Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

24 April 2018                                         

University of Jaffna – Tamil Dystopia?

The recent Sri Lanka Guardian article ‘Sri Lanka: A Coup at University of Jaffna Council’  was confirmation of most of my discoveries about the University of Jaffna – a political quid pro quo for the policy of Standardization , presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[The government policy of standardization in essence was an affirmative action scheme to assist geographically disadvantaged students to gain tertiary education. The benefits enjoyed by Sinhalese students also meant a significant fall in the number of Tamil students within the Sri Lankan university student populace…………………………..

In 1969, the Northern Province, which was largely populated by Tamils and comprised 7% of the population of the country, provided 27.5 percent of the entrants to science-based courses in Sri Lankan universities. By 1974, this was reduced to 7%. However, the hardest hit population group were the urban Tamils and Sinhalese in the Western Province, which contained 26% of the islands population. In 1969, the Western Province provided 67.5 percent of admissions to science-based courses. This reduced to 27% in 1974, after the law came into effect. The majority of the share enjoyed by Jaffna Tamils were distributed among Tamils in other areas ( Eastern province, Hill country and Muslims) . Majority of the share enjoyed by Colombo was distributed among rest of the Sinhalese.

"In 1971, a system of standardisation of marks was introduced for admissions to the universities, obviously directed against Tamil-medium students (referred to earlier). K.M. de Silva describes it as follows:

'The qualifying mark for admission to the medical faculties was 250 (out of 400) for Tamil students, whereas it was only 229 for the Sinhalese. Worse still, this same pattern of a lower qualifying mark applied even when Sinhalese and Tamil students sat for the examination in English. In short, students sitting for examinations in the same language, but belonging to two ethnic groups, had different qualifying marks.'

He observes that by doing this in such an obviously discriminatory way, 'the United Front Government of the 1970s caused enormous harm to ethnic relations.']

As per my interpretation, Politicians made the University of Jaffna for their own purposes and one should not be surprised that they continue to ‘possess’ the University as a product of their political reactions. The ‘more’ we produce lateral outcomes beyond our immediate needs the more stagnant we become due to obsolescence of the excess.

Institutions that take the vertical pathway through Research, develop the capacity to sustain lateral spread . A self-sufficient University would balance itself by lifting Belief particular to its physical environment to Philosophical level. As per a Tamil saying, one who sees the stone in a statue in the altar does not recognise Divinity and one who recognises Divinity does not ‘see’ stone. Politics by majority only  is stone and Governance by common philosophy  is Divinity. One who believes in Higher Education of Jaffna would recognise the Divinity of Science of Cause and Effect of the investments by all those who invested in the Kingdom of  Jaffna. Every institution that is self-governed in Jaffna and / or by one to whom Jaffna is ‘home’ is part of that kingdom.

Belief operates independently to uphold the sovereignty of anyone/any group that invested in it. But that structure needs to be one that confirms that Belief. Was the manifestation of the latest outcomes produced by the Governing Council due to a coup or a simple manifestation of Truth that some Believer/s  in Jaffna is/are  seeking? Does it confirm that the Jaffna Tamil is a foreigner to the SLFP leadership (custodians of  the Presidential powers responsible for the Governance of the University ; – as it was then and as it is now?

Students  of the University of Jaffna include some from Thunaivi – where our family temple is. Sellamani to whom that area is ‘home’ owns a peanut stall at Jaffna Bus stand attributed credit to me at a time when I did not know her personally but was already investing in common  development work in  Thunaivi. When I approached Sellamani for some peanuts, Sellamani said that I had provided food and education to their children.  I looked at Sellamani in surprise – thinking that she was mistaking me for someone else. Then she described herself to me-  that she was from Thunaivi and that her youngest daughter was learning at the School of Human Values that we have facilitated. Sellamani’s eldest daughter is Bavani –  who is also a peanut seller. Bavani who believes in Mother Kali at our temple said to me that she saw me in the altar of the temple – at a time when I was officially in Sydney. To my mind,  Bavani saw a manifestation of her own belief in mother Kali with which was merged  the knowledge that  I have also invested deeply enough to come and live there as part of that toddy-tapper community. I believed in Bavani due also to Sellamani’s declaration of appreciation of my services which benefited her youngest daughter. Neither of them has so far ‘asked’ me for any favours but just appreciated my presence in their own ways. They thus become messengers of Belief.

In 2016, Mohandas – a youngster from that area – led a group of militant boys who disturbed our religious environment / denomination on Thai Pongal day. The first thing I did when I woke up that  morning was to thank my mother in my memory  for having carried on with the tradition of celebrating Pongal at our family temple. Soon, I was seriously disturbed when I heard loud cinema music from the adjoining compound owned legally by Malaysians - where the above group was playing music.  I was furious to note that Mohandas was sleeping on the platform of the temple. Guarded with a kitchen knife, I walked over to the temple – so he would not stay there and his group would not play songs that disturbed the Peace. The parents of Mohandas and his group who were connected to our caste – the farmer caste – would not have disturbed the peace there – because they have had the consolidated experience of caste and work hierarchy. Not so their children – especially the boys who get handouts from various sources including the government. They segregated themselves and do not work as toddy tappers any more. I cancelled the Pongal celebrations that day and went to Colombo. On the way to the railway station, I stopped at Our Lady’s Church near our home(rented) in Jaffna in which we lived when I was a student. At the church,  I enjoyed the Pongal-sweet rice that some workers had made.  That to me was the Queendom of Motherhood – where Mother Kali and Mother Mary are.

A couple of weeks back – our coordinator informed me that Mohandas was reported to the Police by Bavani’s daughter for eve-teasing and that the folks there connected that karma to the wrong  committed by Mohandas to me – in 2016. To my mind that was Bavani’s and my consolidated Belief in Mother Kali. Last year I physically distanced myself from Thunaivi folks – after they stoned our cottage for reporting some youth to the Police – for cutting our fence and stealing the barbed wire followed by threatening me with physical attack if I questioned them. By distancing myself from the physical part of my investment,  I am now able to make the scientific connection between cause and effect – as an independent observer.

The above experience is relevant in  experiencing the Sri Lanka Guardian article in which the reporter states:

[The UGC has set criteria for those whom it puts on the Council. These are, i) should possess a bachelor’s degree or professional qualification, ii) be of high calibre and have rendered distinguished service in educational, professional, commercial, industrial, scientific or administrative spheres for at least 10 years in a senior capacity; and iii) demonstrate interest in higher education and possess a commendable grasp on policies, issues and challenges of the higher education sector.]

The global governance principles of our times also state that there needs to be Separation of Powers between the Judiciary and the Executive Government. But how many Sri Lankans actually believe in this and more importantly practice this principle? The parallel of that in Accounting is the separation of  powers between the Auditor and the Management of the entity being audited. But here in Australia, even Auditors General did not appreciate this in practice and recommended using Performance Indicators in Audit. I was the lone Australian protesting to them. But my belief in Democracy was raised to philosophical level because I continued to believe – without being distracted by the loss of immediate benefits.

To my mind Philosophy is the Kingdom of God that is the goal of Christians. Belief is the church that through which the escalation of the mind happens. Lord Krishna gives the same message as follows:

‘Whatever happened, happened well; Whatever is happening is happening well

Whatever has to happen will also happen well; What of yours did you lose for you to cry?

What did you bring for you to lose it? What have you created for it to be wasted?

Whatever you took you took from Here; Whatever you gave ; you gave Here

What is yours today is someone else’s tomorrow; The day after it is someone else’s.

This is how the world functions and ; This is the essence of

  My    Creation’

The schools of Jaffna are the churches and the temples of Belief which transcends as Philosophy at the University of Jaffna. It happens now also to the real seeker.

Is this achievement facilitated by the applicable laws of the Nation?

Section 32 of the Universities Act states:

[The President shall nominate the Chancellor of each University. The Chancellor shall be the Head of the University, hold office for a period of five years reckoned from the date of his nomination, and shall, preside at any Convocation of the University.]

In other words, the Chancellor is the Delegated Power of the President – who is the consolidated power of all Chancellors of Sri Lankan Universities. The origin of University of Jaffna is presented as follows by Wikipedia:

[Extraordinary gazette no. 121/15 was published on 25 July 1974 establishing the Jaffna Campus. The new campus started functioning on 1 August 1974 at the Parameswara College premises in Thirunelvely some 4 km north of Jaffna city centre. Parameswara College had been founded in 1921 by P. Ramanathan.]

This morning the first mail I opened was from Mr Sanath Panabokke and the email was headed:

“Who is the greatest Sri Lankan of all Times? Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan Q.C.”

As per the Wikipedia report ‘ Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake described Ramanathan as "the greatest Ceylonese of all times".

There is a difference between Sri Lankan and Ceylonese by Belief.  Sir Ramanathan who left his mortal coil in 1930 and the Hon D S Senanayake who left his mortal coil in 1952 would have described themselves as Ceylonese and NOT Sri Lankans. Ceylon was reborn as Sri Lanka in 1972 under the leadership of Mrs Bandaranaike who also made the deal to compensate Jaffna Tamils for Standardization loss – through the recognition of ‘right’ to have their own University – the University of Jaffna.

The place was Parameswara College whose owner  is Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan. Wikipedia reports that ‘Ramanathan and other leading figures founded The Ceylonese, an English-language newspaper, in 1913’ and also ‘Ramanathan was responsible for the release of the Sinhalese leaders who had been arrested following the 1915 Ceylonese riots, travelling to the UK to make their case. He was re-elected at the 1916 legislative council election, defeating Justus Sextus Wijesinghe Jayewardene’

Just as the family name Ramanathan has not been changed the Nationality also has not changed from Ceylonese to Sri Lankan. I was born a Ceylonese  but I accepted the description Sri Lankan and hence could be referred to as Sri Lankan. But not those Ceylonese who passed away before 1972.

Tomorrow, we Australians honor Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations". They live in our minds. Likewise those who sacrificed personal enjoyment for the good of the whole.

Given that there has never been a President of Sri Lanka who is known as the heir of same Hindu  Ceylonese  that Sir Ramanathan was – the President himself cannot inherit that position of Belief.  The President therefore does not have the authority of Belief to nominate a Chancellor for the University of Jaffna.

It therefore goes back to the fundamental believers – the Descendants by Belief of Parameswara College Founder to elect a Chancellor. They in their current form are taken as the Officers and members provided for through various Sections   of the Universities Act 1978  and other elected members of the communities that contribute to the University – including the students, academic staff and non-academic staff.

The following was highlighted in the submission made in January this year, in relation to the matter of Dr Darshanan who did not have an elected representative in the Governing Council and was as per my assessment - unlawfully dismissed summarily by the Vice Chancellor who did not have the authority to do so due to Section 45(2)(xii) of the Act:

16. [It is highlighted  that Section 40 of the Universities Act does not include the Chancellor as Governing Authority:

17. The Authorities of a University shall be the following:

(I)            ********

(II)         The Council

(III)       The Senate

(IV)       The Campus Board or Boards if any

(V)          The Faculty Board or Boards; if any

(VI)       Such other bodies as may be prescribed by Ordinance to be such authorities

18. Section 44 (1)  of the Universities Act provides as follows:

[The Council of a University (hereinafter referred to as “the Council”), shall be the executive body and governing authority of the University and shall consist of the following persons:-

(i)            The Vice-Chancellor

(ii)          Deputy Vice-Chancellor if any

(iii)        Rector, if any

(iv)         The Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, if any

(v)           The Dean of each Faculty

(vi)         Two members elected by the Senate from amongst its members; and

(vii)       Such number of members as is total to the number of members in paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) & (vi) above  increased by one. All such members shall be appointed by the Commission from among persons who have rendered distinguished service in educational, professional, commercial, industrial, scientific or administrative spheres.]

The requirement of plus one in the Council is towards external ‘assessment’ – like in the case of ‘International Accountability’ through  Foreign Judges. The Sri Lanka Guardian reporter has measured through her/his own interpretation of the above provision as follows:

[The UGC has set criteria for those whom it puts on the Council. These are, i) should possess a bachelor’s degree or professional qualification, ii) be of high calibre and have rendered distinguished service in educational, professional, commercial, industrial, scientific or administrative spheres for at least 10 years in a senior capacity; and iii) demonstrate interest in higher education and possess a commendable grasp on policies, issues and challenges of the higher education sector.]

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has only limited authority in terms of appointments of certain Administrative officers. The Council of the University has significant powers in terms of  appointments of officers. Section 37 (1) of the Act for example states:

‘The Registrar of a University shall be appointed by the Council upon the recommendation of a Selection Committee, the composition of which shall be prescribed by Ordinance. He shall be a full-time officer of that University and shall exercise, perform and discharge such powers, duties and functions as may be conferred or imposed on or assigned to him by this Act or by any appropriate Instrument.’

The UGC does have power to appoint members of the Council as specified under Section 44(1) (vii) of the Act.

The essential requirement under this section is “service in educational, professional, commercial, industrial, scientific or administrative spheres”

Service is beyond merit and hence it would be in breach of the fundamental principles of Governance  – to require merit based achievement – which usually is a requirement to calculate benefits. Those appointed by the Commission are like the grandparents of the students. Grandparents should not take on the responsibilities of parents.

Dr Darshanan’s case was brought to my attention by such a Jaffna grandparent who got to know Dr Darshanan through Facebook.  I identified with the injustice by knowing through my genuine investment in the University of Jaffna that the Management lacked the belief and the skills to deliver fair judgment in the matter. Dr. Darshanan was charged with Sexual Harassment plus breaches in Administration. Finally after post-dismissal inquiry due to Fundamental Rights Action by Dr Darshanan – the latter charges were dropped and only the Sexual Harassment charges were upheld. No reasons for the Council’s judgment were given.

This confirms serious flaw in University Administration and Governance. Vital to the wider world is the knowledge as to whether the ruling was by majority appointed by the UGC under Section 44(1) (vii) of the Act.

This is where the plus one majority is important. My alma mater in this issue – the University of NSW is governed by the University of New South Wales Act 1989. Section 8B (6) of the Act states:

[(6)  The majority of the total number of members must be external persons.

Note.

 Depending on the circumstances, the Chancellor may be counted as an external person for the purposes of subsection (6).

external person means a person other than a member of the academic or non-academic staff of the University or an undergraduate or graduate student of the University.]

Both Chancellors of my time effectively acted as External Members and I obliged their expectations / requests to participate in an inquiry and internal discussion. But not so the American trained Vice Chancellor – lacking in Management investment in Australian Universities. My request for the issue to be escalated to the Governing Council was dismissed summarily and when I resorted to Judicial action for sending me to prison – the Vice Chancellor was effectively dismissed by the Council. The parallel of this in Sri Lankan Government was the dismissal of Mrs Bandaranike in 1977 and Mr Rajapaksa in 2015 – through marginal power of Sri Lankans which was strongly influenced by Tamil votes.

Dr  Vasanthi Arasaratnam was the Vice Chancellor who first issued the letter of termination to Dr Darshanan.

On 08 May 2015:

Dr Darshanan was informed by letter by the Vice Chancellor that the University Council had promoted the Defendant to the post of Senior Lecturer Grade 1 in Music at the University of Jaffna, with effect from 04/03/2013 - the announcement happening after a delay of two years and two months from the eligible date. 

By letter dated 14/10/2015

the Vice Chancellor informed Dr Darshanan  - the Defendant - that the University Council at a special meeting held on 14/10/2015 “having considered the allegations levelled by the students and staff attached to the Department of Music” against the Defendant had decided, firstly, to remove him from the post of Head of Department of Music with immediate effect, secondly, to interdict the Defendant from the post of Senior Lecturer Grade 1 without any emoluments with immediate effect, and thirdly, to declare University premises out of bounds to the Defendant with immediate effect.

Dr Ratnajeevan Hoole who seems to be seriously lacking in Research skills wrote through his Colombo Telegraph article ‘ Are Tamils Horrified By Or Tolerant Of Sexual Harassment?’ using the above – but in fact was attacking Dr Vasanthi Arasaratnam who was appointed Vice Chancellor instead of himself.  The Sri Lanka Guardian reporter presents Dr Hoole as follows:

[Quoting from the writings of Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole – a fierce critic of Mohan de Silva [chairman UGC] and what he calls the do-nothing Jaffna Council of second grade people hiring third grade people – although the Universities Act gives the UGC the power to do anything to accomplish its objects, de Silva read “university autonomy” into the Act. However, the Act does not mention the word autonomy even once. With this laissez faire attitude, de Silva has claimed that when universities act unlawfully, he has no power to do anything about it. Mohan de Silva thereby set the stage for total lawlessness in our universities, and Jaffna in particular.]

The University of Jaffna, by law, is a ‘Sovereign Body’ equipped to operate autonomously. One who is looking for the word ‘autonomy’ in the  Sri Lankan ‘Universities Act’ is seeing stone and hence not recognising Divinity. Any relationship would work naturally on Belief. The law provides for this autonomy including through the plus one appointment under Section 44(1) (vii) of the Act. Any Sri Lankan  who genuinely cares has the opportunity to sue on Service basis, the UGC if the requirements of this section have not been met and/or the University Council when there are breaches of the provisions in the Act .

The transcript of the proceedings of the Tribunal that heard the charges against Dr Darshanan would confirm that there was no objectively measurable evidence whatsoever to support any of the charges made by the Vice Chancellor – endorsed by the Council and also that Dr Arasaratnam dismissed Dr Darshanan even before the confirmation that there existed a prima facie case. There never was such a finding by the preliminary investigating team.

On 14 Decmber 2015:

The Preliminary investigating team headed by Professor Kandasamy informed the staff and students of the Department of Music about their appointment and invited them to give their statements of likes and dislikes in relation to the Defendant. '‘We said to the students and staff that we have been appointed to conduct such an inquiry and we have to provide them with the Data. Write down your opinions. Write what you know. You may write about his weaknesses also That is your freedom.”  said  Professor Kandasamy under oath on 18/11/2017 to the Tribunal allegedly appointed by the Council of the University of Jaffna, without a ‘Prima Facie’ confirmation report. Mind you, Ms Shanta Abimannasingham, PC was / is part of the Governing Council of the University of Jaffna. Such Error of Law confirms lack of ‘Service’ contribution to the Justice system in Jaffna.

The Sri Lanka Guardian reporter states about the legal minds in this issue:

[A new Thamil Makkal Peravai (TMP) was formed with Wigneswaran’s inspiration as an alternative to the ITAK. Kumar David describes its policies as an ideological throw back to LTTE-era Eelamist views. Kumaravadivel Guruparan, Head of the Department of Law at Jaffna, is one of the key TMP leaders and legal advisers. He has complete freedom to violate rules at the university. A Council member says he has been appointed legal consultant to the university at Rs. 30,000 a month violating procedures in the Establishments Code for such appointments, such as giving the basis of the fee computation, list of duties, period of work, and interruption of internal work, among other things. The Council failed to address conflict of interest in his advising on cases filed by colleagues. He practices in court during office hours appearing for the TMP……………………………………..

As a result, the new VC picked by the President from the top three as provided by the Act, was Prof. R. Vigneswaran. Prof. Vigneswaran is quoted by the newspapers when queried how, as saying that Mr. Guruparan’s candidate, despite doing very well in the Council vote, was not appointed because the intelligence services had given an adverse report on him over the clashes among students……………………..

Much like how political parties had to nominate women but had not been prepared with good candidates, Wigneswaran’s list contained some very poor candidates. It is said by a university academic on the Council that Wigneswaran’s list was assembled by Guruparan. The main qualification to be on the list was that they should be TMP men or Hindu leaders. Those on the TMP list included old Council members like Dr. Lakshman and Shanta Abimanasingham, PC who are highly active TMP activists. It favoured some allegedly without first degrees like Aru Thirumurugan with Hindu credentials over those with postgraduate degrees, etc.]

Chief Minister Wigneswaran who relies on his past qualifications as Judge of the Supreme Court failed to renounce that credit when he became Politician which effectively made him the parallel of Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa who impeached the then Chief Justice.

As for Activism by students the evidence heard by the Tribunal hearing Dr Darshanan’s matter confirms that that was the driving force.

The submission highlighted the evidence that there was vested interest by NGO related participants:

The expert opinion of Dr Shyamala Gomez, Country Director, FOKUS Women, a women’s organization based in Colombo that partners with nine women’s organizations working in the North and East, was sought by the Council. Ms Gomez as per published records taught law at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo for over eight years and was also Gender Advisor to the UN Office of the Resident Coordinator in Colombo for many years. She also served as Senior Programme Officer, (Women and Housing Rights) at the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE).
She has written and published extensively in the areas of violence against women, masculinities, rights of migrant workers, land rights of women, women, peace and security, women and politics and more generally on women’s rights. She is also a trainer and has worked extensively with the corporate sector.
A Fulbright Scholar, she has an LLB (Honours) from the University of Colombo and a Masters in Law from Georgetown University, Washington DC. Professor Kandasamy stated when giving evidence that the services of Ms Gomez were sought due to Ms Gomez being a Women's Rights Activist

Following are highlights from the submission by Dr Darshanan:

[95.The written statement by Ms Mayuri Selvarasa (P1) given on the invitation of Professor Kandasamy & Dr Navaratnarajah, did not mention any name of the person against whom that statement had been given and yet Dr. Gomez has accepted that as evidence against Dr. Darshanan.

96.   It is submitted that not only does this confirm unprofessional work but also callous demeanour towards Dr. Darshanan

97.   In her report dated 13^th September 2016, Dr. Gomez lists as evidence under item 4:

‘Suggesting that  victim 157 take her clothes off in front of him’

This is NOT in P1 – the statement that the witness claims to have written on 4.12. 2006 on the face of the document P1 about an inquiry that happened 9 years later in 2015 .

98. At page 12 of the transcript recording of proceedings of 18 November 2017

99. It is submitted that the lack of details in the report by Dr Gomez in her report has led to manipulated evidence being presented to the Tribunal. The ‘undressing’ data seems have been picked up by the witness – Ms Mayuri Selvarasa who gave evidence and who confirmed that she was brought to the Tribunal by the Prosecuting officer who personally went over to the home of the witness to bring her to the Tribunal.

It is submitted that the report by Dr Gomez becomes frivolous and vexatious if indeed P1 was used for the report. ]

The report of Dr. Shyamala Gomez, Country Director Fokus Women was received by the University and was included as part of the evidence provided to the Tribunal. Published records state: 

'FOKUS WOMEN is the locally registered Sri Lanka country office of FOKUS based in Oslo, Norway. FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development is a member-based knowledge and resource center. FOKUS' objective is to strengthen collaboration between women's organizations in Norway and globally through advocacy, campaigns and international development cooperation. It began operations in Sri Lanka in 2012 and has been implementing the UNSCR 1325 Programme on Women, Peace and Security in Sri Lanka with partner organizations working at national and local level. This programme with conflict affected women as primary beneficiaries includes research, data collection, advocacy, redress for women who are sexually exploited and survivors of violence including early marriage and domestic violence, strengthening women and government officers for women to claim their lands and other Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR), post conflict healing and memorialization within a transitional justice framework. The organization is responsible for monitoring the implementation of partner projects.

On 18-November-2017 the Prosecuting team  introduced itself as :  

[My name is Subasini Anton Kishore. I am an Attorney at law. I have more than 5 years’ experience as a lawyer. I have experience in this kind of inquiry. I am also working at … Centre  as Program  Co-Ordinator. We are currently working on Decent work place and Gender Equality related project at that Office. In addition, I am also a lawyer involved in Policy making related to Gender equality and Decent workplace ]

Asst. P.C: My name is Karthiga Athithan  I have been working for NGO… since 2009.  Also at DRC and Human Right Commission. Mostly at the organization known as  ‘Women and Need’ to protect  women’s rights; Also as coordinator at Legal Aid in addition to working at a private bank as legal officer ]

They are all women activists – naturally colluding to take the weapon of Elimination of Sexual Harassment in their hands. Dr Guruparan was nowhere at the scene of the inquiry. The details submitted by Dr Darshanan in this regard are as follows:

26-November-2012

Mr. K.Guruparan, who was then to the knowledge of the Defendant , a Law Lecturer within probationary period, came over to the Academy around November / December 2012. Mr. K. Guruparan was accompanied by five others - Prof. S.T.B.Rajeswaran, Prof.Rev.Pilendran, Mr.Rasakumaran and 2 more Lecturers. As per the Affidavit of the Defendant, his understanding was that, all were from the faculty of Arts and were sent by Dean of Arts. As per the Affidavit of the Defendant they had said to him words to the effect 'Some academics have difficulty with Administration. You seem to have such difficulty. It’s your teaching position that gives you your main income. We advise you to therefore voluntarily give up your Acting Head of the Department position and keep your teaching position.'

To Dr Guruparan’s credit – he did not refer to any Sexual Harassment charges. A person who is strongly family oriented would think many times before making accusations of Sexual Harassment. On my part – I went by the ‘certification’ given to the University by the wife of Dr Darshanan who is also an Academic at the University of Jaffna. In terms of the law, the closest relation by law is the subjective authority until proven otherwise by independent evidence.

The above prosecutors / activists did not have the jurisdiction probe into complaints based on unsubstantiated subjective opinions of those junior to Dr Darshanan. Dr Gomez was revealed to be incompetent and indicated vested interests in getting NGO business and hence did not have the authority to provide subjective opinion as an expert.

The evidence recorded confirmed that Miss Kanagasabai Tharmila  who was a student who also complained against Dr Darshanan’s teaching method and who gave evidence on 08 December 2017 confirmed that her  fear  was due to  her own family background. That ‘family conscious’ witness categorically denied any Sexual Harassment by the Dr Darshanan.

All of the above mentioned Lawyers and Mr Wigneswaran – the Ex Judge attached to his title – even after taking rebirth as politician – are the causes of the deterioration of law and order at the University of Jaffna. One needs a lawful relationship through which to apply the law. Where there is no such relationship we are individuals – free to act as per our Belief. The denomination of our Belief is confirmed by that relationship. Where such Belief includes investment by those who are currently ‘external’ to the physical relationship that is part of the wider institution – the representatives of  such invisible investors need to be greater than those who are actually producing the current outcomes. Hence the plus one. Such invisible investors include the ancestors and gods who sometimes get imprisoned by the Asuras who want immediate benefits. Lord Muruga is known as the Deity who redeemed the gods from Asura prisons - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JlX8Wc_DRc:

theyvar siraimeetta                 - One who redeemed the gods from prison
selvan thiruvadigal                 - that youth’s divine feet
kaaval enakkaamedi - kiliyey – are my protection – oh lovely one

kavalai ellaam pohgumedi     - all my sorrows are eliminated

Saint Yoga Swami of Jaffna