Gajalakshmi
Paramasivam
14 November 2016
Jaffna’s Independence Heritage
The young lady next to me in the Inter-City
train to Jaffna spoke to someone in Sinhalese and I thought the lady was
Sinhalese. Later, I noticed the young lady reading a Tamil Newspaper. I felt
hopeful that the net contribution by my generation Sri Lankans to preserve our
independence heritage has been positive to produce such a lady. We did not
speak to each other but there was a sense camaraderie which I liked very much. The young lady got
off at Vavuniya and based on my observation, I concluded that she was an
undergraduate of the Vavuniya branch of the University of Jaffna.
Does this mean that we – Tamils and
Sinhalese, have reconciled ? I do not know. Are we insiders or outsiders to
each other? As per ‘The Hindu’ interview
with the Sri Lankan President under the subject heading - Solving problems of Tamils is my obligation: Sirisena – the Lankan
President stated:
[The
international community is so satisfied with my performance that they have
completely changed their impression of the country. Now there is no threat of
international courts, now we don’t have to talk about electric chairs, there is
no problem [of foreign judges investigating alleged violation of human rights];
I have told the international community that I cannot accept any proposal that
allows foreign judges to probe our domestic matters. This is another great
victory I was able to achieve in this time.]
That reminded me of my own stand at the
University of NSW - against the Finance
Director who wanted to ‘get it right’ for the Auditors. I stated that we ought
to do right and fear no auditor. Eventually I established through public
communication that the Auditor General was lacking in wisdom in relation to use
of Performance Indicators and that his
suggestions were in breach of the Doctrine of Separation of Powers between
Management and Auditor. http://www.austms.org/other_pdfs/GV_Et-tu-UN.pdf
When we become independent of someone, we
either make ‘insiders’ of them or we become external ‘observers’. It is obvious
that to the President of Sri Lanka, the International Community are Outsiders.
The greater worry is the ‘I’ factor instead of ‘we’ the Common Government. To
my mind, the ‘I’ factor was the strongest reason for the fall of the previous
regime which the current President was part of and seems to be an heir of.
As an ‘insider’ of the International
Community, my conclusion is that the International Community led by the UN, found
fault with the Sri Lankan Constitution – through ‘Buddhism Foremost’ clause,
confirming the influence of Tamils with the International Community.
The New Indian Express reports as follows, about Tamil
Political Conclusion in relation to the other half of the current Sri Lankan
Political leadership :
[TNA
MP and spokesman M.A.Sumanthiran told Express on Saturday, that the Prime
Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe appears to have consulted the Sri Lanka Freedom
Party (SLFP), but did not consult the TNA]
My thoughts were that we the People have to
become the ‘facility’ through which Government would be strengthened – so the
Youth who have disconnected with the roots of this land would not take control
into their hands. In terms of the Budget – it was the duty of TNA as the
leading opposition in National Parliament to put forward its assessment of the
earnings of the People – all Sri Lankans and not just Tamils, as per current
needs - to be included in the Budget. It
must have been this true deservedness that led me to the Jaffna Youth Conference in 1931 – under the
leadership of Mr. Handy Perinbanayagam. Mr. Santasilan Kadirgamar wrote as
follows in this regard:
‘I myself once engaged Handy Perinbanayagam
in a discussion on his religious views and found it enlightening. Without going
into further details we would do well to recall what three men who knew him
best, Orator Subramaniam, A. S. Kanagaratnam and N. Sabaratnam said on behalf
of the Handy Perinbanayagam Commemoration Society.
He was born of Christian
parents and as he went through college and adult life he took great interest in
the Student Christian Movement. As a thinker he could not agree with the
orthodox Christian churches and in time drifted away from them towards the religion
of his forefathers. To the end he held that the tenets of Christianity and
Saiva Siddhanta were close enough to be regarded as one.’
Today, 14 November 2016, is Poya (Full Moon) Day – a religious day for
Buddhists and hence a holiday in Sri Lanka. It is interesting to note that a
Christian group has also organized a Youth meeting in Jaffna on this Super-moon
day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqMDSURQPuU
The above confirms that consciously or
otherwise – the ‘Buddhism foremost’ provision is being balanced to show
Religious Equality at a place that embraces all religions. To me personally, it
is significant that Jaffna is Multicultural.
As per Wikipedia, Gandhi is reported to
have stated during his visit to Ceylon :
‘I am certain that the children of the nation
that receive instructions in a tongue other than their own commit suicide. It
robs them of their birthright. A foreign medium means an undue strain upon the
youngsters, it robs them of all originality."
Given that our work life is an extension of
our school life – as per Gandhi’s above message – the 1956 Law – which defined ‘Sinhala
only’ as the official language had the effect of robbing non-Sinhalese of their
originality. We do learn and use at work place, other languages when we
migrate. But we should not be required by law to learn and work in a language other
than our own – by birth or adoption.
Before coming to Vaddukoddai – I stayed
with Rani Ratnadevi Sinnathamby - the daughter of one of the founding members of the Communist
Party - Mr. Murugupillai Karthigesan of Vaddukoddai – a close Associate of Mr. Pieter
Keuneman. They become ‘common insiders of Jaffna’ through the Communist Party.
The above report by Mr. Kadirgamar states:
[At
the height of the language debate in 1956 when it was becoming fashionable for
Sinhalese spokesmen to attack the Tamils as reactionary and as opposed to the
national struggle for independence it was Pieter Keuneman who on behalf of the
Communist Party of Ceylon put the record straight in parliament. He recalled
the role that the Jaffna Youth Congress had played and denied the allegation
that was made that the boycott took place because the new constitution granted
political power to the Sinhalese. "It was" he said "the weakness of the movement in the South
that was responsible to a very great extent for the breakdown of the developing
national movement in the North." ]
Then I read the following about Daily News which did publish my
response to Justice Weeramantry’s speech about Gandhi – on 01 November 2004 - the
day an Australian medical expert said that I was following in the footsteps of
Gandhi:
[The Daily News, all along a supporter of the
Youth Congress and a strong critic of the Donoughmore Reforms welcomed the
boycott in Jaffna. Having criticised the candidates in the rest of the country
for lack of political principles, the editorial on nomination day commented
that the "one relieving feature in this soporific performance is contained
in the news from Jaffna … Public opinion in Jaffna" said the editor,
"is a potent thing. Those who defy it do so at their peril. Ever the home
of virile politics, Jaffna is determined to see that the public spirit of her
citizens is equal to any crisis." (Ceylon Daily News, 4 May 1931) The
historians who have misrepresented the above boycott failed to grasp the
strength of public opinion in Jaffna as understood by the Daily News, which at
this juncture brief though it may have been was staunchly behind the Youth
Congress. ]
To my mind, TNA becoming the Official
Opposition Leader in National Parliament is due to this Northern Heritage – which all
those to whom Jaffna is home will access Naturally. To the extent they are also
Independent, Self-Governing persons they would continue to empower
manifestations confirming this earned Equal Opportunity status by all to whom
Jaffna is truly home. Those with weak connections to the heritage of this land – are not likely to ‘see’ this in
their mind’s eye. Hence they would tend to keep ‘asking’ and wait until they
are ‘given’.
The Budget is the most visible but the
least powerful representation of our Resources. Unless the Budget is prepared
by those close to the electorate, the resources to maintain the heritage of
that electorate – especially when it is the electorate of the opposition – is not
likely to be included in the Budgets prepared by the Government. TNA failed in
this regard.
Those
connected to the nucleus of Jaffna will be naturally self-governing.
Politicians who are yet to realize self-governance have the opportunity to learn from such folks. They say in Tamil
that money separates. The core purpose of Reconciliation is for the People to
come together. Mr. Sumanthiran is reported to have stated in regards to the
National Budget:
[In
this respect, the present regime seems no different from the Mahinda Rajapaksa
government, which launched the Vaddakkin Vasantham (Blooming of the North)
project in the Northern Province without considering the needs of a people who
had just the emerged battered from a 30-year war. Roads and buildings were
built, but virtually nothing was done for livelihood and housing, barring the
India-funded and executed 50,000 houses project for war-affected families.]
TNA has the opportunity to look to the
International Community as ‘insiders’ of the Global Community. But by effectively
taking its place as allocated by the Joint Opposition – led by former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa – TNA is confirming its weak connection with the Roots of
Jaffna – Our Common National Heritage. LTTE failed due to its disconnection
with the nuclear force of our ancestors / seniors. Once the focus is on money –
separation follows – as night follows day. The system of Natural Justice will
continue to guide those who are insiders to the system of Truth. To them it is
Tat Tvam Asi / Thou Art That or to use
the language of Christians – Knock and It shall open.
No comments:
Post a Comment