Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

08 August  2021

 

DR THIRUCHELVAM’S PROPOSAL Part 2

 

Completing Chapter 1

Yesterday’s article opened up a discussion from both sides which is integrated in this part 2

A Tamil Diaspora leader completed the 1^st Chapter on behalf of Tamil Diaspora as follows:

[A well balanced , arguable and analysed facts. Now it brings to my mind " Newton's third law which is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ The statement means that in every interaction, there is a pair of forces acting on the two interacting objects. The value of the forces exerted by the first object equals the value of the forces on the second object at the receiving end

Thank you Ma'am Gaja.]

Trevor - a Sri Lankan of Sinhala origin who is common to both communities wrote as follows. Trevor’s response was copied also to global participants involved at UN level:

[First Forgive and the rest follows.

Until there is Remorse, regret and repent for what we have done to each other Brothers and Sisters (Eg.Esau and Joseph in the Bible), NO RESOLUTIONS at the UNCHR in Geneva will fix this problem. It comes down to the 'Hard Hearts' of the two parties concerned.

It is SIMPLE to say "Sorry' like what Nelson Mandela did in S.Africa and then the Hardened Hearts Melt, we say sorry and Reconciliation takes place.

Both Neelan and GL are my Contemporaries at Uni in Colombo. I told Neelan when I last met him in Parliament to do something soon and he told me "I am doing my best" but unfortunately he was done by the LTTE before he could do his best.

Sri Lanka needs a De Clerk like S.Africa to work with a Mandela.

SL is bleeding to death because of this intransigence of MINDS.

It is like a Game of Cricket, all we need is a level playing field for Equality.

Sri Lanka for all, and not only for the Majority.

Trevor.Jayetileke, Chairman of the Australia Sri Lanka Council in Melb.(estb. in 1994)

8/8/21 (Today the Tamil Diaspora has reserves of over US$10Bln., and SL with no Dollars).

 

In essence the Diaspora Tamil has taken an Equal and Opposite role and the Diaspora Sri Lankan has taken time based karmic approach. Those who identify with either or both would contribute to the solution and progress to the next chapter. Chapter 1 applies to Policy effectiveness.

Raj takes us to the Citizens’ side through immigrants:

Raj: The population of the country comprises of migrants mainly from India who arrived at different times throughout history with the indigenous people of the country being the “Aadi Vasi people or the Veddah’s. In this context, the rest are all occupiers who have made the island their home.

Gaja: Veddas are the most Common group in Sri Lanka and they live close to Earth. Every migrant who pays her/his respects to the Indigenous group / Veddas as the first owners would be protected from getting into superiority mode through the lower criterion of community ancestry. When this attribution to elders happens, superiority complex through majority vote is prevented and the space is ready for Equal footing followed by merit basis. In the Australian parallel, those who are of English origin take the senior position. But each time they are genuinely challenged by later migrants the imbalance is righted to that extent. I am one such migrant in Australia. The courage came from my Sri Lankan ancestry which I completed without succumbing to racism in South or Casteism in North. Those who are conscious of being economically better off than their local opposition, tend to turn a blind eye to discrimination until they lose that advantage. LTTE was successful in taking control of leadership due to reverse discrimination. Unless cured – this would manifest also in the new homelands that Tamils have emigrated to.   

Raj: But, has it been the home for Tamils in recent times? Their ethnicity has rendered them targets for violence. State sponsored goons demonstrated in 1983 in no uncertain terms that Tamils were not safe in the country, except in areas where they were the majority. It also sent rightful signals to the Tamil community that the State could repeat such inhuman acts whenever and wherever they chose.

In looking for a solution to the conflict, what perhaps is paramount is how Tamils could be safe in their homes and workplaces wherever they live in the country. This has to be the aspiration of all Sri Lankans.

 

Gaja: The question confirms that Sinhalese migrants did not feel second-class to any others. The reason to my mind is that unlike Tamils, Muslims, and Burghers  Sinhalese did not have a parent homeland to turn to during crisis of Colonial rule. Hence like indigenous Australians – they became elders in majority parts of Sri Lanka. The process is a kind of positive dementia. But now Tamils also have been put to the test – and those who remained in Sri Lanka are the elders of that area – however tiny that land area may be. Those who are not conscious of a second homeland are indigenous to that area where they lived continuously. 

In Hindu tradition, a daughter is given dowry by the parents – and the marriage is considered a failure if the married daughter who accepted dowry returned to her parents. The Sri Lankan war confirmed such failure on the part of those who turned to Southern India or  Northern India respectively when they could not manage in Sri Lanka. In the case of Tamils – this happened at citizens’ level also. At leadership level – both sides turned to the respective Indian governments. Trevor states ‘Today the Tamil Diaspora has reserves of over US$10Bln’ . That is how their dowry has worked for them to set up homes in richer parts of the world. Those who return to Sri Lanka for further benefits confirm that they failed to develop a new branch of the family, in the nation they migrated to. I am a successful dual citizen because I brought no dowry / money from Sri Lanka to Australia and upheld the value of my Sri Lankan education as a heritage. When I go to Sri Lanka – I enjoy the heritage I developed there – in term of status. In terms of  money I pay royalty to that heritage through which I earned money here in Australia.

 

Raj: The writer wishes to suggest a discussion on a way forward for all Tamils, and the country as a whole, having regarded some of the reasons that were responsible for creating the problem, and as Einstein said, to explore a way forward with a mindset that the problems cannot be solved with the same thinking that were used to create the problem.

Gaja: Research and Teaching are the two core purposes of a University. Research begins with effects and Teaching begins with causes. Einstein as a Researcher would have been conscious of solutions being in the Opposite direction to the problems. The effects of war have opened the pathway to search within. When we travel through the problem in the opposite direction – along the same pathway through which the problem manifested – until we go no further – we have already developed the solution. The researchers’ narrative of the experience is the pathway to our learning about the solution. The root that the researcher reached is the whole that confirms that every problem carries its own solution.