The next installment on “Let them die to
maintain the hegemony of western science” has to be postponed to pen a few
words on the visit of Ms. Navaneethan Pillay originally from Natal in South
Africa where the Dutch settled down Vellala people or agricultural labourers
brought to that part of the world from present day South India. However, I am
not implying that Ms. Pillay is a descendant of the Vellalas brought to Natal
by the Dutch. It has to be noted that there was no India as such when the Dutch
were busy in changing the democratic pattern of Sri Lanka using military power
by bringing Vellala people from present day South India to the Jaffna
peninsula. It was forced settlement by a colonial power, and it is based on
such settlements and the settlement of Muslims when they were harassed by the
“democratic” Portuguese Catholics, by the “intolerant” Sinhala Buddhists that
the Indo Lanka Accord that is defunct now, proclaimed that the Eastern and
Northern provinces of Sri Lanka, that came into existence only in 1889, are the
historical habitats of the Tamil speaking people in the country.
Ms. Pillay could begin her
“investigations” by studying the loss of human rights of the Sinhala people due
to forced settlements of Tamils by the Dutch and the English in the present day
Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. What cannot be understood is why
this demographic change that was forced on us by the colonial powers cannot be
rectified by settling Sinhala people in the present Northern and Eastern
Provinces. If the Sinhala Kings could settle Muslims in the areas known today
as the Eastern Province (the then Ruhunu Rata) why cannot the present
government settle Sinhala people in those areas if there is a need for land
among the Sinhala people? Is it because these areas are treated as so called
historical habitats of the Tamil speaking people? It should be pointed out that
as late as the fifties when applications were called for land distributions in
Iranamadu the Tamils in general did not apply as probably there was no need for
land among the Tamils. The so called educated Tamils were interested in jobs
and privileges in Colombo leaving the “uneducated” to remain in the Jaffna
peninsula. The “educated” also took up politics to become the leaders of the
country, and not only Jaffna, with the connivance of the English governors. The
present Tamil problem stems from this ambition of the Vellala Tamil leaders
which could not be realized even with the assistance of the English governors
and officials.
I wanted to entitle this article “Ignore
Pillay” but then it would have led to a contradiction as I would not have
ignored her by writing on her visit. These are internal contradictions one
comes across in writing or speaking (using a language) and often these
contradictions are ignored by the writers as well as readers or speakers and
listeners. Is it possible to write an article on Ignore Pillay ignoring
her? In any event it is clear that Ms.
Pillay is ignoring the Sinhala Buddhists in the country as to my knowledge she
is not interested in the violation of human rights of this category. Is she
expected to meet any Sinhala Buddhist leaders? Some interested parties in the
NGO sector as well as some political parties would most probably “enlighten”
her on the Rathupasvela incident but that would not be for the love of the
Sinhala people but for the hatred that they have towards the government. These
very same parties had violated the human rights of the Sinhala people when they
were in power beginning with the “hartal” of 1953 and the Sinhala people would
not be fooled by the crocodile tears of the leaders of these political parties
as would be demonstrated by the results of the forthcoming Provincial Council
elections in the Central and the North Central Provinces. Could Ms. Pillay
remain as an “international observer” of course with the permission of the
Commissioner of Elections to monitor the elections? Even in the Northern
Province the government would not do badly though the TNA would capture power
in the first ever Provincial Council. The opposition parties as usual would
complain of corruption and “computer gilmart” but Ms. Pillay could find out for
herself the development that has taken place in the country including the
Northern Province, though I myself am not happy with the type of development
taking place.
Now there will be complaints of the
armed forces being present in the Northern Province and a former General of the
Army being the governor of the Northern Province especially during the election
period. It would have been better if the armed forces were not present in the
Northern Province more than in the other provinces but unfortunately it is
mainly in the Northern province there are Tamil racists whom have to be
monitored as no others whether “international” or NGOs monitor them. Tamil
racism is still present in the Northern Province with the tacit support of
India and the western powers as the recent statement by Solheim with respect to
the visit of Ms. Pillay would testify. Then TNA politicians such as Sampanthan
and Sumanthiran, who are mainly based in Colombo, meeting the so called Tamil
Eelam government bigwigs makes matters worse. The Tamil politicians whatever
they say for the consumption of the Sinhala people are still following
Chelvanayakam’s little now more later policy as described by none other than
his son in law A. J. Wilson in the biography of the founder of the Eelam
politics (Suntharalingam only gave the name Eylom) and as long as that type of
politics is practiced there is no other alternative but to keep the armed
forces in the Northern Province. The Tamil racist politics is against the
Sinhala people thus violating the political cultural and historical rights of
the latter.
Ms. Pillay may not be interested in the
cultural historical and political rights of the Sinhala people. However, all
these talks on multiculturalism in a strong sense are against those rights of
the Sinhala people, especially of the Sinhala Buddhists. In the whole world
there is no country in which multiculturalism in the strong sense is practiced
and one cannot find such countries especially in the western world with which
Ms. Pillay is familiar. All the western countries at present are Christian
countries culturally and politically though there may be other cultures present
in those countries. Even India is culturally, politically and historically a
Hindu country though there are Muslims in the country. It is better not to
speak of Buddhists in India who are still discriminated now more because most
of them are so called Dalits. Some of
these countries may be secular on paper (in the constitutions etc.) but they
practice multiculturalism in a weak sense. Not all cultures are equal in those
countries as there are dominant or significant cultures. In England Anglo Saxon
Christian culture is the dominant culture with the other cultures also being
present. It so happens that this particular culture is the dominant culture in
the world as well. In Sri Lanka Tamil and Muslim racisms are against treating
the Sinhala Buddhist Culture as the significant culture of the country. These
racists are thus denying the historical, political and cultural rights of the
Sinhala Buddhists. In Sri Lanka the constitution says that Buddhism will be
protected but that is something that has never been practiced since 1815,
though the Sinhala English Accord that was signed in 1815 also has words to
that effect. If Ms. Pillay could find time to meet the Sinhala Buddhists (not
those introduced by the NGOs as Sinhala Buddhists) also during her stay she
could learn more on these aspects.
Finally on the General who is the
governor of the Northern Province. There is nothing wrong in having a former
General of the Army as the governor of the Northern Province. He knows the
terrain having worked as an officer in the area, unlike the bigwigs who descend
on this country from the west or India. If a former Judge who wore the wig
having had his education in Colombo though born in Manipay could be the Chief
Minister there cannot be any objections to a General who knows the terrain to
be the governor. If the judges can become Chief Ministers surely the generals
could be appointed as Governors. In fact a “general” governor and a “judge”
Chief Minister could be a good combination!
21-08-2013