The governments should protect the human
rights according to the so called political scientists and others in Sri Lanka
following their western counterparts. However, human rights as a concept has
evolved in the western world in protecting the individual from the powers of
the governments. As it is the governments which are responsible to protect the
human rights of the individuals a problem arises when the rights of the
governments are not protected or recognized by the individuals. The concept of human
rights in western culture, as all the other western concepts formulated within
the Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya, is restricted by this dichotomy
stemming from the limited Aristotelian logic, and one does not need a Derrida
to tell us that the westerners think in terms of dichotomies or dualities. If
the westerners could not realize it before Derrida then it points out to an
inadequacy of their thinking. The incipient bourgeoisie would have loved the
concept of human rights as against the western feudal states, but having come
into power they would have had different thoughts about the concept in the
states that they established. However, they are a managing class and they know
how to manage even human rights. The western countries belonging to the Judaic
Christian culture based on Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya have a monopoly
of not only creating concepts and theories but of interpreting them as well.
However it is not my intention to delve
into a discussion of human rights as such but to draw the attention of the
readers to the reciprocity involved in human relationships whether between
individuals, between organizations including states or between an individual
and an organization. The question that is being asked is where is the
reciprocity in the relationship between India and Sri Lanka. Why should India
(for that matter any other country) attempt to dictate terms to Sri Lanka as
far as the Tamil problem is concerned? At least in the case of England one can
understand their interest in the problem as it is that country that created the
Tamil problem and at present wants to use Tamil racism in the form of the
dispersed Tamils mainly in England, against the Sinhala people who continue to
fight against English (American) hegemony in the country. This does not mean
that we should be dictated by the English and should try to please them the way
the UNP would have done gladly.
India got involved in the problem not
due to any love for the Tamils in either Sri Lanka or India but due to the pro
western anti Indian foreign policy of the UNP governments, especially that of J
R Jayawardhane. The UNP neither then nor now know of any middle path and they
are prisoners of western thinking in terms of dichotomies. Even the little bit
of nationalism in the times of the Senanayakes was lost in the Jayawardhane era,
and Premadasa being a misfit in the UNP did not know whether he was coming or
going. Premadasa took a very anti Indian line and his pro western policy was to
be seen despite declaring the high commissioner Gladstone a persona non grata. India reacted to this
foreign policy of the UNP and not to the politics of Tamil Nadu at the
beginning. If any party is responsible for adopting a
wrong foreign policy it is the UNP.
It was subsequently that Tamil Nadu
politicians attempted to influence the central government and Indian national
politicians chose the easy way of winning votes in Tamil Nadu by deciding to
favour the racist policies of the former. However, we cannot forget that from
the very beginning India had a policy of controlling the Indian Ocean following
the infamous Panikkar formula that Indian Ocean is the ocean of India. This
policy is nothing new as it has been followed in some form or other from very
ancient times. Even today the Indian fishermen fish in Sri Lankan waters and
Tamil Nadu has apparently said that the former should be allowed to come to Sri
Lankan waters without any restrictions.
The Indian policy towards Sri Lanka is
dictated by the above three facts. The first and the third stem from Indian
national interests but the second is a result of local politics. What India
does not realize is that by adjusting their foreign policy to satisfy the
demands of a particular state they have only fuelled separatist policies
of Tamil Nadu. One should not forget that it was in Tamil
Nadu that separatist policies first arose even before Muslim separatism that
led to the establishment of Pakistan. If the west decides to support Tamil
racism India is in for a big problem. However, the west would support a united
India at present since it does not want to destabilize that country as it can
be used as a buffer against Muslim politics and China. The Congress is bound to
lose at the next general elections whether Tamil Nadu politicians support it or
not as has been illustrated by recent elections in some other states.
Now why should India be interested in
the “welfare” of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. The Tamils in Sri Lanka are not
citizens of India and if we go by the same “logic” Sri Lanka should take an
interest in the affairs of Buddhists in India. It is true that our constitution
does not allow the state (government for most purposes) to protect Buddhism in
India, but then there is no provision in the Indian constitution to get
involved in the affairs of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. However, the interest of
Tamil Nadu in the affairs of Tamils in Sri Lanka proves that the Sri Lankan
Tamils have come to Sri Lanka only in the recent past. The Sinhala people and
the Maldivians do not have that kind of relationship, though the Maldivians are
descendents of the former who have
migrated from Sri Lanka. The language spoken in Maldives though called Divehi
Basa reminding us of Deepa Bhasa that refers to Sinhala in ancient chronicles
has evolved independently over the years.
We have been dictated by India over the
Tamil problem from the time Indira Gandhi who wanted to teach a lesson to the
UNP leaders over the pro western policy of the Jaywardhane. Now what has India
done to Sri Lanka to compensate for these dictates. If not for India there
would not have been a thirteenth amendment and no provincial councils, an
utterly illogical solution to the Tamil problem. If Tamils are discriminated in
Sri Lanka then one has to solve the so called problem in the whole of the
country. However, the solution proposed is giving self determination to the
Northern and Eastern Provinces where less than fifty percent of the Tamils
live. Thus the so called problem, the discrimination of the Tamils in the other
provinces is not solved. In any event the Tamils in the Eastern province are
not in a majority in that province, and
there is no possibility of a merger of the Eastern Province and the Northern
province at present. In India states were demarcated along language differences
for different reasons and the Sri Lanakn situation is entirely different.
India has no right to intervene in the
affairs of Sri Lanka even if the Jayawardhane government was following an anti
Indian pro western line, and after the boycott of the CHOGM by the Indian Prime
Minister has told the world that they do not have any interest in Sri Lankan
affairs whether for good or bad of both countries. As they kept aloof at the
CHOGM India should keep away from our activities and we have no reason
whatsoever after the boycott to give a hearing to the Indians.
Nalin De Silva
13-12-2013