Y. Gumperaliya

Who are the Sri LankanTamils: The Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese are celebrating the demise of the fascist terrorist leader Prabahakaran while the Tamil diaspora abroad are weeping and angry. I wonder why? What the international groups are unaware is there are different groups of Tamils – the Jaffna Tamils (Vellalas) who consider themselves superior to other Tamils, there are Up Country IndianTamils who were mostly brought in by the British to work in the plantations sector; the Eastern Province or Batticoloa Tamils, and there are the Colombo Tamils who are wealthy and educated plus Tamils who have recently migrated to Colombo. There is also a scattered population of the Tamils who live all over the island among the Sinhalese. The Tamils are mainly Hindu, some Catholics & Christians, Muslims and few Buddhists. Currently, the Tamil diaspora abroad try to make out that they represent all the Tamils. This is not true.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Tamil diaspora have created an image abroad that the Sinhalese are killers of Tamils. This is because the only way they can unify the diverse Tamil groups is by having a common enemy, namely the Sinhalese. It is well known ploy to entice the western powers with the VICTIM SYNDROME. The former Bush administration in USA made a huge blunder in Iraq when they did not know the difference between the Shiites and the Sunnis. Similarly many foreign politicians are making the same mistake about the Sri Lankan Tamils. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Tamil homeland: The Tamils have migrated all over the world from Tamil Nadu. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-NaduƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ means Homeland. Tamils want a separate homeland in Sri Lanka. Can any people have two Homelands? No people in this world have two ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-HomelandsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There are more Tamils in Malaysia than in Sri Lanka yet in Malaysia they have no rights at all compared to what they enjoy in Sri Lanka. The Malays have Bhumiputra Laws which protect the Malays. That is the reason why Chelvanayagam who is considered the Father of the Separatist Movement for Tamils in Sri Lanka, migrated from Malaysia to Sri Lanka. In Fiji, because the Tamils tried to take over the land, there was a military coup and all migration into Fiji by Indians has been banned. Is it not true that the demand for a separate state in Sri Lanka is a tactic for a separate state for the some 5 Million Tamil Dalits (Untouchables) to get away from their misery in Tamil Nadu ? These Tamil Nadu Dalits would have provided an endless supply of slaves, suicide bombers etc. for the state of Eelam.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The some 55 Million Caste Tamils of Tamil Nadu do not want a separate state for Tamils in Lanka, as shown up by the way they all voted in the 2009 General Elections. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Tamils abroad: How is it that the Tamils have not asked for a separate state in Malaysia, Fiji, Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Norway, U.K., Europe and USA ?.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  All these countries have relatively large populations of Tamils. Are they going to ask for separate states in all these countries? We must ask ourselves what is wrong with Tamil Nadu that the Tamils of Dalit origin hate their Homeland so much and are trying to set up a homeland elsewhere.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Dravidasthan : ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What happened to Tamil Nadu leadersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ plans to establish Dravidasthan ? We do not hear of it now a days. Dravidistan, Dravidasthan, or Dravida Nadu was the name of a proposed sovereign state for all non-Brahmin speakers of Dravidian languages in South Asia, carved out of India. It was Indian Tamils that asked the British to divide British India in to segments first and not the Pakistanis. (Lanka web Herold Leelawardena May 25ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢09). This call was given up in Tamil NaduƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  when IndianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru imposed laws in the 1950ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s prohibiting secession. This was done during the Indo-China war. The call for a separate Tamil State was then strongly transferred to Sri Lanka. After the Maoist JVP uprisings weakened the state of Lanka in the 1970ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s, about 500 of the richest Tamils abroad met in USA in the early 1980s and planned the takeover of Sri Lanka with Velupillai Prabhakaran as the Leader. (See article by Stephen Long, 20th Oct. 2008, Asian Tribune).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Tamil diaspora funds: If the Tamil diaspora abroad loved the Tamils in Sri Lanka as much as they profess to, how is it that no one has come forward with money for the Tamil IDPs now in government run camps ? How is it that all the money the LTTE collected from the Tamil diaspora over the years was used to buy armaments from the international community for the LTTE ? It is estimated that about US$4.5 Billion was raised over the years by Tamil diaspora abroad; this money could have been used to raise the standards of living of the Tamils in Lanka and all over the world, to substantially better levels. Instead, they used that money to supply the Tigers with armaments. Most of it has now been destroyed or confiscated by the armed forces of Lanka. This is why some of the international communities support the Tamil diaspora – their arms industry benefited. The economies of those countries based on arms sales will now suffer with the demise of LTTE. Even some of the Tsunami aid given to the LTTE was diverted for war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

The Tamil diaspora plan :The plan all along was to agitate for separatism knowing that it would not be acceptable to the majority Sinhala population in Lanka. When some Sinhalas reacted emotionally and violently to this unreasonable demand,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Tamil diaspora and leaders would scream to the world that they were being discriminated against -THE VICTIM SYNDROME. From 1958 onwards, riots erupted each time the Tamils made unreasonable demands to the Sinhala majority who were trying to take their rightful place in politics after nearly 500 years of colonial rule. This was brought to a culmination in the 1983 Riots when the LTTE started sniping army soldiers in Jaffna, knowing there would be back lash in Colombo. When the riots happened in Colombo, they were ready with the cameras to video tape events and them to western media networks. The riots were made believable to westerners that it was indeed an attack by Sinhalas on Tamils, by placing among the rioters, people who were dressed in costumes with pure white ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-JatavasƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and white sarongs tucked in the ancient Sinhala manner for these video films;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  they also carried long staffs. (This was to make sure the Westerners recognized the Sinhalas as the bad guys). The riots of 1983ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  were acted out for the cameras like the recent photo operations by LTTE which showed IDPs running from bombs where as in the original photo there is girl on the side with a camera in hand smiling and other Tamil men standing around by a parked vehicle.

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Instituationalized slavery in India:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We know about the Institutionalized Slavery in India (Laws of Manu, 3,000 yrs old), under the so called Caste System. This operates in Sri Lanka among the Tamils. The low castes are not allowed in the Hindu temples. The Dalits or Untouchables are treated as if they are less than dust !ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  As a result these people hate themselves and do not care for themselves or others. Why is it that we cannot get any Sinhala person to be a suicide bomber whereas it is easy for the LTTEƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to find hundreds of suicide cadre. The LTTE is a Dalit Army. Among the Tamils, it is only the Tamil Dalits who convert to other religions to get out of low caste. Prabhakaran himself was a low caste fisherman. Their Dalit or low caste origins are confirmed by the fact that many of them, including Prabahakaran, were converts to Catholicism. Most of the LTTE heroes were buried with crosses marking their graves. These crosses were later quietly removed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Attacks on Sinhalas abroad: There is so much anger directed at the Sinhalas abroad by the Tamil diaspora. They are setting Sinhala business premises on fire, attacking Sinhalas abroad and trying to direct the anger they feel at the demise of the LTTE in Lanka, towards innocent Sinhalas going about their business. They have blinded a youth in Australia by throwing acid at his face, and set a restaurant in Toronto on fire, destroyed Lanka embassy property, destroyed Buddhist Temple properties, and businesses in London & Toronto. The main purpose of all this, I feel, has been to create another 1983 type riot in Sri Lanka. The net result of the attacks has been to unify the Sinhalas even more abroad. Up to now, the Sinhalas abroad have not been united so well,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  unlike the Tamils abroad. The Tamils act like one group on the commands from their leaders. Even though the Sinhalas outnumber them in, for example as in USA, (unlike in Canada where there is a Tamil majority), most of them ignored all the happenings without raising their voice or participating in trying to quell the lies of the Tamil diaspora.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Tamil anger towards the Sinhalese : Why is there so much Tamil diaspora anger towards the Sinhalese? Did they do something really bad against the Tamils ? It appears to be totally out of proportion to what the Sinhalas have done. It is true there were a few riots in Lanka from time to time. Each time it happened, it was because the Tamil politicians were either asking for 50/50 or a separate state, for a Tamil population of about 12% of the islandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s total.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

In the past Tamils had had no compunction about cheating the Sinhalese in a number of areas. Most of the Government Departments were full of Tamils. It was a joke that if you let one Tamil into a Department within one year it would be full of Tamils. In 1960’s in the Universities people such as Prof. Mylvaganam who was the head of the Dept. of Physics, Prof. Arulpragasm the head of the Dept. of Zoology in the Colombo campus to name but a few went out of their way to discriminate against Sinhalese students in the examinations. The Tamil students had a secret symbol which they placed on their exam papers which was a code (Om sign) for the Tamil Professors to mark them up high. I have personally been a witness to this and would be willing to give evidence if called upon to do so.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

The 1983 riots were largely orchestrated, as it is well known by now, by the LTTE and certain other forces trying to destabilize the country. I feel the anger the Tamils feel is the 3,000 year anger of the Tamil Dalits (untouchables) for their situation as a group in Tamil Nadu,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and unfortunately the Sinhalas have been made to take the brunt of this anger since they cannot take it out against the caste Tamils who number around 55 million in Tamil Nadu.

The government of India has put in place various laws to eradicate Untouchability, but it is still practiced widely in India, including Tamil Nadu.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Free education for Tamils: Since 1948, the Sinhala Government decided on the basis of Buddhist values, to provide free health care, free education to end of University, and free food if an income was below a certain level. This was provided to all citizens irrespective whether they were Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims. Most of the well educated Tamil diaspora who are working abroad as doctors, engineers and accountants received their education thanks to this generous system funded mostly by Sinhala tax payers. In return they are doing their best to destroy the Sinhalas and the country which gave them a place in the world. Where are the morals or ethics to govern their lives and their childrensƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ lives ?

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Quality of life of the Tamils: If we look at the PQLI (Physical Quality of Life Index) Studies which were done by James Grant (Head of UNICEF, NY, USA), in the 1970s, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  we find that Sri Lanka was number 6 in the 20 plus countries in terms of the PQLI , even though the GDP was low in Sri Lanka. This was due to the free education, free health care, and free food in some cases given to all citizens.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The research also found that the Jaffna area came out best in terms of Infant Mortality (Sri Lanka study), yet it was highest for suicide.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We must ask ourselves what was the reason for this situation in the 1970ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ?

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Reality of Tamil standing in Sri Lanka society: As far as the accusation of Tamils being treated as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”second class citizensƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, it is not true. Some of the most successful professionals are Tamils, and this is true for the business sector as well. Most of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  successful Tamil politicians, all of whom were of higher castes or those who worked with GOSL, were assassinated by the LTTE (over 35 of them, at the last count).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was the Sinhalas who were second class citizens even just after Independence from the British in 1948. Till then, under the British, almost all the administrators, engineers & doctors were Tamils. Most of the first industries started in Sri Lanka such as the cement factory, chlorine manufacture, salt plant etc. were all in the Northern Tamil areas. And also the best schools & University Campus were in the North.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Sinhala Nationalism : It was SWRD Bandaranaike who first tried to rectify the imbalance the British had created by their favor of the Tamil people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He brought in the Sinhala Language as LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Official Language overnight – not that we agree in the way it was done, as it was too rapid. Even then, the Tamils in government services were given some years to learn enough Sinhala to conduct their services. Sinhala officers working in Tamil areas too had to learn the Tamil language. Also, since then Tamil language has been given due recognition as a National Language, etc., the only country in the world to do so ! Even the standardization regulations at University entrance was done not to discriminate against Tamils, but to provide equal opportunities for children from the villages all over Lanka to gain entrance to Universities.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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Grievances of Tamils: Many people have asked the question:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  what are the grievances of the Tamils for the last 60 years ?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The President has recently appointed a Commission to come up with a list of the Tamil Grievances.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  To the best of our knowledge, no grievances have been provided to date. The reality is that the Tamils in Sri Lanka are better off in many ways compared to similar Tamils in Tamil Nadu, their own homeland. The issues some of them have are the same as the rest of the poor in the country suffer, i.e. lack of employment and low standards of living. Currently the Tamil diaspora have launched a campaign to show the Governments abroad that they have been mistreated and given second class status by the Sinhalas. They seem to believe that if they keep repeating a lie long enough and loud enough and if enough people say it it will become true. They have not understood the nature of truth. Truth is inviolable and will be known by all however long it takes.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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The insurrection of Sinhala youth: In the 1970s, due to the policies of Mrs. SWRD Bandaranaike the economy was very poor and there was high unemployment. When the Sinhala youth rebelled and tried to take over the country by violence it was put down brutally by Mrs. Banadaranaike, and subsequently in the 1980s by President Premadasa.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  During these uprisings, thousands of innocent Sinhala youth were killed (around 60,000) with no hearings etc., There were no Human Rights organizations which came to their rescue ! When similar acts of violence (mostly due to Caste issues of Jaffna), happened with the Tamil youth, the Tamil Leaders turned it into a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”SinhalaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ govt. vs Tamil issue.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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The reality for the Sinhalas, : The reality is that the Sinhalas are a regional minority in a region dominated by Tamils. The region holds about 60 Million Tamils of Tamil Nadu with about 2 Million in Lanka and another Million abroad.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sinhalas number about 17 Million in Lanka and some thousands abroad. It is the Tamils who need to be sensitive to this fact, and not violate the sense of security the Sinhalas have in their one and only homeland, Sri Lanka. Imagine the situation if the Sinhalas ever did what the Tamils did to the Sinhalas by going to Tamil Nadu and asking for a separate state!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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The role of the Catholic Church with the LTTE : It has been suspected for a long time that the powerful force behind the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the Catholic Church. The Catholic church has played a major role with overseas clout making PƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s role easy. The Wanni residents who escaped the LTTE area, reported that Rev. Father James Pathinathar was actively involved in persuading them to flee to Mullaitivu to create a massive Human Shield for the LTTE. They also confirmed that on March 27, around 600 Tamil children who were given to him for safe keeping in the church, were handed over by him to the LTTE. About 50 of these children had managed to escape by fighting the LTTE female cadres who were their keepers. The rest were taken away by gun point by LTTE. The kingpin in this conspiracy appears to be the Catholic Bishop of Manner, Rev Father Joseph Rayappu, who was often the first person consulted by foreign visitors to Wanni and where fellow NGO workers or volunteers were active there. (Ref Sri Lanka Guardian 04/03/09). In addition about 23 Catholic priests came out with the IDPs at the very end when the LTTE was almost finished. What were they doing there?

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Pro LTTE foreign powers: It is true to say that in 1970s, the LTTE waged war against the Vellalas, the high caste Tamils of Jaffna. This was the toehold for foreign powers to work in Lanka.The true activities of many of the NGOs, some UN volunteers, some of the embassy officials and the role played by the Mediator of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Cease Fire, Norway, is now becoming clearer. In reviewing the armaments and the sophisticated mini submarines found in the Wanni it is clear that they received much help from technically advanced countries. The Western media appeared to be acting in concert against Sri Lanka. When one compares the honesty of Sir Winston Churchill etc., and his noble words during World War II it is sad to see how low the BBC and the likes of David Milliband have fallen.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Just as Sir Winston Churchill appeared in the time of BritainƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s need so did President Mahinda Rajapakse appear for Sri Lanka. He is our leader along with his generals who fought for Camelot like King Arthur. Camelot is not a place, it is an idea that truth matters, justice, tolerance and compassion are important. Buddhism enshrines all these values, that is why it is important to preserve the Sinhala Buddhist culture. Buddhism is not a religion in that sense, it a set of truths which are laid out for all to see. Buddha asked all to come and see and accept only on their experience. He did not ask any one to believe blindly like the former Sun God did or some other religions do. Buddhists have never tried to convert any one either by force or by coercion. It is there like the sun available for all who are seeking truth and a salvation from this maya.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

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ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Conclusion: In some of my earlier articles ( The Myth about Eelam May 01, 2000), when the situation appeared hopeless, I predicted quote ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-there are laws of Dharma that operate in this Universe – one of them isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Dhammo bhave rakkati dhamma chariƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (Those who live by the Dharma are protected by the Dharma). However clever and strong Prabahakaran and his cohorts appear to be, finally, in the end, I believe he would meet the same fate as Hitler did.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ unquote. So, as predicted, it has come to pass. The dawning of Satyuga is close and even more untruths will unravel as we get closer to the heart of Satyuga.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  May all beings be well and happy!

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June 8, 2009

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Y. Gumperaliya