system of Truth through the Truth of all contributors to that issue. That is how Gandhi was able to defeat the British. Mrs. Sri Skanda Raja has demonstrated that she is practicing reverse autocracy and hence asking for a false declaration by showing a false relationship with the outgoing American President. Mrs. Sri Skanda Raja, to qualify as a genuine rebel needed to rely on her truth, to be entitled to title adverse to the official government – to lead the Tamil people. Towards this the lady needed to be independent of all other governments – including the American Government. When one pleads – one is confirming dependence. The commonness with the Sri Lankan Presidents – is the indiscriminate mix of relationships prior to completion.

During my challenges against the Australian Judiciary – our son Pradeep Paramasivam who is also a professional in his own rights - wrote as follows to the Judiciary:

‘It is truly shameful that a person who has stood by their principles is being humiliated in this manner. My mother, Mrs. Paramasivam, has been uncompromising in maintaining her honesty, and it is disheartening to see her being punished for this. Whilst, being family, I would blindly support my mother, in this instance I do not need to be blind, because being aware of the matter, it is clear that she has been treated unjustly. She has my full support  and admiration, simply because she has her integrity.’

 Had I been dependent on my son’s endorsement of me before he became independent of me – I would have not extended my service beyond our family boundaries. At the same time – Pradeep who had my grooming as a professional also – ensured that he was independent of that relationship but was an heir of ‘integrity’. While in training, Pradeep was expected to do more than non-relatives to raise that relationship to the common level. The test is confirmed through the quality carried by the next generation. Integrity confirms Sovereignty.