The Government should immediately stop giving ownership of lands to Indian Estate workers as it amounts to a historic injustice done against the Kandyan Peasants
Posted on April 24th, 2015
Dr Sudath Ggunasekara, President Mahanuwara Senior Citizens Movement
The proposal to give ownership of estate lands to Indians Estate labourers by this government is an outright betrayal of Sinhala people. It is an unprecedented political bribe by this illegitimate Government taken to collect the votes of these Tamils. One could argue that it is only a continuation of the betrayals done by our politicians since 1954. But though the earlier Governments had given citizen ship rights to these illicit settlers on our soil none had give them the ownership over the mother that lay the foundation for the future Malayanadu, right at the center of this country
Therefore this Govt should immediately stop giving ownership of lands on Estates to Indian Estate workers as proposed by Minister Luxman Kiriella and scheduled to be handed over by Prime Minster Ranil Wickramasinha on 25th April at Bandarawela, until the following four steps are completed.
1All landless Kandyan peasants, numbering nearly 1/3 the population of this country are given a piece of land at least to have their burial pit. It is their ancestors who died and sacrificed everything they inherited from the dawn of history to protect the Independence of this country and not these Indians passengers who still continue to consider India as their motherland. Therefore Kandyans, but no one else, could and should legitimately inherit them.
2 Rectification of all mistakes committed by all Governments regarding giving citizenship by declaring null and void all citizenship awards given after 1954
3 Decide on new awards strictly according to the requirements laid down in Ceylon Citizenship Act 1948, Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Act 1949 and Nehru-Kotalawala Agreement of 1954.
4 Re-establishment the Kandyan Peasantry Dept of rehabilitation that was closed down by the last Government to create Divineguma and set up the Kandyan Peasantry Development Board proposed by the KPC Report of 1951.
The owners of these tea estates (both private and corporate) should also protest against this illegal political transaction as it is going to destabilize the entire plantation sector in this country as it will definitely extend to the Rubber plantations on the lower areas as well very soon. This is just like giving outright ownership to a tenant over the section of someone else’s house where he lives on rent.
Therefore no land belonging to tea Estates should be given to any individual as private land. The ownership of estate should be left in hands the owner, Company or a corporative society.
If the Government is so keen to give lands to Indian labourers (of course who are legitimate citizens decide as laid down under para 3 above) then they can create corporative settlements as village expansion clusters on unproductive lands adjoining to tea estates where both landless Sinhala people from adjoining villages and estate labourers are settled as mixed settlements. This will avoid ethnic segregation and find a permanent solution to Sinhala Tamil problem in the hill country through estate village integration as well.
No one should be given land for any purpose unless he or she has got full citizenship under the N-K Agreement because all citizenships given under any other scheme thereafter are illegal as they are only political bribes without any legal basis. The Nehru-Kotalawala Agreement overrides all subsequent haphazard actions on this issue.
Landlessness among Kandyan peasants who lost their ancestral land due to British taking over them by force was given as 39,000 families in 1949.Today it has gone over 200,000. In spite of the fact that this country is supposed to have gained political independence from the British in 1948, and was ruled by the natives for almost 66 years since then, today they are the worst neglected lot who has become virtual Refugees” on their own Motherland, since 1815. Their plight is not second to that of the American Red Indians or the Australian Aborigines. They were robbed and exploited by the British nearly for 150 years and thereafter they are, being continued to be robbed and betrayed by their own politicians, who have deplorably failed to restore their birthrights and the historical injustices inflicted upon the Kandyans by the British. The British deprived our birth rights to plunder our wealth to enrich their coffers in Briton. Today our mother land is being plundered by local politicians to get the Tamil vote to get political power and enrich their own coffers and fill their bank accounts here and in foreign banks.
Politicians who are responsible for these traitorous acts all others in the UPFA who voted for the Divineguma bill for the abolition of the KPC and Kandyan Peasantry Dev Authority should be listed as traitors of the first order who have committed the most heinous crime against the Kandayan peasants. In the name of the forgotten and betrayed Kandyans, I wish God will create a separate hell for these traitorous politicians.
If the 1948 Ceylon Citizenship act, Indian and Pakistani (Residents) Citizenship Act (1949) together with Nehru-Kotalawala Agreement of (1954) had been intelligently and consistently used throughout in deciding matters on this issue by our politicians and State Officials this problem would not have been there today. Unfortunately we did not have both patriotic politicians and Officials like in India who put the country before self.
Voters should also learn to elect men/women who represent their interests and not betray them for personal gain. As such they too should take a major share of the responsibility for their present plight for electing such self centered parasitic politicians to represent them.
- Curse be on all politicians who betray the nation
April 24th, 2015 at 3:44 pm
CURSE ALL THOSE WHO ARE PART OF THIS TREASON ACT!
ENDIAN TAMILS belong to Endia. DEPORT them. We are a small island with NO room for Endians.
April 24th, 2015 at 4:39 pm
Traitor Sirisena will agree to anything to save his Amude’. He has no principles nor morals. He should be impeached for the harm he has done under his administration to the country. He is being used by Gay Ranil and his cohorts who pander to the wishes of the Christian West.
Our motherland is in utter danger. Stop analysis paralysis and get organised. This is the need of the day!
April 24th, 2015 at 5:40 pm
අහෝ උඩරට සිංහලයන් ජීවිත පරදුවට තබා සුද්දන්ට විරුද්ධව සටන් කලේ මේකටද එජාපය කල්ලලා තොනීන් පුරවැසියන් කර සිංහලයන්ගේ ඉඩම් උන්ට දෙය් මුන්ගෙන් සෑහෙන පිරිසක් හෝ ආපසු යැවීමට සිරිමාවෝ ගත උත්සාහයද නැවැත්තුවේ ඒ ජා පයය් රනිල් ලාට චන්දය දෙන උන්ටද ලබන ආත්මයේ හෝ ඉඳුම් හිටුම් නැතිවී අනාථයන් බවට පත් වේවා අපේ මුතුමිත්තන්ගේ ලෙයට ගරු නොකරන සිංහලයෝ බල්ලන බළලුන් වී ඉපිදෙවා වර කිරීම ද්වේශ කිරීම නරක වුනත් මේ ශාපය රටේ 70% කගේ යහපතට නිසා මම අපායට ගියත් කමක් නැත .
April 24th, 2015 at 6:01 pm
Namaste: Idi Amin did a great job in getting Indian to leave their Colony Uganda. Kotalawala-Nehru agreement was put in the bin by Indian Governor SWRD. The settlement of landless non Indians in the different parts of the Island was scrapped by SWRD. Maithreepala Sennayake was married to a Tamil, Handys whose sister was married to the God Father of the Indian terrorist arm. SWRD put a hold to settlement of landless non Indians. Indian imperialists did not do their part under the Sirima-Shastri Pact and Shatri was killed by the Third Eye when he visited Ukraine. Look at the 2005 and 2015 voting pattern by the Indians in the Island and you will see all Indian in the North, East and the Malay Nadu (Hill Country) abstained in voting in 2005 and voted with their hands and feet in 2015 presidential election. Jai Hind
April 24th, 2015 at 6:34 pm
It is just and proper to give the all important estate workers the right to buy a piece of land to put up their own homes just as we living in the western countries have the right to buy and own our own home. Without the Indian Tamils our tea industry will collapse and these Tamils, unlike ones in the north are peaceful, unless we ill treat them to a point that make them hostile to the country that would lead to a situation in favour of the separatist lobby that would wish for justification for India to step in.
As far as I am concerned my best employee in SL and Malaysia are from the Indian Tamil community and one of the best hard working, loyal and good paying tenants in my business complex in SL are from that community. We should not be unkind to a community just because they are culturally different from us. It is unwise to dig in to history.
April 24th, 2015 at 9:22 pm
Damn correct DR.Sudath and Lorenzo when you both said “CURSE BE UPON ALL POLITICIANS WHO BETRAY THE NATION” The voters should not elect the same old goats again and again to the parliament to represent them. They must select the good educated wise people who can really do something to the country they love not pimps who say YES SIR for everything and get rich in no time.
People must think how we lived before 2009 for thirty long years. Did we live happily or freely? Did we go to office or school same like we do today? Just think if you have brains.Don’t go after politicians blindly and encourage to do the same mistakes they did during past several years. We have to live as Sri Lankans and do things which majority approves without satisfying only small groups or communities. This country belongs to Sinhalese and other communities if born in Sri Lanka can live side by side as Sri Lankans in any part of the country without demanding separate areas to live. We need unity and love for our Motherland if not it will be very easy for outside terrorists or Mafia Govts to creep and disturb our peace and harmony.
April 24th, 2015 at 10:09 pm
This is AN OUTRAGEOUS BETRAYAL!
AN IMMEDIATE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS CASE SHOULD BE FILED IN ORDER TO GET A SUPREME COURT RULING ON THIS SINCE THERE IS THE KANDYAN PEASANTRY COMMISSION REPORT THAT CLEARLY SHOWS ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP OF THESE LANDS BELONGED TO SINHALA SETTLEMENTS, AND THE BRITISH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION IN THEIR INFAMOUS LAND GRAB, BURNT THE VEGETATION, MASSACRED THE INHABITANTS AND ISSUED LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF THE LANDS TO BRITISH COMPANIES FOR PLANTING TEA, RUBBER, ETC. THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN SETTLED LONG AGO IF NOT FOR THE POLITICAL PRESSURES BROUGHT ON TO SCUTTLE THE ARRANGEMENTS BY THE POLITICIANS. NOW IT IS GETTING OUT OF HAND.
THE INDIAN TAMILS ARE HARDWORKING PEOPLE WHO DESERVE DECENT HOUSING…BUT THIS GIVING AWAY OF LAND IN EXCHANGE, IS FOR WHAT? IS IT FOR THE 157,000 VOTES OF THE MASKELIYA DISTRICT AT THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION???
SOME ARRANGEMENT TO PROVIDE MULTI-STOREY HOUSING FOR PROVEN LONG-TERM WORKERS AT VERY LOW RENTALS BUT WITHOUT THE ISSUE OF OWNERSHIP DEEDS COULD BE ONE SOLUTION. WHEN THEY LEAVE TO GO ABROAD OR COME TO COASTAL/URBAN AREAS ON WORK, THE APTS SHOULD REVERT TO GOVT. OWNERSHIP.
AS IT IS, ONE HEARS OF MANY CASES WHERE THE LINE ROOMS THAT WERE DEEDED AND HANDED OVER HAVE BEEN SOLD TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO OWNERSHIP CLAIM TO THE AREA, AND ORIGINAL OWNERS ARE NO LONGER IN THE COUNTRY OR CANNOT BE TRACED.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A HUGE PROBLEM UNLESS DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY…. INDIA HAS ITS FINGER IN THE PIE!
THIS COUNTRY IS A TINY ISLAND AND DOES NOT HAVE LAND THAT CAN BE DEEDED OVER EXCEPT IN TEMPORARY OWNERSHIP. IT IS NOT LIKE THE USA WHICH IS A HUGE COUNTRY WITH LOTS OF AVAILABLE LAND.
HAS ANYTHING BEEN DONE ABOUT THE >200,000 SINHALESE AND MUSLIMS CHASED AWAY FROM JAFFNA BY THE LTTE?
WHY THIS INDECENT HASTE WHEN THAT PROBLEM IS STILL LEFT WITHOUT RESOLUTION?
ULD
THE GHOSTS OF THE SINHALA PEOPLE WHO WERE MASSACRED BY THE BRITISH SOLDIERS WILL FOREVER HAUNT THESE LANDS
April 25th, 2015 at 2:11 am
Dr Sudath Ggunasekara,
please be human this estates family are all born in mother Lanka after 1948 !!!
they have same rights as you & I have in this Land whether we like or not.
Also They are back bone of our Economy (Tea & rubber) since 1948 which We both never ever work in their condition (Pay).
April 25th, 2015 at 3:55 am
This is an utter disgrace to the Sinhalas who opposed the Brits to the end – whose lands were these anyway before Liptons, Brooke Bonds etc grabbed them?? Now this imbecile MY3 wants to give them over to the Tamils imported by the Brits! – S de Silva – London
April 25th, 2015 at 4:06 am
Namaste: Some Sinhalese are brainwashed out hard working Indian Tamils etc etc. These Tamils are Tamils they are a one breed who arrived in the Island under the British Indian Empire. Some will think I am Mad. Look at what happened and then make up your mind and then comment please. Jai Hind.
April 25th, 2015 at 6:50 pm
As always, Dr. Sudath, gives an excellent picture of Kanydian landless peasants. What can he do nothing unless the people rise against the illegal government and take it over. In the Northern province Survey Department cannot survey the land. Tamil activists stops it. SA Kumar Hela Demala you produce a document and state how these entities can live together.
April 25th, 2015 at 7:38 pm
you produce a document and state how these entities can live together.- at last at least one Lankan puth(alvan) you in mother Lanka .
simple ! every Tamil school should have sinhala & Bhuddish education ( NEP & Estates) facility this is not mean change them to Bhuddish Sinhala NO that never happen (Tamil & Saivam in our blood that what we believe & that what we live for ) this change them to Demila Mother Lanka from Thamil Ilankaiyan.
with in 5 years all TNA &CWP MP will loose their deposit in their next election .
We Hela Demilaya do not need road or bridge .
NB/ 33 years war is finished now out of 330,000 forces I am sure We can recurite teacher for these Tamil school before Eelam war V start.
April 25th, 2015 at 8:07 pm
To Christie – you accuse people of being ‘brainwashed’ about “hard working Tamls” by taking words out of context. My reference was to the estate workers who are the focus of this discussion and what I said was –
“THE INDIAN TAMILS ARE HARDWORKING PEOPLE WHO DESERVE DECENT HOUSING…BUT THIS GIVING AWAY OF LAND IN EXCHANGE, IS FOR WHAT? IS IT FOR THE 157,000 VOTES OF THE MASKELIYA DISTRICT AT THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION??? “!
They do work hard in the blazing sun to pluck the tea leaf that forms a significant sector of the Lankan economy. We have to recognize that fact. It means also that reasonable COMPENSATION for this be given, but not in exchange for en bloc votes. Please read the entire para again. THANKS.
April 26th, 2015 at 10:15 am
As far as I know, 40 perches of land attached to each Line Room home has already been given by the MR govt. This land is from within the tea estates now owned by the GoSL (per Mrs B’s Land Reform).
Why not consider housing for tea pluckers in the same way housing is being done in the South. Some 4-storey buildings (flats) OUT of the estates in lieu of the old slave type Brit line rooms ? This saves land.
Upcountry Sinhala Peasants who lost land due to Colonisation and other reasons must be taken care of properly.
April 26th, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Good for Kandian peasants. They overwhelmingly voted for MS.
April 28th, 2015 at 11:54 am
SA Kumar, Thanks, at least you read and replied to my question. You have stated an ideal condition where by Tamils will have land and Kayndian peasants will have land. Now the question is (Still not answered) how can the survey Department measure land in Northern province, without the activists stopping it. It can be done in Kayndian areas but not in the north. I live in USA and has not visited the mother land for 15 years. The question you should investigate is whether OBAMA will allow this to happen? You went after the author, Dr. Sudath, time you took a closer look at The Election Commissioner, RANIL, CBK. and Srisena President. They will never allow, what you say to materialize. The only way to achieve what you are saying is get rid of the Election commissioner is by people rushing to his office and dragging him out and HANGING him in front of his office. Will OBAMA allow this to happen? Certainly not OBAMISTS are all over COLOMBO. Helaya is right, Kayndian peasants overwhelmingly voted for MS. But why?? Because MR did not know who was campaigning for him. One good example was Vass Gunawardena. This man is a common law criminal. IF MR is going to contest any election then he should authorize each individual. Then issue warning to people in the electorate not to listen or read dis-information by his opponents.
April 28th, 2015 at 12:52 pm
Lankaputhra
You say .. “I live in USA and has not visited the mother land for 15 years”. I intrigued how you call Sri Lanka your “mother land” when you have not visited it for 15 long years.
Perhaps, now it puts into perspective your ramblings about Obama, calls to the Election Commissioner, White House moles etc and all other far fetched theories that is quite seriously beyond belief. I would however stand corrected if you able to provide evidence for the same.
It’s perhaps no difference to people who keep repeating the mantra that Prabakaran died during the Tsunami, or 90% of borrowed funds was spent in the North and East for hundreds of thousands of North and East citizens to drive up and down the A9 or “beamed up” to vote twice during the Presidential Elections.
Fascinating indeed!
April 29th, 2015 at 3:11 am
LANKAPUTHRA/ Marco
We all are talking about different matters( Election commissioner, Obama,A9,VP dead ,kayddian etc..)
My only concern these poor Estates workers who born (after 1948) our back bone of economy still living in campara (room) .
do not they deserve a house ??? common be human before Mother Lanka !!!
April 29th, 2015 at 4:49 am
Marco
I am sorry to point out the people like LANKAPUTHRA are pseudo patriots, knows nothing about our country just hallucinating and causing mischief while living in the West. We are the patriots that have visited there, sometimes 3 or 4 times a year and investing heavily to give jobs and moral support to our country, though our past and present politicians have used our services to come to power got together with the undesirables to make a quick buck and live like lankaputhra in the West.
This is a tragedy for the third world but not for long.This web keep deleting my just comments and that’s all right.
April 29th, 2015 at 7:43 am
Marco,
Ah, you are back, what with $ UNP $ in the saddle !
Btw, I know lots of folk who have not visited Lanka for a long time who are still following the events there and have a fair and balanced view of things.
Re the P’karan/Tsunami comment : Ask Navy Chief Daya Sandagiri about it. He will set your mind at rest about it.
Re cheated elections : Ask Dilrook about that. He proved it. He did not say how the cheating was done, but he pointed out the figures which proved that it was done.
April 29th, 2015 at 2:38 pm
Fran- Thank you for your comment.
I’m glad many folks you know who have not visited Sri Lanka for a long time but follow events and have an uncanny aptitude to form an informed, fair and balanced view.
Navy Chief Daya Sandagiri also mentioned in that statement of his in 2005 that LTTE political Chief S P Thamil Selvan was also washed away with Prabakaran.
It begs me to ask the question then why the Navy Chief was celebrating with the other Chiefs of the Armed Forces together all Sri Lankans when “Double” Prabakaran was killed and splashed all over the world.
re- Cheating of elections. Please explain how quoting of figures by Dilrook proves cheating took place. Did Dilrook witness a mass exodus of people moving from the North to South and vice versa to vote twice.
Was he privy to a Star Trek episode during January?
Do you or Dilrook honestly believe that hundreds of thousands of Tamils and Muslims voted twice?
Wow!
In the same vain Dilrook believes that 90% of borrowed funds was spent on the infrastructures in the North and South. If one just looked at the loans of the 3 largest projects, we have spent circa 70% of the nations GDP on the North and East. comprehende?
Interesting I note, Kumar has a subtle and rather clever rope for commentators to latch on to.
April 30th, 2015 at 2:59 am
I would strongly suggest to the patriots of this web together and buy a small business like in a place in Kandy where one feel the true conditions of the country then one might look at life in SL differently.
May 1st, 2015 at 2:35 am
Interesting I note, Kumar has a subtle and rather clever rope for commentators to latch on to.!
Marco please explain me in what you mean by above?
You may be right when ever I want to call Sinhala modaya I always say We Thamil Sakkiliar so every one happy also my comments published in LW( is that call balance comments or rather clever rope ?)
Manchang, We both live & fight together since Elara Time (BC 106?) today !!!
I still remember( left 1983)- pan bahaya paruppu ekka ( my dikka dikka chinhalam) for breakfast .