Are we seeing a re-enactment of the bullying policies of India against Sri Lanka? The first instance was under UNP ruled JR Jayawardena when India forced Sri Lanka to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987, change its constitution to add a 13th amendment and introduced a federal system via the provincial councils. Under another UNP ruler the new constitution which the citizens of Sri Lanka never demanded is another Indian bogey now pushed through the opportunistic TNA and its racist politicos. India is divided along linguistic lines but does Sri Lanka also need to be? India is federal for a reason, does a small island nation need a copycat version of India. Does India planning to create a Telagana state scenario in Sri Lanka with the eventual goal to annex the North and slowly progress downward?
If the UN & international community agree to influence a division of a very small island nation along linguistic lines, it puts to the dustbin all the time wasted on promoting communication, unity people through diversity and blah blah blah…
India is now going overboard in its influence over Sri Lanka partly due to lack of leadership and political will or vision of our own leaders.
We should all know by now that there was never a nation called India until the British came and brought separate princely kingdoms and territories under one name – India. India became divided by language. Understandably so, India by size was 3.288 million km² and a present population of 1.252 billion
Andhra Pradesh was for Telugu’s, Gujarat was for Gujarati’s, Tamil Nadu for Tamils. When the Sikhs asked for a state for themselves they were denied.
There are said to be 225 district languages. Sri Lanka has just 2 with Sinhala being the majority language spoken by over 70% of the population. States were divided according to language in 1956 and Hindi became the national language. When that occurred many states opposed it in particular Tamil Nadu.
Dividing India by language was an idea peddled by colonized English educated Indians. Nevertheless years down the line the problems are clear. Regional differences have made people more divided. Where is the national integration when a man travelling from Tamil Nadu to Delhi is like a foreigner unable to even ask for a cup of tea in Hindi? People in one state cannot converse with people in another state. They don’t know the language. So where is this ‘unity in diversity’ that is being preached?
Language has become the politicians tool. We see how it is working well in Northern Provincial Council with Wigneswaran and coterie peddling the Tamil card at all times and spurring emotional and psychological encirclement of the Tamil masses. The same exists in Tamil Nadu. This is why Tamil Nadu politicians end up a nuisance and though the Indian Centre is well in control of the situation the Centre too enjoys using Tamil Nadu politicos to influence Sri Lanka. Language has become meddlesome in internal and external affairs.
Language is diminishing national feeling because politicians are able to focus the attention of the people in a particular state through language only to what concerns them and only them. What the nation needs is undermined. We see that in the NPC – the Tamils in the North know all film stars in Tamil Nadu but are clueless about anyone in Sri Lanka except their own racist NPC members. This gone unchecked will lead to political instability in future.
When an area under racist politicians ruling people by only the language factor is allowed to go too far, what eventually happens is conflicts and the demand for a separate state which is what we see Wigneswaran, Sambanthan and coterie now demanding openly. These politicians are ready to go all the way for they see benefit for themselves personally for they will become kings in a new terrain that will be declared ‘independent’. How they can run the state, whether they can sustain the state is never thought of not even how the people will suffer thereafter. We can see how Kosovo independent state is now suffering without any means of exporting, without countries recognizing its independence, without jobs and the people today live in squalor or have had to turn to prostitution to make a living.
India as big as it is with over 200 languages had no choice but to divide it according to language. India is realizing the fault and the chaos that prevails. Not only is there no unity, people don’t connect, politicians of states have taken an upper hand even in the basic administration process problems have arisen because one state doesn’t know the language of the other. All this clearly shows how Sri Lanka erred in allowing 2 official language policy in Sri Lanka when the 3.8million minority Tamils and Muslims should have been told that every citizen must know basic Sinhala and Sinhala remains the official language. How much of paper is being wasted to print a simple circular in all 3 languages? The learning of Sinhala by all should have been a criteria in education for all school types. Had this been done the promotion of minority ethno-lingual racism would not have gone this far.
In India R S Sarkaria headed Commission in 1983 recommended that India follow a 3 language formula –regional language, Hindi and English at school level. English would remain official language but states that were divided according to language would instead be divided by administrative units and all political parties promoting linguism should be banned. This was certainly a good formula.
Andhra state became the first state divided on the basis of language into two Telugu-speaking states in 1952. Kurnool became its capital. In 1956 the Telugu-speaking areas in Hyderabad State merged with it and Andhra Pradesh was formed and capital became Hyderabad not Kurnool. In 1969 the state began to agitate for a separate Telangana in 1969 and separate Andhra in 1972. President’s Rule had to be declared no different to how Sri Lankan President Premadasa annulled the merged N-E province when Indian stooge Varatharaja Perumal declared unilateral declaration of independence. Demands for a separate Telangana continued even in 2001 with demands getting more violent until eventually the Indian government had to give it and declare a Telagana state bifurcating the existing State of Andhra Pradeshvwith a population of 3.5million in 2014 (12thlargest and 12th most populated State in India).
When India failed to achieve unity via linguistic divisions why is India promoting the same for Sri Lanka and why are Sri Lanka’s leaders illiterate to these realities?
Let’s take another example from the West.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/may/09/belgium-flanders-wallonia-french-dutch
In Belgium in an area called Mechelen, all messages are in Dutch (language of Flanders) and no mention of Belgium. But there is no country called Flanders. Politicians like Wigneswaran exist in Belgiums’ parliament too ‘Long live free Flandes’ may Belgium die’ which resulted in Belgium going without a government for 6 months in 2007 causing resignations by the PM too. Like Wigneswaran and Sambanthan there are Mayors who say ‘I’m Flemish, not Belgium’ obviously there is no loyalty to the country called Belgium. Same story in Sri Lanka.
This is another example how language has become a fundamental flaw creating conflict-driven societies.
Putting things into perspective we need to first realize that terrorism in Sri Lanka was not home grown. It was created by India. Tamils became the scapegoat to be used by India that found it a piece of cake to raise Tamil Nadu Tamil sentiments for their brethren in Sri Lanka to kickstart an ideological emotional cum terror mechanism that lasted 30 years and lost many lives while also contributing to tweaking Sri Lanka’s Unitary Constitution to making it Quasi-Federal virtually identical to India. We have to face upto and acknowledge these realities. That terror is over does not necessarily mean the ideology has stopped. That ideology has or never had anything to do with LTTE or Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka except they have been ready surrogates to deliver what India aspires – historical goal to annex Sri Lanka to India. LTTE simply used homeland sing song which had been generating momentum from Tamil Nadu and pillow passed on to Sri Lanka’s racist Tamil politicians to take over thereafter.
The entire drama is choreographed by India.
The separate homeland song is birthed by India and birthed in India.
Notice how India sheepishly included homeland provision in the Indo-Lanka Accord, notice too how India worded the same accord to encircle North and East by using ‘Tamil speaking people’, notice too how Muslims have been frequently referred to as Tamil-Muslims. All these were with the sole intention of acquiring both areas and drilling a reason to acquire both areas therefore the ‘homeland’ myth became the perfect tool which Sri Lanka’s politicians were slow or illiterate to pick up or simply did not care to nullify politically.
India influenced the drafting of the cease fire agreement in 2002. India influenced the resolutions against Sri Lanka at the UN, India is using Tamil Nadu fishermen to ensure it has relevant issues to keep Sri Lanka choked. India has used locals and politicians to gain stakes in every sphere of polity – socially, culturally, economically and now even politically in Sri Lanka. Our politicians are clueless and unable to put the picture together to understand the ramifications and the dangers at stake.
Our Sinhale kings did not have legal degrees, doctorates, they were not educated but they managed to keep the small island nation from being taken over by India for thousands of years. In just over 68 years post-independent leaders have made a mess of the entire country virtually selling every nook and corner of the country for their own power and political survival.
Wigneswaran, Sambanthan and coterie are now putting the tigers out of the bag and not a single politician seems to bother about it to highlight the dangers to the nation. They are all more interested in getting cabinet portfolios, amassing wealth, commissions or returning to power. Even the media stands exposed for their silence. Apart from a handful no one is showing the larger picture for the people to realize the impending dangers especially when those tasked to draw the new constitution are either separatists or federalists who will do anything for their own personal gain.
Shenali D Waduge
srilankaopinion 