Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

18 October  2017

Veddas of Lanka and Aborigines of Australia

[Speaking for myself, I would rather be an Abo in OZ than a Veddah in SL !!!!!!!

Here they are given special provisions for University entrance and I understand some native Sinhalese migrants have tried to get these, FAIR DINKUM] The proud Sri Lankan who became Aussie through assimilation.

The above person ranks both Indigenous communities as ‘outsiders’. If that speaker were part of one or both groups  then he would be global minded and he has the authority to rank. As per my knowledge this person is member of Catholic group and neither indigenous of the two groups taken as a whole is Catholic. The Sri Lankan example of this  is presented as follows:

[Vakari, Eastern Province Sri Lanka.
In search of the Vedda village called Kunchakulam, in the Batticaloa District.

Vedda Chief Velayutham on their way of life:
“We don’t hunt as much as we used to, but generally the game entails wild boar and deer. Due to restrictions by the wildlife conservation department and the civil administration, we have reduced our practices. We also extract honey from the forests from June onwards.”
On language: “Many Veddas here speak Tamil. We have been Hindus for years now. Our Vedda lineage split into two. During the time of the British, one sect branched off to Mahiyangana and Dambana and the others to the shores.”

“We used to be in the forests during the time of the British. They took us from there and built a Tamil school in Mankerny (which is also my birthplace) and a Catholic Church right next to it, slowly converting most of us to Christianity. This is why some Veddahs of the East have names such as ‘Antony’”.] Thiva Arunagirinathan at https://roar.media/english/life/culture-identities/veddas-the-first-people-of-sri-lanka/

During my post Tsunami service, I was stationed at Mankerny and I identify with the above through that direct experience. Here in Australia, I upheld the Truth I knew about myself – that my knowledge in Accounting ‘was made in Sri Lanka’. The positions through which I could enter the workforce were much lower than the ones which I held in Sri Lanka. I stopped saying I was a Chartered Accountant and hence facilitated myself to enter through the lower positions. But my standards of performance were that of  a mature Chartered Accountant – meaning small position, big job. The parallel of that at family and community levels  is that of a Mistress who had higher qualities than the official wife needed to partner a high status husband. It was on this basis that I was able to submit my proposals to President Madam Chandrika Kumaratunga and it so happened that I went on my own. The passage was facilitated by Minister the Hon  Douglas Devananda whom I met for the first time. I concluded then that both – the President and the Minister - were fit to be in their respective positions  vis-à-vis the People of Mankerny – majority of whom are Vedda descendants. In turn, a passage was opened for me to give shape to my common belief through these leaders as well. Since my own opportunity to serve the folks of Mankerny happened ‘out of the blues’ so to speak,  I sought and found the connection with Saint Yoga Swami sharing the power of his faith in Lord Muruga of Kathirgamam. Saints develop this power through which they forego pleasures at the lower level and enjoy higher bliss – mind to mind until we become One Soul.

The basic rule of Nature, to my mind is that  at the physical level, every unit of genuine pleasure produces its ‘other’ side – pain. Hence the Equal Opposition (Pain) in a Democratic Parliament.  When I enjoy pleasure before pain I owe someone / some system a debt to that extent. That debt is settled immediately when I pay my respects to the source of that pleasure. This could include my brain and/or some deeper power but until I identify with that deeper power I need to ‘show’ respect to the source or be conscious of being indebted. The hierarchical structure facilitates the ‘show’ of respect. In democracy – one who is not able to so show needs to stay away to that extent. This helps that person not accumulate more debt by staying as part of the same structure – to the extent one becomes a slave. Highly civilized systems facilitate various kinds of Separations of Power to facilitate the maintenance of Sovereign Borders by each person/group. Once so separated we are entitled to Equal status. To my mind, that is all the Common Sri Lankan Tamil is expecting as per her/his true contribution to the Land called Sri Lanka – just like how we are Equal in status to our children once they become active parents.

Sri Lanka is currently discussing whether we need a Federal structure or continue with the Unitary structure of Governance. The need for this inquiry  is presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[Federalism has long been advocated as a means of resolving the ethnic issues and unbalanced development in Sri Lanka.

As the unitary state has resulted in uneven development across Sri Lanka the Western Province dominates over the other 8 provinces. Despite declining regional disparity Western province continues to contribute most to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) contributing 42% of the GDP while the second highest the Southern Province only represents 10.8% of the GDP while Uva and Northern provinces representing the least with 5% and 3.6% respectively. Other provinces also have trouble attracting capitals. This has resulted in calls for the abolishing of the unitary system and powers being devolved.

Further federalism has also been proposed as a solution the ethnic issues. The Tamil minority is under represented despite being the majority in the Northern province. This also lead to a civil war between the government and Tamil Nationalist militants. After the end of the war Northern province shares the troubles of finding funds to rebuild damaged infrastructure and as a result of provincial governments being unable to finance the reconstruction of destroyed factories and damaged infrastructure to create employment. Federalism has been proposed as a method for sharing power.]

Most in Government seek Unitary structure. But unless the Natural qualities of Unitary structure are maintained, such structure would prove to be unreliable. If the value of the latent power of those opposed to this structure becomes stronger than the value of Governance developed and maintained by the custodians of power of that Unitary structure, the borders of Sovereignty of that group get damaged and relativity through positions of that structure become unreliable. The common parallel is the child who opposes a parent on the basis of Truth and/or investment in higher principles than the parent. If the child then remained under that parent and the parent continued to ‘tell’/administer the child then the parenting becomes unreliable. The parent is entitled to be respected only to the extent her/his investment in the common structure is stronger than that of the child. If the official common structure is neglected,  Truth overtakes and widens the borders of Sovereignty to accommodate the child. If the parent / government becomes a ‘facility’ that the child could use as per her/his need – then the Sovereign powers of that structure are strengthened within the existing (Unitary) structure. Otherwise, parents are a separate unit and become the first amongst equals in a Federal structure. If this is possible within families – then that person is the fit leader to lead the Nation.  

The value of Sovereignty is exponential and it naturally invokes the powers of those who have invested in Sovereignty. In Sri Lanka, the Government became one that ‘told’ those who were already self-governing. English language was spoken/used in communication by leaders of all ethnicities living in multicultural areas. But those who sought ‘immediate’ outcomes through the convenience of majority rule, plagiarized the British system of Governance and tried to enforce ‘Sinhala Only followed by Buddhism Foremost’ provisions in the Constitution. To my mind, mere name change to claim ownership is plagiarism.

Under British rule Sinhalese and Tamils were friends as in the saying by the great Indian Political Philosopher Chanakyan -  that the enemy of the enemy is a friend:

[The king who is situated anywhere immediately on the circumference of the conqueror's territory is termed the enemy.
The king who is likewise situated close to the enemy, but separated from the conqueror only by (the conqueror’s) enemy, is termed the friend (of the conqueror). – Chanakyan – the Indian Political Philosopher]

To the Sinhalese Kandyan Rulers, the British rulers on their borders were their enemy. Tamils who were separated from the Kandyan Rulers were separated back then only by the British. Hence the two (Tamils and Sinhalese) became friends. Likewise, when Ranil Wickremesinghe was moving towards becoming President, LTTE became the friend of Mr. Rajapaksa. Likewise, once the British left, Indians became the conquerors in that region. Pro China Sinhalese Government became the enemy of Indians and Lankan Tamils who were separated from Indian Tamils, by the Sinhalese,  became the friends of Indians.

As per Wikipedia report:

[ Several heads of states such as S.W.R.D Bandaranaike, J.R Jayawardena, and Chandrika Kumaratunga have also accepted Federalism as a solution to the island's issues however did not implement a federal system]

Federalism was/is  to satisfy the international community dominated by Westerners. But Politically, these leaders feared loss of votes to the extent they promoted the ‘only’/’foremost’ syndrome through which they came to power and enjoyed benefits. Hence they did not have the cooperation of  Truth/Nature  to form Federal structure in which they would have had direct majority power only over the heads of other States. The Central Unit would have been the parallel of ‘Buddhism Foremost’ which in Democracy is ‘First amongst Equals’. In Democracy – the Leader is the first amongst Equal citizens. Any higher status needs to be earned on merit basis through Common Current measures available on Equal footing.

 Those in Government who enjoy majority power at a level greater than the citizen, without earning higher status through merit – dilute the sovereignty of the whole. That was when the Indians invaded Sri Lanka through Tamil militants who were culturally close to Tamil Nadu and geographically through areas with least visible physical separation.

When we claim that we are using Unitary structure and the junior in the relationship completes her/his duty as per the junior position and continues to operate within the stated Unitary structure as per which Sovereignty is claimed – the real value of that Unitary structure would empower the junior by pushing the borders to wider levels until the junior gets supported by the power of majority which now has a different face. That is what happened in Sri Lanka, until militants reacted at the lower level and converted the merger into ‘takeover’/invasion.

The Sri Lankan Government that seeks Unitary structure – needs to ensure that leadership of Tamils is recognized on merit basis including through global minded members of the Diaspora. Once Global structure is seen as the first amongst equal alternatives – enforcers on both sides would be sidelined.

We can blame the Sri Lankan Government to satisfy our ego. But the pain we take on to balance the unearned enjoyment of ego is the balancing medication needed to enjoy real freedom – especially freedom of thought, when we are with ourselves. That is true self-governance bliss.

Tomorrow is Deepavali – the day when the light of wisdom eliminated the demon of ignorance based arrogance.