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Home > Struggle for Tamil Eelam > International Frame of Struggle for Tamil Eelam > India & the Struggle for Tamil Eelam > Independent Tamil Eelam will be a Natural ally of India
India & the Struggle for Tamil Eelam
An Independent Tamil Eelam will be a Natural Ally of India
Veluppillai Thangavelu
6 May 2000
Paattali Makkal Katchi has appealed to the Indian government to immediately recognise Tamil Eelam...
Paattali Makkal Katchi has appealed to the Indian government to immediately recognise Tamil Eelam...
The best news, after the fall of Elephant Pass and Pallai to the LTTE forces in April, has come not from Jaffna battlefront but from another front the diplomatic front. I am referring to the news carried by The Hindu (May 5) that "the Paattali Makkal Katchi has appealed to the Indian government to immediately recognise Tamil Eelam for which the Tamil Tigers have been waging a battle."
At an emergency meeting of the PMK State executive it was also resolved to appeal to the United Nations to intervene and help create an independent Eelam, so that the war in the island would soon end.
The founder of the PMK, Dr. S.Ramadoss who briefed press reporters at the end of the meeting said that he welcomed the Indian Governments stand of not supplying arms to the Sri Lankan government or sending troops to crush the Tigers. He also warned India not to allow any other major power to gain a foothold in the island under the guise of establishing peace. "India should not hesitate to take counter measures," he said.
To Tamil Nadu watchers the call by PMK to Indian government to recognize an independent Tamil Eelam should cause no surprise. Dr.Ramadoss and his PMK have been for a long time consistent in extending support to the national liberation struggle of the Tamil people spearheaded by the LTTE.
As a political leader Dr.Ramadoss never wavered in his support of the LTTE even at the worst times. During the witch- hunting days following Rajiv Gandhis murder and threat of TADA dangling overhead Dr.Ramadoss stood his ground. On the threat of arrest for supporting LTTE, Dr.Ramdoss replied in his own characteristic style. He said "I am ready to pay the price and go to jail for supporting the LTTE. After me my place will be taken by my son. And after him my grandson will court arrest."
Dr.Ramadoss, unlike Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who apparently has lost his "fire and brimstone" politics due to old age, never minces his words. He always calls a spade a spade to the point where it might look or sound "undiplomatic" in the eyes of the orthodox politicians. Even Vaiko, the fiery but cautious MDMK leader, has to lie low for a long period for fear of TADA. It is only after he got elected as a Member of Parliament in 1998 he slowly came out of the woods.
Vaikos principled politics, barring the brief flirtation, albeit a political compulsion, with Ms. Jayalalithas AIADMK during the 1998 general election, has earned him the respect of leaders like Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister A.K. Advani both of the BJP. The fact he declined to accept a portfolio, when other political leaders were falling over each other to secure a ministerial berth, even after he was pressed to do so by Prime Minister Vajpayee has helped to enhance his image as a self-less politician not after posts, pomp and glory.
History after nearly 400 years has presented a golden opportunity for the Tamil people to carve out a state of their own...
It is not an open secret that Tamil people are pinning their hopes on these two courageous leaders coupled with Chief Minister Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi of the DMK, K.Veeramany of DK and P.Nedumaran of the Tamil National Movement to garner support for a de jure independent Tamil Eelam in the political and diplomatic fronts.
History after nearly 400 years has presented a golden opportunity for the Tamil people to carve out a state of their own. Such opportunity comes only once in 1000 years. In more than one sense Tamil Eelam is not creating a brand new state. It is the restoration of status quo ante resuscitating the Jaffna Kingdom that the Tamil people lost to the Portuguese invaders (AD 1619) in the battlefield.
Rightly speaking Britain should have restored the Jaffna Kingdom to the legal heirs before they left the shores of Ceylon, which they failed to do. Instead Britain made the fatal error of handing over the whole country to the Sinhalese in a silver-plate in 1948 without the consent of the Tamils. The current war is a simple but costly exercise to evict the Sinhala occupation army out of the Jaffna Kingdom lock-stock and barrel!
The fall of EP followed by Pallai within a matter of 8 days has brought about a sea change in the thinking of the political and ruling circles of India. The events unfolded so rapidly and so sudden, it took some time for Prime Minister Vajpayee and South Block bureaucrats ( mostly Congress Party sympathisers who were hoping to hear the news of LTTE defeat, but not the defeat of Sri Lankan government forces) to digest the dynamics and dimensions of the change in political and military terms. It is no exaggeration to say that the Indian government, including its military, as a whole was taken by surprise by the turn of events!
We should thank Prime Minister Vajpayee, Home Minister L.K. Advani, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Defence Minister for denying President Chandrika Kumaratungas government lethal weapons to kill more Tamils under the guise of fighting "terrorism" which she has vowed to do even now.
Indian government decision to turn down the Sri Lankan governments indirect request for arms and ammunition and the direct request for naval assistance to evacuate the 40,000 troops trapped in Jaffna came as sweet music to Tamils around the world. Unlike the previous Congress government that arrogantly rode roughshod over the wishes and opinion of the people and the government of Tamil Nadu, the BJP displayed enormous sensitiveness to Tamil opinion. This was evident by the personal invitation extended to the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu M. Karunanidhi by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to come to Delhi for consultations.
There is no question of Tamil Nadu government or its people ever agreeing for supply of arms by India to Sri Lanka, which will be used to kill fellow Tamils. As already mentioned for far too long successive Sri Lankan governments have killed and maimed thousands of Tamils under the guise of fighting "terrorism". And the Sri Lankan governments oft-repeated mantra " the preservation of the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty" is a euphemism to justify the unjust war against the Tamils and their demand for equal rights with the majority Sinhalese.
Chandrikas oppressive rule marks an epoch consisting of blood stained pages of our history...
Ever since the dawn of independence every Sri Lankan government without fail resorted to discriminatory legislative and administrative acts to deprive the Tamils of their language and educational rights. The first blow dealt against the Tamils is the deprivation of a million Tamils of Indian origin of their citizenship and voting rights in 1948/49 followed by the enactment of Sinhala Only Act in 1956.
The worst onslaught against the Tamils came in the form of state sponsored Sinhala colonization of the Northeast provinces- the traditional homeland of the Tamil people for centuries. These Sinhalese illegal settlements were meant to change the demographic composition of the existing population in the Northeast.
These Tamils who work in the tea and rubber plantation sector and who form the backbone of Sri Lankas economy are the worst exploited working people in the whole world. Their living conditions and standards are no better than what obtained when they were brought in as indentured by the British two centuries ago.
The discriminatory manner in which Sri Lanka treats Tamils of Indian origin is indicative of its subtle, if not open, hatred for India and everything Indian. One time every one of the Hill country Tamils was derisively called "kallathony" meaning illegal immigrants by Sinhalese chauvinists. The only exception appears to be Lord Buddha himself.
Although President Chandrika Kumaratunga got elected on a peace platform, promising peace at cost, her five-year rule turned out to be an unmitigated disaster as far as the Tamil people are concerned. Her relentless pursuit of the "War for peace" military campaign, which she has again vowed to "relentlessly pursue the military option" has caused nothing but death, destruction, displacement, hunger and starvation. Her rule was the worst tyranny ever suffered by the Tamils.
"Chandrikas oppressive rule marks an epoch consisting of blood stained pages of our history. Her tyrannical rule has left a permanent scar on the soul of the Tamil Nation" was how the LTTE leader Prabhakaran described Chandrikas rule over the Tamils. He further dubbed Chandrikas 5 years rule as a curse on the Tamil people and a monumental tragedy.
I am recapping this piece of history to remind the Indian government and its South Block policy makers the true racist character of the Sri Lankan governments past and present.
Tamil people are the natural allies of India...
The Sri Lankan governments in the past never bothered to promote or cultivate genuine bilateral relationship with India. On the other hand they developed very close relationship with countries like Pakistan and China at the expense of India. When the necessity arose Sri Lankas ruling class never failed to play the Chinese or Pakistan card as the case may be in an attempt to check-mate India.
It is necessary for India at this crucial stage to identify those fundamental Indian interests that will guarantee the security of its southern flank against Indias enemies. Only an independent Tamil Eelam will provide such guarantee at all times and under all circumstances. The Tamil people are the natural allies of India because of the cultural, religious and historical ties the Tamils have with India. With Tamils of Tamil Nadu the relationship is that of mother and childs umbilical cord.
India need not entertain fears that an independent Eelam will fuel secessionist forces in Tamil Nadu. This is a myth spread by the anti-Tamil Brahmin controlled press in Tamil Nadu with ulterior motives. West Bengal never joined Bangladesh though Bengali language is common to both the people. So the time has come for India to take a decisive decision that will affect its course of history for the next 1000 years.
