Tamil Lilliputians posing as Gullivers of Sri Lankan history
Posted on October 9th, 2018

H.L. D. Mahindapala

Of all the migrants that stepped into Sri Lanka to make it their home only the Sinhala-Buddhists created, consolidated and sustained, the mainstream culture that shaped and dominated its history.  No other minority has succeeded in displacing them from the commanding position and power they held in the mainstream down the ages. As a pioneering force the Sinhalese opened up the virgin land for human habitation. The Sihalas”, as named in the Mahavamsa, were conscious of their mission in their new home. They knew their destination. They knew the tasks they had to fulfil as permanent settlers committed to create a new culture, new language and new civilisation. The legacy they left behind speaks silently and eloquently of their commitment and dedication to the land they transformed from a wilderness to a unique civilisation.

The gigantic monuments rising to reach the skies indicate that the dynamic intensity of their commitment to the land was of historic proportions. The deep roots they put down testify that they were not transient travellers or traders passing through to another destination, another homeland. There was no ambiguity in their minds, keeping one foot in Sri Lanka and the other in India from where they came. They were not invaders. They were not marauders. They were not exploiters. They were not conquerors or colonialists. They were the creative force that made our island a fit dwelling-place for men” – a political ideal defined in the Mahavamsa (1:44). In its extended meaning, it is a phrase that summarises the entire range of the provisions in the UN Charter. After all, isn’t the UN Charter designed to make our world a fit dwelling-place for men”? This humane and civilising mission of making our island a fit dwelling-place for men” was stated as a sacred mission, and with absolute clarity and certainty, in the Mahavamsa.

Within this overarching historic architecture the minorities played their secondary and tertiary roles, in particular the Tamils. Despite their repeated boasts about their grandiose role in Sri Lankan history, sometimes claiming pompously that they were the First-comers — even before the birth of Buddha,” said C. V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister, Jaffna – their history has tagged along at a lower level than that of the Sinhalese. For instance, the history of the Tamils reveals that they did not even possess a deep, or cohesive sense of history rooted in Jaffna soil. They were in two minds, not knowing whether their homeland was in Jaffna or across the Palk Strait. The latter-day claims of Tamil nationalism” was visible only in the post-Chelvanayakam  period. Their hearts and minds were in S. India while their hollow physical frame walked in Jaffna, unwilling to sever the umbilical cord that tied them to their one and only homeland. Worst of all, they were not even aware that there was no written record that could comprehensively authenticate their real or imagined roles in Sri Lankan history.

They feel more aggrieved when they realise that their own Tamil historians have failed to provide them with a comprehensive history to either look back with pride or look forward with hope. Complaining that the Tamils did not actively pursue a systematic study of their past”, Tamil historian, Dr. Murugar Gunasingam, wrote : The most important single shortcoming at this time (2008) is that no historian, archaeologist, or even a social  scientist, whether Sinhalese, Tamil, or western scholar has written a complete and comprehensive account of the history of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.” (p. 14 –Tamils in Sri Lanka, Comprehensive History (C. 300 B.C. – C. 2000 A. D), MV Publications, South Asian Studies Centre, 2008). Then listing the various books written on Jaffna by Tamil scholars he adds: As the above discussion has revealed, no overall or comprehensive history of the Tamils in Sri Lanka has yet been written. Scholars seem to have limited their research to their specialised areas of expertise.” (p.17 – Ibid).

Dr. Gunasingam is credible not only because he is a Tamil historian but also because he makes his confession after combing the archives and libraries in Holland, Portugal, America, UK, India, and Sri Lanka. This confession should send shock waves among the Tamils who never fail to boast about their great history”, great learning”, and their overall claims of being superior to all other communities. After crowing about a great past, particularly as the First-comers who arrived before the birth of Buddha, how was it that they failed to produce a scholarly and comprehensive history book until 2008 when Dr. Gunasingam produced his book, Tamils in Sri  Lanka, emphasising in the subtitle that it is A Comprehensive History (C. 300 B.C. – C. 2000 A. D.)”.  Dr. Gunasingam trots out several excuses for the failure of the Tamils to produce a comprehensive history. Predictably he blames the active Sinhala scholars researching and writing comprehensive histories with the backing of the Government. He even accuses the Government of hampering Tamil researchers. But the same governments had established two Tamil universities.

The Jaffna University was established in 1974. Apart from teaching universities are expected to do research. Why couldn’t Jaffna University write a history during the 44 years of its existence? They could have completed a Tamil history even if they wrote half a page every day. As usual Dr. Gunasingam blames the Sinhalese for the failure of the Tamils to produce their history. But the Tamils are not shy to claim in their writings what the Sinhalese has done as their history.

This also reflects the Tamil tendency to sweep under the carpet the oppressive internal dynamics within Jaffna that had stunted their growth.  Jaffna Tamil politics has survived and thrived exclusively on blaming the Sinhalese. They never had any viable or credible agenda other than pointing the finger at the Sinhalese. Even when the Tamils fail to write their own history they blame the Sinhalese. They refuse to consider the fact that the Jaffna University chased out the first professor of history, Prof. K. Indrapala, for writing a history that was not palatable to the Tamils. Jaffna either killed or cleansed academics / intellectuals who did not toe the line of the ruling elite. One Vice-Chancellor was forced to quit his job because he was a low-caste. Rajini Thiranagama of the Medical Faculty was shot when she was cycling home because she was critical of the LTTE. Another academic with all the requisite qualifications for an academic post in Jaffna University was rejected because he was a Christian. Dr. Gunasingam embraced Prof. Indrapala after he recanted and re-wrote a new version of Tamil history aimed at  polishing the image of the Tamils. Tragically, Jaffna which produced the biggest killers of Tamils, from Sankili to Prabhakaran, could not produce a single historian who could write, on his own steam, a comprehensive history of their past. Isn’t it time that the Jaffna Tamils, who claim to have been here from the dawn of time,  sat down to consider what  is wrong with their own culture that failed to produce a comprehensive history for so long?

However, it should be noted that there are many papers and monographs written on various aspects of Jaffna society, politics, religion, caste etc. But they do not add up to a comprehensive or panoramic survey of the history of Jaffna. Yalpana Vaipava Malai, for instance, remains as the questionable and mythical history of Jaffna written on the back of a stamp. In the minds of the Tamils, it is, more or less, the equivalent of Mahavamsa. But poet Mylvaganam did not write it on his own volition like Venerable Bede of England or Bhikku Mahanama of Sri Lanka, both of whom were inspired by the values and the greatness of their civilisations. Mylvaganam wrote it because he was commissioned by the Dutch Governor Jan Maccara (1736) to produce an account of Jaffna for him to understand the lie of the land.

So writing the history of the Tamils in Jaffna has a rather curious history. As stated by Dr. Gunasingam, foreigners and Sri Lankans were falling over each other to write the history of the Sinhalese and the Buddhists, but not that of the Tamils. Why? If nobody had bothered to write about it could it be because it was not that great? Or because the Tamils did not have a sense of history because they were more committed to their homeland in S. India than their temporary residence in Jaffna? In any case, what is the worth of a people without a history? Why is it that the ground realities of Tamil history do not corroborate the assumed arrogance of Tamil greatness? Could it be that they were dragged all the way to Nandikadal because they were imbued with a politicised history that was miles away from the ground realities? Have not the Tamils lost the plot and gone  down the wrong path – all  the way to Nandikadal – because their leaders were misled by their own boastful propaganda which they thought (mistakenly, no doubt) was their history? Or, as stated by Prof. Kumar David, were the Tamil leaders congenital idiots” who, with their peninsular minds, thought that they could force their version of history down the throats of the nation which had produced a great and unique civilisation, way beyond that of the ant hills of the Tamils? Are the Tamils lying in the present state of despondency because they do not know how to climb out of the fake history into which they have fallen?

Faced with the monumental achievements of the Sinhalese, Tamil historians take refuge under the excuse of limited resources. Historians S. Arasaratnam and Dr. Gunasingam both fork out this excuse to cover up the failure of Tamils to rise beyond the level of mediocre copy cats of the grand and great Dravidian civilisations of S. India. In hiding behind this lame excuse they ignore the magnificent architectural marvels of ancient Egypt built in the middle of a dry desert which is barren as the waterless moon.

In the absence of a credible excuse the most common line of defence of the Tamils has been to attack the Sinhala-Buddhist history. Belittling Sinhala-Buddhist history has been their way of feeling superior to the Sinhala-Buddhists. They defend their greatness by claiming everything great in the Sinhala-Buddhist culture. They claim that the Sinhala-Buddhist civilisation was either initiated by the Tamils or nurtured by the Tamils. They claim that they were the founding fathers of Sri Lankan history by coming first, before even Buddha was born. They claim that they laid the foundations of the Sinhala-Buddhist culture and civilisation with their Dravidian contributions. They claim that even the Sinhala language was born out of Tamil words.

I am prepared to concede all that proudly because the Sinhalese possessed the creative genius, like all other great cultures and civilisation, to borrow from other cultures and civilisations, and produce a unique culture and civilisation of their own. Cultures that failed to borrow stagnated in their own billabongs like the aboriginal cultures, or, in some ways, like that of Jaffna which stagnated in the shadow of the overwhelming S. Indian culture. Jaffna failed to rise to a higher level because they were smugly resting on the laurels of the culture of S. India.

Whenever they claimed the greatness of the Tamils they meant the greatness of culture made in the history of S. India and not in Jaffna. For instance, when the Tamils talk of the Tamil revivalism under Arumuka Navalar and C. V. Thamotherampillai it meant, in short, the unearthing the buried and neglected sacred texts of S. India and publishing those texts in Jaffna for an audience that knew nothing about it. They did not produce any Tamil classics of their own which could add to the glory of the Jaffnaites. Jaffna was born and always remained as a pale imitation of the S. Indian culture. It never produced a genius that shone like a beacon across the Tamil landscape. Jaffna always basked in the reflected glory of S. Indian culture without contributing any original or significant creations – the hallmarks of a great civilisation. Jaffna was always sandwiched between two great cultures: the Dravidian culture of S. India in the North and the Sinhala-Buddhist culture in the south. Jaffnaites were Lilliputians who pretended to be Gullivers without any stature to back up their boastful claims.

  1. P. Lewis, one of the keen analysts and prolific writers in the British colonial administration (he was the Government Agent of the Northern Province and left Ceylon in 1910 ) summed up the roles of the two communities in a very sharp observation. He was commenting on the work done in a dance hall in Galle. The work was done by the Sinhalese and Tamils. Having seen  the roles of both communities he wrote :  It is curious how the unfortunate Sinhalese to whom the credit of decorations were due are always overshadowed by the more widely known Tamils who are their fellow islanders” – p.51, Ceylon in Early British Times, J.P. Lewis, CMG, Government Agent of Northern Province.

Lewis’ observation is applicable on a large scale to the history of the nation. Starting from the late 20th century the Tamil ideologues have laboured routinely and consistently to grab the headlines with their exaggerated claims of greatness. C. V. Wigneswaran, former judge of the Supreme Court and now Chief Minister of the Northern Province and Dr. Gunasingam are two peas in this jingoistic pod rooted in Jaffna. In their attempt to downgrade the monumental achievements of the Sinhalese both project Tamils as the great makers of Sri Lankan history. Though Dr. Gunasingam has done some useful research and put together his Tamils-are-great perspective in his book written to rescue the image of the Tamils, it only confirms, in the last analysis, the essence of Lewis’ cutting remark: the Sinhalese do the hard work and the Tamils come out screaming that it was all done by them.

19 Responses to “Tamil Lilliputians posing as Gullivers of Sri Lankan history”

  1. Dilrook Says:

    Very well said Mahindapala.

    Tamils are affected by Severe Inferiority Complex Syndrome. Knowing they have no nation of their own and pilfer others’ nations (India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia), Tamils are very keen always to claim false superiority.

    Tamils need a political solution that is essentially reeducation and re-brainwashing to fix this mental condition. No amount of power sharing and devolution can fix this.

  2. Hiranthe Says:

    Everything is good except Mahindapala always believe that we are descendants of Vijaya and the clan. Then what about the descendants from King Rawana and other Naga and Raksha tribes who ruled this Island during Lord Buddhas visits to the Island?? Was Kuweni a monkey weaving cotton?

    We already had a fantastic civilisation according to historians and specially prof. Raj Somadeva who is still doing lot of digging and research. It is a disgrace to this nation to give the credit of civilisation to a hooligan Vijaya and his clan who migrated to this Island from India.

    Vijaya and the crowd may have got integrated to an already rich civilisation.

    Archaeological evidences proved that We had our own medicines. I read that these treatments are still in practice.

    Our scholars should do a bit of ground work rather than following the Mahawamsa alone, which is biased toward India.

  3. Vaisrawana Says:

    An excellent write-up. Thank you, Mr Mahindapala. But, Hiranthe has a point. I am sure, however, you will not take issue with him if you treat the following facts seriously enough, of which you are already undoubtedly aware of, because you are well read about this subject. The historical truth that the history of the Sinhalese is much older than the history covered by the Mahavamsa has already been revealed by archaeologist Raj Somadeva, among others. He is completely independent of the influence of the general run of colonial clones that we had for historians and archaeologists, like in other fields of study, in the past. (But in the same breath it must be remembered that not all of them were ‘colonial clones’.) He has a great inspired young following, too. This is paralleled in the arts. Raj Somadeva has responded to Wigneswaran, though the latter is not worthy of his attention. The reaction of the new generation of Sinhalese to the false ‘Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka’ claim is quite strong as can be judged from social media interactions among them regarding the subject.

    The Sinhalese are not migrants. They are as indigenous to Sinhalay/Seylan/Ceylon/Sri Lanka as the Veddas. Somadeva has also proved that Buddhism was already in the country at the time of the arrival of Mahinda Thera. Mahinda’s coming was probably a diplomatic imperial intervention by emperor Asoka. It is also now known that Mahinda preached in the language of the Sinhalese, that is Sinhala. The Mahavamsa is our unique treasured history book, and it must be cherished as such. But there is more to be discovered about our true beginnings in the island using modern scientific methods, the way that Somadeva is doing. The new facts revealed point towards an ancestry that is much greater than the Aryan history celebrated in the Mahavama.

    The foolish Tamil claim that Sinhala derived from Tamil is a bloody lie. This is obvious to even an ordinary Sinhalese speaker. Just look at the sound systems of the two languages. They are like chalk and cheese. Then the grammar element. The grammars are very different to each other. It is normal for human languages to borrow vocabulary items from each other. Besides, Sinhala and Tamil languages use many similar looking words that derive from a common source, which is Sanskrit.

  4. Dilrook Says:

    Tamil Nadu language is a Dravidian language. Only 4 Dravidian languages exist in the world and in South Asia. They are all focused in South India. Almost all other languages in South Asia are Aryan. Sinhala is not an exception. Overall over 85% of the population in South Asia and Afghanistan and Iran together speak an Aryan language. Only less than 15% speak a Dravidian language. Sinhalese are the norm in the region, Tamilians are the exception.

    It is a fact that Sinhalas lived in the island long before Viyaja (543BC). Even if we take documented 543BC as the start, the oldest Tamil kingdom of Sangam era started 300 years later! Claiming Sinhalese were Tamilians is ridiculous. Only stateless people (who languish in others’ nations – the nation of Hindi speakers, the nation of Sinhala speakers and the nation of Malay speakers) would make such pathetic claims.

  5. Ratanapala Says:

    Tamils, for all your great history show us even a toilet of great antiquity that can be related to your great history. The fact of the matter is there is none other than Kovils or places of worship, hastilly constructed affairs for temporary habitation only and none comparable to what the Sinhalese have done.

  6. . Says:

    H.L. D. Mahindapala says;

    Re. comments of Hiranthe

    Referring to my article Hiranthe says: “Everything is good except Mahindapala always believe that we are descendants of Vijaya and the clan. Then what about the descendants from King Rawana and other Naga and Raksha tribes who ruled this Island during Lord Buddha’s visits to the Island? Was Kuweni a monkey weaving cotton?”

    In reply permit me to quote the following passage from my previous article in which I accepted Wigneswaran’s challenge to a debate. I said:

    “In any case, Justice Wigneswaran is not revealing an astounding or unknown historical fact in saying that “(t)he Dravidians (meaning Tamils) lived in Sri Lanka before the Birth of the Buddha.” Even the Mahavamsa, which the Saivite Jaffna Vellalas deride, concede that the Nagas, Yakkas, and the Kuvenis clans “lived in Sri Lanka before the Birth of Buddha”. This was written to highlight that we have been a multi-ethnic society from pre-Buddhistic times and not descendants of one single tribe or clan.

    Mahavamsa also states that (1) Kuveni interacted with Vijaya / Indo-Aryans and (2) Buddha settled a dispute between rival clans. All of which confirms that Sri Lanka was a multi-ethnic society long before Vijaya / Indo-Aryans came.

    In other words, I am not guilty of making a statement which claims that “we are descendants of Vijaya and the clan”. Besides, I have no proof to assert that we are descendants of “Vijaya and the clan” alone. If a DNA test is done I believe that the results would prove that we are descendants of many clans and tribes, including the Tamils and Vijaya / Indo-Aryan clan.

    HLDM

  7. Ancient Sinhalaya Says:

    We all know there are three lots of tamils in Sri Lanka. First was the people brought from tn by the dutch to work
    in tobacco plantations in the north and the east. Then the second was the british imports to work in tea estates.
    Third is, the kallathonis who swam/crossed the waters to save their lives from the severe famine in the 60s in tn.
    Today? They all claim to have histories over 1000s of years. Some traitors like pig the pigneshwaran claims it
    has a history stretching back over 2,500 years. I think we all know why the traitor after getting to its highest
    position in its career still driving nails into Mother Lanka’s coffin. It wants to claim asylum in a developed
    country. See if a riot starts, it has all the qualifications to qualify for a asylum in a devloped country (in india?
    no thanks).

    Ancient civilisations existed close to one amenity. Water. Water in abundance! Jaffna? Water was 200ft below
    ground. There were no civilisation in most parts of n&e due to harsh climate conditions. That’s the reason our ancient kings didn’t have kingdoms in any of those areas. Anuradhapura had Kala Weva. Polonnaruwa had
    Parakrama Samudraya. Anyone visiting those areas can see remnants of ancient buildings in those areas.
    Tamil kingdoms? No one has ever seen an ancient brick from those ancient mythical kingdoms. The oldest
    building in jaffna is the old dutch port. Do we need say any more about these mythical kingdoms then?

    The problem has been anti Buddhist, anti Sinhalese, anti Sri Lanka catholic-run UNPatriotic_rats party has
    been dividing Sinhalese and making minorities king makers ever since SWRD broke away from the traitor’s
    party. To get into power the UNPatriotic_rats traitor desahaplauan have to rely on minority votes. So the
    traitors keep mollycoddling these minorities. During MR’s time, these minorities kept their mouths shut
    since he is a no nonsense man and the country prospered. Now the country is ruled by the biggest traitor
    ever in the history of Sri Lanka (maybe second to its uncle traitor alugosuwa – to Sinhalese Buddhists only –
    thambi mudiyanselage jr@ who put foundations to break up the country by introducing 13, 13A) mega thief
    mega thakkadiya bay gal karaya die hard catholic token Buddhist walking crime bomb -against Sinhalese
    Buddhists only – Batalande Wadakaya Pol Pot r@ni_leech wickrama Sinhala killer.

    These foreigners with 1000s of years of bogus histories know they can say and do any thing while the Token Buddhist is in charge of the country. This is the reason we hear more and more of piggy the pigneshwaran, its catholic buddy barrel man hitler mala paharan brother in law (low) sivaji etc etc beating mythical kingdom drum
    all the time. Sinhalese in their own country have no voice, no rights where the minorities have all the rights
    when anti Buddhist, anti Sinhalese, anti Sri Lanka catholic-run tirator UNPatriotic_rats party at the wheel.

    UNPatriotic_rats party has been giving its fullest support for greater drealam for their votes. Under Sirima-
    Shastri pact 650,000+ estate tamils were prepared to go to tn voluntarilty. Sirima lost the election soon after
    and traitor alugosuwa (to Sinhalese Buddhists only) thambi mudiyanselage jr@ gave citizenships to all of them.
    Today they must be numbering millions. Then last year traitor alugosuwa (to Sinhalese Buddhists only)
    traitor chief die hard catholic token Buddhist Batalande Wadakaya gave land deeds to 2,500 estate tamils to
    break up tea estates and the social fabric in the up country for their votes. Most Sinhala modayas forget
    these things conveniently after one lie from bay gal karaya, including how Pol Pot gave half the country on a
    plate to its catholic buddy barrel man hitler mala paharan in 2005 while sacrificing, mainly Sinhalese Buddhists,
    to catholic tigers of tamil drealam bullet.

    Germans speak in Germany. French speak French in France, Russians speak Russian in Russia etc etc. Aussies speak aussie in australia, americans speak america, or canadians speak canada? No. Why? Maybe these guys with 1000s of years history in Sri Lanka can explain. But tamils speak tamil in neighbouring tn for 1000s and 1000s
    of years. Bogus history guys. Come on follow a true religion then you won’t have these absurd claims since it regards lying as a sin. Keep beating the bogus history drum and you might not be a two legged creature in your
    next life since you’re committing a sin. Don’t forget Buddhism disappeared from its birth place because it didn’t
    fit the society there with caste system, inequality etc. etc. Not because it was a true religion. These mythical god based religions of conveniences don’t regard sins as sins while all honest people including all the law courts in the world do. In the end you’re only cheating yourself to pay for your sins in the next lives. Good for you? You do
    your maths!

  8. Randeniyage Says:

    Rather than an inferior complex, Tamils ( settled in Jaffna) have superiority complex. I have spent thousands of hours speaking to many of them. Tamils for Nadu have the inferiority complex.
    False superiority complex came to them because the British promoted them and now Sinhalse promote them secretly . After British left, they started cheating exams ( using OOM sign , Uni entrance interviews, Uni entrance e practical exams and various methods) and got into high positions. Vignashwaran is one of them. Actual fact is they are less intelligent and less innovative than Sinhalese.

  9. Ukkubandage Gunasinghe Says:

    I agree 100% with Randeniya. Some our so called Sinhala educated professors in US like Senaviratna (University of Virginia) and Gananath Obeysekera trying to change the history writing against Sinhala nation. Those two should be banned entering Sri Lanka.

  10. Charles Says:

    Why is it that the ground realities of Tamil history do not corroborate the assumed arrogance of Tamil greatness?

    HLDM’s article is a literary gem besides its compelling arguments against the Liliputians who pretend to be Gullivers. I was also glad to read the comments of Hiranthe, Vaisrawana and Randeniyage.

    Wasn’t it with the Aryans coming that the dark skinned Dravidians were chased southwards. They were not a civilised lot. Those who came at later to Sri Lanka were thieves, marauders, plunderers, and treasure hunters. They were not intelligent and creative. To this day their Kovils haven’t the refinement of the Gopurams of the Kovils in TamilNadu.
    All that the Sri Lanka Tamils have is to fall back on TamilNadu , unless they want to eke out at least now a history of their own, by claiming an affinity to Sinhala and the Buddhist Culture. They cannot be brushed off as unintelligent, because lot of them came to schools in the south to teach mathematics, other than a few who came from Travancore. I had three such teachers from Jaffna who were really great and we loved them.

    I also made my humble efforts to portray the inferiority complex of Sri Lanka Tamils, which Dilrook has very cleverly put in his comments.

  11. NeelaMahaYoda Says:

    Though Mahavamsa was composed by Bhikkhu Mahanama in 6th century AD it covers roughly the first eight hundred years of the island civilization since the legendary Vijaya landed in Lanka. Bhikkhu Mahanama being an Indian by nationality has deliberately ignored the technically advanced local civilisation existed at that time. They were called Yakkas not because of demons like nature. But, the Name Yakka was given to that civilisation as they have mastered the technology of Iron making. After arrival Vijaya married the local yakka queen called yakkinee “Kuveni but ultimately abandoned her after establishing his rule through island of Lanka

    In one of the most recent archaeological discoveries in Lanka, Steel Smelting Furnaces along with samples of steel, belonging to 200 BC, were discovered from a village in Hingurakgoda. They supported the previous discoveries made in Anuradapura, Sigiriya, Ala Kola Weva, Kuratiyaya, and Nikavatana.

    Mrs. Gill Juleff, a researcher university of Exter revealed that the Sri lankans in the past have been manufacturing high – quality, and clean Iron, using local but high – tech methods. She also said that, the Sri Lankans have used the wind directions, and mountain – peaks to perfection, in order to get a good out cones. She also said that these methods can be applied even today for manufacturing iron in now a days.

    Field trials using replica furnaces confirm that this furnace type uses a wind-based air-supply principle that is distinct from either forced or natural draught, and show also that it is capable of producing high-carbon steel. This technology sustained a major industry in this area during the first millennium AD, and may have contributed to South Asia’s early pre-eminence in steel production
    This proved the Syrian records that once Sri Lankans had the world’s best steel technology. These ancient Lankan furnaces might have produced the legendary Damascus swords. It was these steel that was exported to the middle east. There are records in Syria that the best steel they reeceived was from “Sivhala” (Lanka).

    It is possible that Vijaya has come to Lanka in search of high grade steel as there was a big demand for steel in Bengal even though Bengalis learnt the process of casting bronze (kahsa) as an alloy of copper and tin they needed more steel for making weapons, agricultural implements and ship building.

    In Lanka these smelting furnaces had been built on locations where the wind crossed. Using this natural wind blowing and the manual blowing of wind, the soil with iron was heated up on wood pieces until the temperature reached 1100-1200 centigrade. After several hours the steel was formed at the top while the rubbish ended up in the bottom. Then the steel pieces were washed in water. Sinhalese made one ton of pure best quality steel out of every 2 tons of soil. That was a remarkable feat.

    One of these furnaces was in such an intact state, the archaeologists were able to actually use it. They used the natural monsoon winds to smelt the iron ore, freely found in the Samanalawewa area. They produced steel ingots in the same way it was produced for over 2,200 years by the lankan engineers of those times.

  12. Dilrook Says:

    @Randeniyage

    No. The visible (false) superiority claims are the result of inferiority complex. This is how they react to what they know deep down in their hearts. Similarly a financially poor person may pretend to spend lavishly by cheap means (which a sensible middle class person would not). It is a human condition affecting some.

    Empty vessels make the most sound.

  13. Dilrook Says:

    Though it may be controvercial to say, one big problem affecting us is the false belief that we were barbarians before the arrival of Buddhism (circa 265BC). That certainly was not so. We were no better with and without Buddhism except for the spiritual aspect of life. Ancient Lankans knew how to compartmentalize their lives and achieve the best in each.

    We had an enviable history even before the arrival of Buddhism. People worshipped their ancestors. Good men (and women) were immortalized as gods. They didn’t worship aliens or genitals (unlike Tamils). It is a shame Sinhala ancestors have been falsely turned into aliens by Hindus and Muslims partly helped by some of us who believe Sinhala < Buddhist. Sinhala is far bigger and older than Buddhism. We must claim our pre-Buddhist gods (our ancestors).

    We continued this practice even after Buddhism. For instance, Minneriya God, Swarnamali Goddess, Kataragama Shrine, Devundara Shrine and many others are all post-Buddhist developments following the ancient practice.

    Mark my word, this area will be the next big historical battle. And we are at a massive disadvantage because Tamils can get Indian help to advance their claims. In addition, Indians believe Buddha remained a Hindu and therefore Buddhism to be just one part of Hinduism. Not to be outdone, Arabs also claim our ancestors (and their places of abode/worship) as Arabic shrines! This is outright madness.

    Those Buddhists who reject our pre-Buddhist practices are worse than Vigneswaran. They can opt not to believe these gods but they must not assign them into Hinduism, Islam or stupidity. We must protect and promote our ancestors to lay claims to our nation.

  14. Ananda-USA Says:

    “Tamils need a political solution that is essentially reeducation and re-brainwashing to fix this mental condition. No amount of power sharing and devolution can fix this.”

    VERY WELL SAID, Dilrook!

  15. Ratanapala Says:

    Tamils, for all your great history show us even a toilet of great antiquity that can be related to your great history. The fact of the matter is there is none other than a few Kovils or places of worship, hastily constructed affairs for temporary habitation only and none comparable to what the Sinhalese have done.

  16. Randeniyage Says:

    Buddhist should ask themselves a simple question.

    Unlike an uneducated foolish man’s naming “Budunge Rasthiyaduwa”, Buddha did not simply go loitering. Certainly no “rasthiyadu karaya” like that writer. Buddhas do EVERYTHING on purpose. Buddha went to stop Angulimala killing his mother ( but waited until he killed 999 people).
    Buddha visited Lanka on purpose. He surely must have established followers and some could have been partially enlightened sooner or later and there is some possiblity even arahants to be there after he left.
    It is foolish to think there was no Buddhism before arrival of Ven. Mahinda.

    Hinduism did not exist in Buddha’s time because Bhramins that time were killing animals to offer to Gods and “Hindu Brahmins” are strict vegetarians ( because of Buddhism).

  17. Hiranthe Says:

    Great follow up for a great topic by HLD.

    @HLD, thank you for the comments posted above and all appreciate the time and energy you had put together for producing such a valuable article.

    As everyone here shares, we must fight back from every angle and we should not leave any stone unturned to officially establish our right to this beautiful Island 100% and should continue protecting Mother Lanka as our great kings did.

    By saying Tamils were the original inhabitants of SL, mad Viggie contradicts his own Hinduism. If they were here, then King Rawana should have been one of them who challenged Rama, the Hindu god. This will make every Tamil in Tamilnadu looking for a piece of Viggie for a bite!!

    This guy is a lunatic! But whatever he says will get officially recorded as the view of the Northern province CM.

    To eliminate such problems in future, all the national minded Sri Lankans should stage a strong voice to abrogate the 13A.

    If someone can organise a petition worldwide, it will easily hit 2million signatures especially with the current young generation who are now getting a good exposure after learning a bad lesson from their own elected Yamapalanaya.

    Then, getting Rid of 13A, will become the top of the list of the priorities of whoever come forward to contest the Presidential Election and especially, MR will open his eyes to this reality and Gota can grab it as he always wanted to abrogate 13A against his brother’s wish.

    Nagananda has already declared that he will get rid of the 13A. But can the nation trust him is a question!!

  18. Christie Says:

    People should read recent history.

    We are not different to other British- Indian Colonies.

    There are Tamils and other Indians in all Indian Colonies from Fiji to Guyana.

    These Tamils and other Indians are no t different to Indians in India.

  19. Christie Says:

    When the Indian Colonial Parasites went to their colonies under the cover of British fire power only the High caste Indian went.

    So when British brought Indian Parasites from Malabar Coast to replace the Dutch Administration those who came were High Caste Hindus.

    The Sinhalese rebelled against the new administrators and British reverted to the Dutch Administration.

    Most of these Tamils settled in Jaffna along with the few tobacco farmers brought in by the Dutch.

    These High Parasites treated the Sinhalese who were in Jaffna Peninsula as untouchables branding them Sakkiliyas.

    There are lots of recent history books on this subject and one of them, if I am correct is “British in Ceylon by J Mills”.

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