17 March 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

 

ETHNIC CONFLICT IN SRI LANKAN LAW

 

My attention was drawn to Asanga Welikala’s Twitter posing as follows:

‘Good, balanced, reporting. Both the CLE and the MCC have strong arguments. English brings economic and huge long term public goods advantages. But social fairness and non-discrimination are equally important. So a transitional approach would be best. Incrementalism always good.’

 

CLE = Council of Legal Education MCC =  Ministerial Consultative Committee.

The above posting is a good medium through which the issue could be analysed. Which of the two groups would identify with the above posting by Welikala? – the CLE or MCC? If it is CLE, then MCC would be the Opposition and v.v.

 

Welikala highlights also:

‘But social fairness and non-discrimination are equally important. So a transitional approach would be best.’

 

Is it the role of the judiciary to uphold social fairness and non-unjust discrimination in society?

Discrimination on the basis of law is essential in the court system. When the law is the basis, there is no room for any other basis.

When law is learnt in one’s own cultural language – it is highly likely that the mind of the guru  also is connected placed in the mind of the student. Hence Burghers are likely to be more comfortable where English is the language of learning. But they would also be the weakest in using their ability to use Discriminative thinking.

Tamils & Muslims living in Sinhala majority areas,  absorbing  the discrimination pain, developed exceptional skills particular to their respective communities. This was education for living for Tamils and Business for Muslims. My analysis on this is presented in my the chapter headed as follows Refer Appendix):  

‘UNTOUCHABILITY

Untouchability happens through Autocracy without ownership. Its lateral form is Indifference due to neglect.’

 

As per my analysis Tamils who absorbed discrimination pain developed deeper interest in that which was the motive of ‘Sinhala only’ language policy.  In turn the caste system based on ‘intellectuals foremost’ led to junior castes who absorbed unjust discrimination pain, to develop exceptional skill in their own traditional skills. Many freedom fighters in Sinhalese JVP and Tamil LTTE , including its leader Prabhakaran belong in this group.

This conflict between traditional customary laws and common codes of conduct often cause internal conflicts in families and communities. If one is committed to the Common law and its process one gets separated from the group driven by outcomes. The former unites and the latter separates. The clever without discipline needed by leadership contribute to separatism.

 

Welikala concludes ‘ So a transitional approach would be best. Incrementalism always good’

 

The conflict between Colonial Tradition and Tamil tradition, resulted in me writing to Mallakam District Court Registrar as follows with the motive of preventing miscarriage of Justice and weakening family heritage:

 

‘My husband and I, as 5^th & 6^th Respondents,  submit that it is our belief that this substitution, if granted, would be in breach of the Civil Appellate Court Ruling of 19 March 2018. On page 18, the honourable judges state as follows:

‘Section 30 of Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance No.15 of 1876 as amended states, that

‘Except when otherwise expressly provided, if all those who succeed to the inheritance are equally near in degree to the intestate, they take per capita, and not per stirpes.’

 

 

NOTE:Per stirpes is a Latin term you can include in your last will and testament to explain who will inherit your assets if one of your beneficiaries passes away before you do. With a per stirpes distribution, if one of your beneficiaries dies before you, their share of your estate will pass to their descendants. Using per stirpes is a quick way to name contingent beneficiaries for your property.

 

In Latin, per capita translates to “by head.” Under the standard per capita distribution, all beneficiaries in the same generation or class receive the same portion of the total assets. There are several different ways to write a per capita distribution into your will, but two of the most common are “to my children, per capita” and “to my descendants, per capita.”

 

If you’re one of two or more beneficiaries designated in a will, per capita means that you may inherit more than your equal share of the estate. This would only occur if one of your fellow beneficiaries passes away before the estate is distributed. Their share of the estate would be split evenly amongst the surviving beneficiaries, and not to that individual’s heirs. If you were only one of two beneficiaries, you would inherit the estate in full.

Mr Registrar, the above confirms that we have firm grounds to oppose the ‘substitution’ of children as if the distribution is on Per stirpes basis. If allowed, it would be in breach of the Appellate Court judgment which upholds per capita distribution.

 

We learnt also that the son (Mr Sritharan Mahathevan) of the Petitioner Mrs Sakthidevi Mahathevan has been substituted as Petitioner. It is submitted that due to the ruling of the Civil Appellate court, this  substitution is invalid. As per the Petition filed by Mrs Sakthidevi Mahathevan – the petition was under section 526 (b) of the Civil Procedure Code which states as follows:

526. When any person shall die without leaving a will or where the will cannot be found, and such person shall have left property in Sri Lanka

(a) any person interested in having the estate of the deceased administered may apply for the grant to himself of letters of administration; or

(b) any heir of the deceased may apply for the issue of certificates of heir-ship to each of the heirs entitled to succeed to the estate of the deceased.

 

I submit that only an heir who is a beneficiary has the right to be petitioner under section 526 (b).

As per, the Petition, the Petitioner did not have Administrative rights. The authority to issue Certificates of Heirship was issued on 23 June 2018. Hence the distribution ought to have

happened soon  after. We came many times to collect the monies which were in the custody of the Mallakam District Court. But your predecessor stated that he was awaiting the report of the Petitioner regarding distribution of funds in the UK. We are also awaiting the report in this regard – from Mrs. Saraswathy Sabanathan – the 4^th Respondent. We did not consent to her acting on behalf of us. Our letter dated 28 October 2022, in this regard, is appended.’

 

It was obvious to me that the former Registrar did not have the necessary knowledge to interpret the law. He became dependent on the clever lawyer from Colombo who did demonstrate outstanding English language skills which the primary court judge fell for. That conflict of interest led to miscarriage of justice.

Needed desperately in Sri Lanka is the facility for lay-litigants to present their cases. It is the parallel of ‘Customer is right’ principle in business and ‘Student -centred teaching and learning’ in Universities.

 

Appendix

 

In Sri Lanka, junior castes in both major ethnic groups rebelled due to this caste based unjust discrimination. When Sinhalese governments led by  Senior castes distracted their attention through Sinhala language -only & Buddhism foremost policies, junior caste Tamils restructured themselves to exercise their fighting skills.  That was how LTTE became the leading political force in Northern Sri Lanka after the 1972 quota system to enter Universities. Wikipedia presents the following on this system:

‘In 1972 government added district quota as a parameter within each language. 30% of university places were allocated on the basis of island-wide merit; half the places were allocated on the basis of comparative scores within districts and an additional 15% reserved for students from under privileged districts.

A lower university entrance qualifying mark for Sinhalese-medium students was also introduced in 1971 for science faculties, as shown by the table below:

 

 

 

Course of study	Medium	Minimum marks, 1971
Engineering	Sinhalese Tamils	227 250
Medicine and Dentistry	Sinhalese Tamils	229 250
Bio-science	Sinhalese Tamils	175 181
Physical Sciences	Sinhalese Tamils	183 204

The hardest hit population group were the Sri Lankan Tamils, rather than the affluent Sinhalese of the rural and urban areas. Sinhalese historian C.R. de Silva stated that "ethnically there is little doubt that the major blow fell on Ceylon Tamils. "

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, Tamils were underrepresented in university as a whole in 1970, constituting 21.6% of the population, but holding only 16% of the places.

The Indian Tamils had not gained from standardisation, despite having "the poorest schooling facilities on the island"

 

To the extent both ethnic groups discriminated unjustly on caste basis – they both contributed to unregulated armed war by junior castes. This is the philosophy of rebirth. Accordingly, unjust discrimination mutates as lower level opposition such as armed war.

Then they fought against each other. Tamil rebels were funded by Tamils, and Indians. That was how job-opportunities were restructured at reality levels.  Those who were suppressed but continued to be independent, became exceptionally gifted performers in the new structure. There were many of them in the LTTE.

16 March 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

HOW TAMIL WIVES LOST THEIR HUSBANDS

During my contemplation at the Bali memorial on Coogee Beach, I thought of writing my next book my next book on those who ‘lost family’ during the ethnic war in Sri Lanka. When I returned home and read my mail, my attention was drawn by a reliable source to the  Groundviews article ‘Military to Face a Day of Reckoning Over the Disappeared’.  That was the indicator needed to write this article.

 

At the centre  of the above article is Mrs Ananthi Sasitharan who was is presented by Wikipedia as follows:

 

‘After the election Ananthi was appointed to assist the Chief Minister on the rehabilitation of war victims. She took her oath as provincial councillor in front of Chief Minister C. V. Vigneswaran at Veerasingam Hall on 11 October 2013

After being elected Ananthi has taken her campaign abroad to Denmark, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the USA. In January 2014 the  nationalist Island newspaper reported that the Sri Lankan military was considering sending Ananthi for "rehabilitation", a move that Ananthi has stated she would defy’

 I analysed the Groundviews report on the basis of my own feelings, keeping in my mind, the most needy Tamils in Sri Lanka.

As per the report :

‘In a landmark case last month, the Vavuniya High Court ordered the army to produce three LTTE members who had surrendered to the military in May 2019 and have been missing ever since, in response to a habeas corpus case filed by their wives.

The judge said he believed the women’s testimony that they had handed their husbands over to the military and said that if the army failed to produce them, it must explain the circumstances in which the men had disappeared.

As per the original source at Sri Lanka Brief:

‘Notes from a habeas corpus case, Vavuniya 23.02.23. 

On Thursday, in a dusty courtroom, a judge delivered a damning verdict. Softly spoken, he called each of the three women to the front. Kanthi was first to stand up. She was in tears. One by one the judge’s orders were identical.

He said he believed the women’s testimony — first given years ago — and ordered the Sri Lankan army to produce their husbands to the court. They had surrendered to the military during the last days of the war in Mullaitivu nearly fourteen years ago, in May 2009.

 

It was the duty of the judge to use ‘evidence’ and NOT his personal belief. Belief is an exponential power which needs to be used through discretionary powers permitted by law, after all objectively measurable  evidence had been  exhausted.’

It is not clear whether the respondent was the Government of

Sri Lanka or the individual army officers. If it is the government the applicant ought to be named ‘LTTE’ and not the individuals.

If LTTE, true belief of the Court would be based on belief in LTTE laws and not Sri Lankan laws.

As per Wikipedia account of Mrs Ananthi Sasitharan :

‘Her younger brother went missing whilst fighting for the LTTE.’

Hence every member of the LTTE accepts the high risk of ‘disappearance’ during the war. When I went in search of an LTTE person whose name was in the official list he was not there. The Army said he must have ‘escaped’. The LTTE guy said later, that he was smuggled out. This could be the case with other LTTE cadre who were good in military activities and have joined other forces that value them. If I were more passionate about my work than my family then I would ‘choose’ to disappear. A true LTTE Fighter would choose fighting above family. That is the law of the LTTE. The following conclusion of the Groundviews report confirms this principle by the LTTE:

 

‘Even if time passes there is hope that we will get justice. The sacrifice of thousands of heroes who laid down their noble lives in the pursuit of freedom will not be in vain. We will fight for justice. Virtue will win.

 

The two  pictures above confirm how different the LTTE wives are to the traditional Hindu wife , Savitri who fought against her husband’s karma, to bring him back to life. The LTTE wives who desire global attention confirm that they have lost their heritage.

 

13 March 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

AUTOCRATIC POWER IN SRI LANKA

 

‘In Democracy, you have the right to Oppose through an alternate belief. Hence Equal Opposition in Parliament is facilitated. In this instance if you, Vikum Rajapakse are not part of the 'Colombo corporates' then you have the right to oppose but not criticize’ Gaja on Twitter

 Then my attention went to Tamil MP Sumanthiran’s posting: ‘The President’s convoluted argument that there is no local Government election has been clinically destroyed by M.A. Sumanthiran PC. He posed the question of why RW’s UNP, paid deposits and fielded candidates, if there were no Local Government elections/ ft.lk/columns/Will-P…’

 

My mind questioned the validity of the above. As per  my knowledge, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe came to parliament in the last Parliamentary elections through the National list entitlement.  Wikipedia includes the following under ‘National list member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka:

 

‘On a few occasions caste groups from within the Sinhalese and Tamils also obtained representation in Parliament as appointed members. In the Senate, 15 members were elected by the lower chamber, the House of Representatives and the other 15 members were appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Prime Minister and generally consisted of distinguished individuals’

 

In 2022, Mr Wickremesinghe  was appointed as Prime Minister by the then President Mr Gotabaya Rajapaksa. An appointment happens in an autocratic system. Election happens in Democracy. In reality, Sri Lanka became autocratic, due also to those voters who  became dependent on government. Dependent voters promote autocracy. Hence that system became naturally autocratic, which facilitated the Presidency which was denied to Mr Wickremesinghe in 2005 when Tamil Freedom fighters – the LTTE blocked Tamil votes through their autocratic power.

We often get distracted by visible outcomes. But those who believe in themselves are the ultimate winners.

 

11 March 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

BIPOLARISM IN SRI LANKAN VOTERS

Desire & fear are two sides of the one coin. The intellect has the ability to ‘see’ them at the same time. Below is an example of such a brain that ‘gives’ and ‘takes’ as it likes  in a ‘free’ environment in response to my article ‘The Common President’:

Gaja, Are you endorsing Mr.Ranil Wickremasinge? 

You write so much, well written (in the English language !) and you are an eager beaver!  must be spending quite a bit of time writing !! 

Do your writings gain traction other than from Prof Nadesan? other than from people who are copied in this email but widely from the public? 

Do you make money from your blog? if not, you must become a Youtuber and present your ideas via monologues or host a Podcast and make money.

Get some ideas from Megyn Kelly or Bill O Riley's Podcast. They are outstanding Podcasters ..you must become like Mygan Kelly both in appearance and in style!  otherwise, your ideas won't fly Gaja!

Your blog is named Australian Tamil Management Service. What kind of Management Services do you provide ma'am?’

 

I split my response and addressed the ‘two attitudes’ separately as follows:

1.   Thank you. I write the truth I discovered. I believe that it works to support the needy.

2.   The truth that came out in your response is that you are bipolar. This happens when you are driven by desires. You praise me on the one hand and the opposite creeps in because you feel ‘free’ and unstructured. Hence the use of ‘beaver’ which is derogatory, when used in reference to a woman. To you, it may be unconscious. But not to the likes of Xxxx who responded to indirectly to caution you.

True respect for one who does genuine research is a way to cure yourself.

This has become a common problem with Sri Lankan voters. Tamil MP Mr Sumanthiran has stated in his Twitter account:

‘Interesting results on the LG Polls and the financing of it! https://www.dailymirror.lk/poll’

The article is headed ‘Which political party leader has the vision and the capability to put Sri Lanka on a recovery path and lead to sustainable development?’

Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe at 1.5% rating was shown to be last in the rating. Majority group at 58.3% rating was ‘none of them’. This confirmed lack of reliable political structure which led to the economic collapse last year. I voted for Mr Wickremesinghe who is the best out of a weak lot. He is the medium through whom global leadership that Sri Lankans invested in and seek to revive through migration would work.

We often fail to remember our own karma when planning our future. But whether it is positive or negative, karmic Energy includes itself and leads the manifestation when our current efforts are weak.

According to Daily Mirror, 58.3% are Political orphans, with no one worthy of their trust. That 58.3% is vacant to be filled by foreign leadership. Their predecessors caused the economic collapse manipulated by foreign powers, including those that ‘show’ immediate outcomes outside a global structure.

As a Tamil who carries the integrated common heritage I identify most with the UNP to work our Colonial Heritage. Those driven by immediate and/or imaginary outcomes would contribute to dependence on foreign monies.

It is an opportunity for us to exercise our vote as per our truth.  I have highlighted this as follows in my book ‘Different Beliefs’:

Each sovereign individual / group has her/his/its personal god. Then there is the Universal God. Laws, including religious laws, are pathways to realising the group god. If that group laws are based on belief of the law-makers, the individual / group is naturally connected to the Universal God/Ultimate Reality. Hence all we have to do is be true to ourselves.

 

‘I recall another saying by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam who said – I quote “Once we are true to ourselves – Truth does the rest”.  – Our  Elder Dr. S. Chandrasekharan

 

 

 

 

10 March 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

THE COMMON PRESIDENT

I posted the first copy of my book ‘Different Beliefs’ published by Lake House group, to the President of Sri Lanka. The reason was intuitive intelligence that during his presidency, my investment in common law became more active than under the previous government. On 15 August 2019, I shared my feelings under the title ‘UNP Blessed in Northern Sri Lanka’ at http://austms.blogspot.com/2019/08/gajalakshmiparamasivam-lord-nallur.html

 

I mentioned this in the chapter headed ‘LAWS OF KARMA’ in my book. To my mind, it is Muthusum / Heritage .  Heritage / Karma has mind of its own. We returned to Sydney and I set out to explain the decision to oppose substitution to our lawyer. Then my mind was taken to the judgment in the Jaffna Civil Appellate Court which included the following‘on page 18:

‘Section 30 of Matrimonial Rights and Inheritance Ordinance No.15 of 1876 as amended states, that

‘Except when otherwise expressly provided, if all those who succeed to the inheritance are equally near in degree to the intestate, they take per capita, and not per stirpes.’

 

NOTE:Per stirpes is a Latin term you can include in your last will and testament to explain who will inherit your assets if one of your beneficiaries passes away before you do. With a per stirpes distribution, if one of your beneficiaries dies before you, their share of your estate will pass to their descendants. Using per stirpes is a quick way to name contingent beneficiaries for your property.

 

In Latin, per capita translates to “by head.” Under the standard per capita distribution, all beneficiaries in the same generation or class receive the same portion of the total assets. There are several different ways to write a per capita distribution into your will, but two of the most common are “to my children, per capita” and “to my descendants, per capita.”

 

If you’re one of two or more beneficiaries designated in a will, per capita means that you may inherit more than your equal share of the estate. This would only occur if one of your fellow beneficiaries passes away before the estate is distributed. Their share of the estate would be split evenly amongst the surviving beneficiaries, and not to that individual’s heirs. If you were only one of two beneficiaries, you would inherit the estate in full.

It is highly doubtful that even the most educated lay citizen of Jaffna would understand the above law. I myself did not at the beginning. But I stated the essence of it on the basis of Equal Opportunity laws. In terms of substitution, I stated that if a member of the next generation was made a beneficiary then the distribution becomes disorderly.

My investment in law, did the rest and drew my attention to the judgment.

Thesawalamai and related laws are part of Jaffna heritage. They were merged with common law by Colonial rulers. Heritages influence us from within. They are like mantras. We do not need to understand them. They work for the true believer. That is how Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe was empowered by the heritage of the law abiding Jaffna community. He is strongly influenced by the West and hence he best fits the Common President title.

27 January 2023

Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

 

INDO CHINA WAR IN SRI LANKA

• While the envoy of the atheist Chinese government has gone bare-chested to worship at a Hindu temple in Jaffna, the envoy of Narendra Modi’s anti-Muslim government in India has visited a mosque in Kattankudy, near Batticaloa. Politics doth make strange bedfellows and stranger practices. – ‘China courts influence in Sri Lanka via the Buddhist clergy’ by Tisaranee    Gunesekera

Chinese government’s move to tempt Northern Sri Lankans would have been registered at different levels by Sri Lankans. Some would have recorded the knowledge at emotional level; some others at intellectual level; A few at the root level through  their own truth. I am a believer in Nallur Murugan – the form of philosophy enshrined at the temple visited by the Chinese officials. My reception was as per my own belief. To that extent, I will use the current information for my own strength of mind. Likewise, Muslims in Kattankudy, in relation to Modi government’s visit.

 

Both groups have confirmed the global power of ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka. Tisranee highlights the past as follows:

‘Belt, Road – and Temple

China’s economic and political footprint in Sri Lanka grew dramatically from 2006, when Beijing offered to fund Mahinda Rajapaksa’s dream of turning the little harbour in his hometown of Hambantota into an international port (and name it after himself). Soon after winning the presidency in November 2005, Mahinda tried his luck with multiple potential funders, including India, and failed. China’s offer of bearing 85 percent of the cost, through a 15-year commercial loan for more than USD 300 million from Exim Bank, was eagerly accepted. So the port was built and hurriedly opened in November 2010 to mark Mahinda’s second presidential investiture and 65th birthday.

Though the project was a commercial failure, China’s loan spree continued. When the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, launched the Belt and Road’

 

The above identity lacks depth. through my book Different Beliefs, I share  my analysis of  how Buddhism upheld justice:

 

 

·       Buddhist remains at Kushinagar - Uttar Pradesh

·       1. The remains at Kushinagar are distributed in three sites the main site, Matha-Kuar shine, and the cremation stupa. The main site consists of the main stupa and Nirvana temple with the surrounding monuments.

·       2. On 20 October 2021, PM Modi officially inaugurated the airport during Abhidhamma Day celebrations at Kushinagar, stating that it would boost the aviation sector and help increase international tourism from Buddhist pilgrims around the world. On that day, Sri Lanka's Minister for Youth and Sports Namal Rajapaksa and more than a hundred members of the Buddhist clergy landed at the inauguration of the airport as the first international flight landing.

·       3. According to Bhikkhu Bodhi born Jeffrey Block, an American Theravada Buddhist monk ordained in Sri Lanka and currently teaching in the New York and New Jersey area,  ‘Abhidharma’ is an abstract and highly technical systemization of the [Buddhist] doctrine," which is "simultaneously a philosophy, a psychology and an ethics, all integrated into the framework of a program for liberation’

 

In March 2022, the Sri Lankan Sinhalese – largely Buddhists, became the medium  through whom the Buddhist heritage ‘Abhidharma’ manifested its Opposition to the Economic motive of Tourism. The protests began on the Ides of March . Wikipedia presents the following timeline of the Political collapse:

4. On 15 March, tens of thousands of supporters of the largest opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) led by Sajith Premadasa, carried out protests in front of the President's office, demanding that the President resign

5.On 30 March, Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa arrived for the opening ceremony of a sports ground in Bandarawela. During the opening, locals blocked the road and demanded fuel. This resulted in Rajapaksa avoiding the area and the mayor opening the grounds instead

6. On 1 April, Shashseendra Rajapaksa, nephew of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was forced to avoid a ceremony in Wallawaya due to protesters waving black flags

7. On 3 April, several Rajapaksa cabinet ministers submitted their resignations. Those who resigned included Namal Rajapaksa, who had criticized the social media blackout. Two ministers from the Rajapaksa family, Chamal Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, also resigned.

8. On 9 May 2022, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa tendered his resignation to the President.

9.By 10 July the Presidential Residence had become a tourist attraction with large numbers of Sri Lankans visiting the building to observe the luxuries enjoyed by the president despite the economic crisis.

10.On the morning of 13 July, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives with his wife and two bodyguards

When we Sri Lankans seek through our respective religions, we would become global enough to discipline our respective governments. The question that needs to be asked is ‘why did the Indian government, not protest strongly against ‘Buddhism Foremost’ article in the Sri Lankan constitution?

Tamil politicians who are pushing for the implementation of the 13^th amendment are continuing to miss the global boat!