Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

28 October  2020

 

 

 

China & the 6^th Amendment

There are many pathways through which we achieve a target. The effects may look the same but level of the pathway we follow determines the depth and / or the width covered by our work. A Tamil lawyer-politician recently stated that his party’s goal was the same as that of the LTTE’s  but that the pathways were different. That would then make them each other’s opposition in democracy. The family example is that we could have agreed to ignore Thesawalamai principles and divided brother’s intestate estate equally – as per the legal application made by sisters of the Deceased. The Northern Sri Lankan Courts ruled on Common law basis to distribute equally – as if Thesawalamai did not apply. The political version of this is that Sri Lanka is a Unitary State. The above politician’s electorate is Vaddukoddai which is the same as that of the family concerned. So far there has been no discussion on the validity of this judgment  delivered in Northern Province. We did not appeal to the Supreme court. Instead, I wrote the book – ‘Jaffna is my heritage and not dowry.’ That escalation happened because of our side’s truth and genuine commitment to the path of law as interpreted by us and as ‘told’ by the courts.

That book is about how I had the judicial experience in Northern Province whose then Chief Minister Mr CV Wigneswaran was kept informed of our experience. By choosing to remain silent Mr Wigneswaran and the above mentioned lawyer-politician have confirmed the lack of commitment to democracy. During a recent survey by the media, an American lady said that her vote was for Trump because of the positive experiences she had under Trump’s presidency. That is also the way I would vote – not just in elections but on continuous basis – which empowers or blocks the leader through the system of truth. The most powerful of all is the vote of Belief. 

When we vote on the basis of belief – we actually vote for ourselves. The system of Truth carries it to the top to deliver to us in one form or the other. Where a judicial system is seriously damaged by falsity, this passage is hindered and hence truth takes alternate routes including media and publishing. It never fails to reach its destination which is the group bound by belief/sovereignty.

In our case the destination was our diversity in Northern Sri Lanka where majority practice Thesawalamai law – largely in terms of marriage and inheritance. To the extent I was true to this law, those Ancestral minds guided me and I mind-merged with the practitioners who had the need. In turn – the value of our Brother who passed away – was escalated to the higher judicial level that we as a family were capable of raising it to. This then becomes an actual governance structure for that whole of Northern Province. This happens with everyone who is the provider as well as the beneficiary. That is the true service to the Public.

In our family matter the visible effects – monetary wealth - were the same as if we had consented to equal distribution. But the pathway was different. We took the adversarial position which upheld the Vaddukoddai Resolution of entitlement to Separation of Powers which is different to ‘separate state’.

Recently, a Tamil Diaspora professional forwarded a video clip regarding the separation of powers between male and female Thookanang Kuruvi / Baya Weaver. The clip was sent to explain the common reason for ‘divorce’. The presenter emphasises the nature of male and female Kuruvis being different and how they do not interfere in each other’s activities and live in harmony. The presenter states that one is not equal to the other. I identify with this because logically, to be equal the measure / law needs to be common. When the functions are not common, the laws cannot be common. They are differently abled and are taken as equal so one  does not take the other as junior.

Thesawalamai law thus separates daughters and sons as two different groups. Daughters inherit from mothers and sons from fathers. The inheritance includes the skills. In most families known to me – women are primarily home makers even when they go out and work. Yet, the Jaffna Judiciary – all males – who probably did not like my show of independence, upheld common law outcome as claimed by the apparently submissive female opposition who spoke  only as per their male lawyer’s coaching.

To truly claim independent nation Northern Tamils have to confirm strong commitment to Thesawalamai law. To claim a long history of Tamils living in Sri Lanka is the parallel of Separate State as structured by militants. Both are physical realities. One who practiced gender based diversity would naturally appreciate nationhood on the basis of diverse culture.

The military would tend to interpret Separation of Powers as Separate State. The intellectual would read it as self-governance claim. The 6^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution was introduced in 1983 to defeat armed militancy which interpreted the Vaddukoddai Resolution 1976 as creation of Separate State. The declaration happened through the democratic pathway. But the interpretation by the militants was autocratic as per their pathway.

To the extent separation is shown / claimed without majority folks being self-governing, we are cheating ourselves and facilitating elected leaders to practice autocracy. The result is division by the parallels of the mother in King Solomon’s legend ready to accept  half the body of the child. Those who are truly nationalistic through any pathway would rather see the child alive as another’s baby than have half the dead baby.

The Hindu order of respect for elders – is in the order of Mother, Father, Guru & God. Mother is the most visible and God is not visible. The parallel in government is Local Government, Provincial (State in Australia) Government,  National / Federal and Global. Global Governance that is shown and seen is the parallel of State that is seen which brought about the 6^th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. Now that China is being shown and seen more and more as part of  Sri Lankan government – one is entitled to conclude that Democratic Sri Lankans have reversed the karma of the 6^th Amendment on the Sri Lankan government itself.