Are Sri Lankans ready to be colonized by India?  
Posted on March 8th, 2015

Shenali D Waduge

 There is no map that has shown Sri Lanka to be part of India though 17 attempts had been made by South Indian Dravidian Tamil speaking invaders since 230BCE to invade Sri Lanka. The aspiration to appendage Sri Lanka to India remains an unfulfilled dream that looks to be steadily falling into shape as a result of the short sightedness of our own leaders. It is for the people of Sri Lanka to now ask themselves whether they are willing to be ruled by India and colonized by Indians which raises existential fears of the Sinhala race as well.

 The Indian invasions wiped out entire Sinhala villages, ransacked and plundered and committed what today’s terminology is ‘genocide’ upon Sinhala Buddhists. The Tamil invaders occupied and ruled over the natives of Sri Lanka for 170 at different periods. The Pandya, Pallava and Cholas added further threats to Sinhala Buddhist rulers. The criminal presence of Kalinga Magha for 21 years in 1201 can be compared to that of Prabakaran.

 Sena & Guttika became the first invaders ruling for 22 years in 230 BCE after killing Sinhala king Suratissa. King Devanampiyatissa’s and Suratissa’s brother, King Asela defeated them and took over and ruled from 215-205BCE. Elara ruled for 44 years before being defeated by Prince Dutugemunu who later unified the entire country.  What is relevant to the influx of current illegal immigrants from South India of late is that it was the invasions of South Indians that contributed to the Sinhala Buddhists having to flee to the southern parts of the country for safety. With India now without any objections securing rights to build houses, roads, infrastructure, cultural centres, communication links and having a Indian Mission established in the North have we virtually facilitated an Indian take-over of the North without a bullet or protest?

 In short the Tamil intrusions from South India have all been marked by violence and mercenary activity and as such make any to wonder whether these genes are a factor that has contributed to the divides that prevail. Leaving aside the past, the present has been shrouded in calls for similar invasions. Jayalalitha demanded India invade Sri Lanka in 2009. If the Central Government did not agree to a direct invasion, we need to now wonder whether a very subtle invasion of Sri Lanka is taking place without a whimper from the politicos in power.

 We need to also add that the present statements coming from elected MPs in the North declaring they would destroy Buddhist shrines, sites and other archaeological evidence of Sinhala Buddhist occupation in the North are all aimed at internationally establishing the so-called nation Tamil homeland. It cannot be a coincidence that Narendra Modi wishes to visit Anuradhapura for it was because of the insecurity brought about by Tamils that was main reason for the relocation of capitals.

 If these were invasions of the past the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord with India flouting Sri Lanka’s sovereignty by flying across the North dropping symbolic items of food when lakhs of people die every day of hunger was meant to show Sri Lanka who was boss. The arrival of the IPKF 100,000 soldiers did little except leave 3 years later having raped 3000 Tamil women, killed unarmed civilians, attacked hospitals and killed Tamil doctors and had to be sent packing back with close to 2000 Indian soldiers killed by the very arms that India had gifted to the LTTE after clandestinely training Tamil youth in India during the mid 1970s in a bid to transfer India’s self-determination headache from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka.

 Therefore, there is little point in ranting over cultural ties and diplomatic good will if India backstabs nations as it has done to Sri Lanka. South Indian invaders at least came face to face and fought like men, however Indian bureaucracy has chosen a very cowardly path.

 Using cultural, commercial and diplomacy India is attempting to do what the invaders did in a more sophisticated way manipulating every link that India can think of which silences Sri Lanka’s leaders into appeasing India’s wish.

 Sri Lanka’s leaders and advisors have not had the vision to draft a policy on India (which does not change with every government). This lack of initiative has resulted in India creeping into every nook and corner of Sri Lankan polity with ease.

 Have Sri Lanka’s leaders looked and connected the dots and the manner India has made inroads that easily equate to making a client state out of Sri Lanka. Why have Sri Lanka’s leaders not been able to tell India that any instability in Sri Lanka was created by India itself in establishing terror in Sri Lanka and thereafter LTTE falling into the hands of Christian Western agenda. Why have Sri Lanka’s leaders not pointed out that if India had not trained Tamil youth and armed them there would not be any question of instability or worry for India. This makes us to wonder whether the instability was created for India to draft the Indo-Lanka Accord, change Sri Lanka’s constitution and introduce the Provincial Council system and the 13th amendment in order for India to influence Sri Lanka periodically as has happened with every elected Government since the signing of the agreement in 1987. India’s bullying nature was seen by the manner in which India virtually ordered the military offensive to be stopped in 1987 when Prabakaran was virtually cornered. A repeat was seen during the 2009 military offensive wherein India openly projected it was against the offensive but behind the scenes India was planning for a greater role in Sri Lanka minus Prabakaran which Sri Lanka’s leaders and advisors did not think of or if they did they thought they could wriggle through that – foolish as they were that is probably what would have happened.

India has been an impediment for Sri Lanka to nurture traditional ties with other nations. India has stood in the way of Sino-Lanka ties to such an extent that the projects signed with China are now in jeopardy. The accusing finger at India cannot omit pointing the same at Sri Lanka’s leader including the former regime for not clearly putting a full stop to how far India is allowed to interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. After allowing India free reign and then complaining leads us nowhere.  

The manner in which India has influenced itself upon Sri Lanka has been through trade agreements which have benefitted India and a countable number of Sri Lankan businesses only. It is ridiculous how a country with over a billion populace can do trade with a country of 20million people! The imbalance is too obvious. The lack of patriotism among Sri Lanka’s politicians and officials as well as advisors are the hallmarks of repeated catastrophes in all dealings with India. While India’s incursions using bilateral agreements have been with its own strategic and geopolitical interests in mind, Sri Lanka’s politicians and officials have been clueless on the impact of these ties or bothered to wonder what the impact is likely to be for the country long term. Why is India interested in Mannar? Why is India wanting Sampoor – was it not informed to officials at the highest levels that Foul Point is what India was after. Why did Sri Lanka’s officials refuse to take up the environmental impact of bottom trawlers when discussing the fishing issue and lay out statistics before the Indians without meekly agreeing to all that India was accusing us of when it was India that should have been on the defensive. We can remember how Mrs. Bandaranaike was steadfast in allowing Pakistan to refuel during the Indo-Pak war despite strong objections from India. That forthright diplomacy resulted in Pakistan to this day appreciative of the gesture and India’s respect for Mrs. Bandaranaike remaining far superior to all other post-independent leaders of Sri Lanka.

The article by A G Noorani  India’s relations with Sri Lanka will heal only if there is a sincere realisation of past mistakes and of the grave damage that India inflicted on a hapless neighbour too small to retaliate” .  http://www.frontline.in/world-affairs/indias-sordid-record/article6901590.ece is important for it highlights aspects that had thus far been ignored by most. Equally important is the article by K Ratnayake ‘Evidence of India’s involvement in regime change in Sri Lanka’ http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/01/21/sril-j21.html which brings us to the agonizing reality that India has despite a supposed national leader at the helm taken a detour to forsake its Asian heritage and align with the West as one of its partners.

 India used the former regimes inertia to perfection knowing that the former Government would not take stern action against India so long as India used its Tamil Nadu cards. Thus, India was able to use the ‘India’s concern for Tamils’ theme secure interests in Sri Lanka’s North and East and thus lay the ground work for the regime change that unfolded no sooner the UK had laid out the plans to tap a person able to pounce power from Rajapakse through the US mechanisms set in place.

There are over 100 companies operating in Sri Lanka who have invested $400milion. These projects cover every ambit and reach out to every target audience.

If India was wailing about China’s string of pearls, India managed to circle the entire North and East through various housing projects, coal power plant deals, oil distribution, gas exploration, communication, IT software/hardware, and numerous other concerns that are directly affecting Sri Lankan employers. Now India is playing the Buddhist card drawing upon the Birth of Buddha in Greater India to strike cordial relations among the Buddhist nations of Asia in an attempt to compete with China. Modi’s visit request to Anuradhapura is obviously South Blocs advise to curry flavour among the Buddhists in an effort to start India’s colonization Southward. Western intelligence agencies would have given ample advice on how to strike the correct chords

What we should not mistake to realize is that the West is using India and allowing India to realize its long cherished desire to possess Sri Lanka is to only satisfy India’s Arthashastra policy for thereafter West will set in place its own designs on India which will use its Christian foot soldiers in the form of NGOs/media outlets/ Humanitarian organizations etc to carry out the balkanization of India which is already very much in place.

It is the fault of all of Sri Lanka’s post-independent leaders for putting self-survival policies before establishing a national policy that has a proper policy to deal with India knowing historical incursions and invasions by India.

It is the fault of Sri Lanka’s leaders not to have created patriotic individuals in the public service or taken as advisors those who put nation first. Majority of those that have served under various governments have done pittance to derive policies to protect Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Now tragically we are watching our country fall into the hands of foreigners while politicians are grappling to find ways to come into power or secure power as long as they can enjoy perks not caring what happens to the country. Do we need such leaders whether they are in government or opposition?

Sadly we are watching with great pain how supposed leaders are ready to be beckoned to foreign climes and return with policies that are prepared by others and they are ready to implement these thus stifling the populace further into subservience.

Our nation has been brought into such a pitiful state because of our leaders and those who are selfish to enjoy perks of office and privileges.

The 67 years of symbolic ‘independence’ is fading into oblivion – 30 of those years were spent in grappling terrorism by India.

 All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing

 Shenali D Waduge

  For reference:

INVASIONS, VIOLENCE, ATROCITIES AND PLUNDER CHARACTERIZE TAMIL/DRAVIDIAN INVOLVEMENT

IN SRI LANKA FROM 230 BCE – Dr. Daya Hewapathirane

http://dharmadveepayeiranama.blogspot.com/2011/01/tamil-invasions-violence-atrocities-and.html?m=1

 

18 Responses to “Are Sri Lankans ready to be colonized by India?  ”

  1. LANKAPUTHRA Says:

    At least you publish your articles on LANKA WEB, in English, so that every one can read and understand it.

  2. Nimal Says:

    They colonized until the British gave us the true independence in 1815,so don’t hallucinate about our horrible and dark history. So be thankful to the last colonials who ruled with some sort of arrangement with our leaders by the Kandyan Convention. We never had it so good and we are in gloom since they left us where our criminal minded leaders and their inner circle took the voters for a ride, put the country into debt and are now living in the countries that are of the colonial type giving us a lot of hogwash about our culture and our religion, just play acting to hoodwink the innocent people.
    Some of the writers are bad as the terrorists that bled the country. I am having a go at all politicians of the past and now the clergy too getting into this act, where they too living the privileges at the expense of the innocent hardworking tax payers.

  3. Ratanapala Says:

    Shenali,

    Please also find a means to publish your articles in Sinhalese. It it the Sinhala majority who must be educated in the first place not the English educated who look at everything Sinhalese with a biased mind. Problems in Sri Lanka are not those of the minorities, but those of the majority who have been taken for granted year after year, election after election as cannon fodder for them to come to power. Sinhala Buddhist have always received the Karapincha Treatment over the years. So please have these articles published in the Sinhala Language and if possible in Tamil too to give your valuable research material the widest publicity. It is also necessary to find other media vehicles for the efficient dissemination of the content.

    Shenali your efforts are valuable for the continuation of Sinhalese as a race of people – people who gave identity and a civilisational presence in the island of Sri Lanaka formerly called Sinhale’.

    We cannot help the colonial worshippers for they are totally mired in the only thing they are good at – doing sewer cleaning work for the imperialists.

  4. Dilrook Says:

    A well researched article. From 1796 to 1881 close to a million South Indians were brought to the island by the British India Company for plantation work. It, subject to natural increase, equals to the total of ‘people of Indian extraction’ recorded in the 1881 census.

    I disagree that the west is driving India. Even when India was with the Soviet Union (until 1991) it had an anti-Sri Lanka policy which led to arming Tamil terrorists, etc. India has its own independent anti-Sri Lanka policy. The west, particularly USA, has now aligned with India for their own petty needs.

    Unfortunately all governments except for the DS Senanayaka, Jayawardana (until 1985) and Premadasa regimes appeased India to the detriment of Sri Lanka. Chandrika and Mahinda (after 2010) administrations were at the forefront of appeasing India. Interestingly, their demise in 2001 and 2015 was also plotted by India, a concept many find difficult to grasp. Buddhism cannot build any bridge between India and Sri Lanka as India is not governed by Buddhist values where Buddhists rank much lower than Christians and Muslims in today’s context. Nehru too visited Anuradhapura in an apparent attempt to woo the natives. However, following the visit he declared in subtle yet decisive terms the Indian hegemonic designs for Sri Lanka. He said Sri Lanka is the daughter of mother India. Enough has been said about the horrible plight of India’s daughters!

    Anti-China moves by the present government will endanger the nation politically, economically and militarily as we are now taking sides in the new cold war.

  5. Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha Says:

    The article is stating and insinuating that Sri Lanka can be annexed by India. It can become an Indian state. India will only do this to spite her own sovereignty.

    The moment it ever becomes a reality or even if it does not but India controls Sri Lanka like a colony then all bets are off.

    -China will openly claim Arunachal Pradesh while simultaneously protesting in the Security Council of India’s blatant actions ‘ for India to have that much power over Sri Lanka means India then can claim a good deal of the Indian ocean.
    -Australia will not allow this expansion at her cost. She will see the danger of a rising Indian power that does not recognize the soverignity of another nation in the 21st century
    – the hell storm that will create with Islamic Pakistan cannot even be underestimated. It will give Islamabad “corsus beli” to unleash every Islamic terrorist group upon Kashmir. the blood bath then becomes justifiable.

    take Kashmir India had no claim to that region until the British put the “Dogra” Hindu rulers in power. Before that Kashmir was part of the Sikh Empire and before that empire Kashmir was ruled by Muslim kings for 500 years. Kashmir remains the only Muslim majority state in India. Pakistan and China will not waste a moment to claim what they see as their territories.

    This does not even bring up the aspect of “digesting” Sri Lanka and the Singhalese terrorism launched against India in her southern region from Chennai to Kanchipuram to Bangalore will be fair play for Sri Lankan trained terrorists to bring hell upon India.

  6. Geeth Says:

    Shenali,
    You have brought a lot of information. We all thank you for your valuable effort.

    I fully agree with you Ratnapala; it is not the English readers who really needed to be educated but the Sinhala readers. However writing in English is also very essential since the national struggle has many, but at least two dimension; one is internal and the other is external.

    By the way Ratnapala, It is so hard to guess the origin of some of the contributors by their usernames. Some write things that actually contradicts to the meaning of their username.

    Dilrook, I agree about the trend of appeasement, MR learned his bitter lessons lately but when he realized, it was too late.

  7. Senevirath Says:

    සිංහලෙන් ලිවීම ලංකාවේ සිංහලයන්ට පමණක් නොවෙය පිටරට සිටින සිංහලයන්ටත් ප්‍රයෝජනය් ඇමරික ග්‍රීන් කාඩ් ඇදිල පිටරට ගිය හුඟ දේනේ කුට හොඳට ඉංග්‍රීසි බැ හ ඒ වුනත් ඒ ය බුද්ධිමත් අයගේ ලිපි කියවන්න ආසය් සිංහල බැරි සිංහලයන්ට වඩා ඒඅ ය දේශප්‍රේමී ය

  8. Ratanapala Says:

    Geeth,

    I agree with you. There are many moles, worms and sleepers who show their true colour only at crunch times. Patriots have to be aware of such perils.

  9. Christie Says:

    Namaste: At last what I have been saying is becoming the truth. India wiped out Bo people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands in less than 70 years. It will be lucky if we last another 70 years. Jai Hind.

  10. SA Kumar Says:

    It will be lucky if we last another 70 years- as long as We-Demila Sakkiliyas in Mother Lanka You Bhuddist Sinhalese are safe as We all know We-Tamil kicked out IPKF 1987.

    We need Your support again in NP but once We complete the job You know what we will do to you as We know We need to settle our Mullivaikkal accounts !!!

  11. Christie Says:

    Namaste: Eat cheap Thosai with reduced prices, clean up with turmeric water after any visits from non Hindus. There is coriander water for the non Indians. non Indian population has been declining since 1956 and is reaching very very low while Indians are increasing at an alarming rate. Indians are controlling more and more businesses and they are making unprecedented profits. Non Indians are fighting among themselves while Indians in the island are setting up themselves to wipe the non Indians. They did it in a small scale with the Indian terrorists arm trained, armed, funded, managed and branded Tamil Tigers by India and the JVP funded by India. Jai Hind.

  12. Fran Diaz Says:

    Geeth,
    It is true that what is written in news sites do not match user names. But we have to realise that the name does not mean anything – “A tree must be known by its fruit” !
    A number of people, born post WW II, were given and are still given west sounding names by parents who admired the west for beating Hitler’s army.

    ——

    I keep repeating that America, India & Sri Lanka were all colonised/part of, the British Empire. Common ground to stand together there.

  13. Independent Says:

    A statement Rajapakse never made .

    “Don’t look at Sri Lanka through Tamil prism”

    Meera Srinivasan The Hindu

    India should see Sri Lanka as a whole and stop focussing just on the island’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said in an interview to The Hindu on Monday.

    The Power and Energy Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pragmatic approach to Sri Lanka could enhance trade, technological and political partnerships, paving the way for a “win-win situation” for the neighbouring countries.

    “That India is a guarantor of the northern Tamil people’s rights should now be a thing of the past,” he said in an apparent reference to India’s push for devolution of powers in Sri Lanka as per the 13th Amendment, consequent to the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987.

    “The Sri Lankan Tamils have to cooperate with the existing government to settle their problems without dragging India in,” said the Minister, a prominent politician in the Sinhala-nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Heritage Party), led largely by Buddhist monks. The party was a key member in former President Mahinda Rajapakasa’s coalition, before members crossed over to the joint opposition platform ahead of Sri Lanka’s January 8 presidential polls, backing President Maithripala Sirisena.

    Observing that India’s perspective on Sri Lanka needed to change, he said: “It [Sri Lanka] is not part of India or Indian culture, we have created a unique, organic culture here.” India’s “support” to the LTTE had caused a “big disappointment” in the psyche of the Sinhalese people, but India could change that by engaging through music, cinema, fashion and cricket. “There are various common things other than Hinduism and Buddhism.”

    Commenting on major infrastructure projects funded by foreign nations, Mr. Ranawaka said Sri Lanka ought to have had technical audits before clearing them, pointing to Sri Lanka’s Northern railway line project that was restored with Indian assistance. “The line constructed by India was four times more than the benchmark costs,” he said, adding that similar infrastructure projects funded by China should have also been subjected to greater scrutiny.

    On Sri Lanka’s perceived tilt towards China, the Minister said the “mistrust” under the Rajapaksa government could now be buried and India and Sri Lanka now had a good opportunity to engage as equal partners. “We all have to accept that China is going to be the next economic super power. India cannot tell Sri Lanka what its China policy should be. Unfortunately Sri Lanka was a bit trapped between the undeclared cold war between US and China.”

    Even as he emphasised the need for Sri Lanka to adopt a policy of non-alignment, Minister Ranawaka clarified: “We all have to accept one thing. China is going to be the next economic super power,” adding: “India cannot tell Sri Lanka what its China policy should be.”

    Ongoing projects

    On the ongoing power plant project in the island’s Eastern Province — India’s NTPC is a partner in the joint venture set up for building the coal-powered plant — the Minister said the Environment Impact Assessment report was ready and was currently being presented for public opinion.

    Sri Lanka and India are also discussing possible collaboration in the areas of power sharing and energy, revisiting the undersea power transmission project. “Both countries have agreed to do a feasibility study,” he said.

  14. Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha Says:

    Fran Diaz:
    You say:
    “I keep repeating that America, India & Sri Lanka were all colonised/part of, the British Empire. Common ground to stand together there.”

    Not the same. The 13 colonies that Great Britain controlled in the US was in the 18th century. The American revolution ended that in 1776.

    by 1850’s India became the central aspect of the British Empire after the British East India company defeated the Sepoy rebellion. She was administered under the Madras Presidency, the Bombay Presidency and the Bengal Presidency. the land under those Presidencies extended into Burma and parts of Saudi Arabia to Singapore.

    Sri Lanka was under the administration of the “Crown Colony” and separate from India. Then the British Empire became the largest Empire the world has ever seen. ONLY the sub continent was considered the “Empire” the rest of the vast territories from Canada to Australia were “territories” and “holdings’.

    That Empire DID NOT include the United States. One of the issues of the Monroe Doctrine was Washington stating to London that the New world was under US domain. It delineated what Great Britain controlled and what Washington D.C. had a say. both agreed on that.

    the later Sykes Picot agreement between London and Paris redefined the Middle East while dismantling the Ottoman Empire. It was a very complex age of vast colonial holdings where several European nations were leaders of several empires. To lump the US with what the sub continent went through will not wash.

  15. Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha Says:

    One more thing Fran Diaz.
    the French King Louis the 16th financed the American Revolution to the tune of 1 billion US dollars. His advisers warned him not to do that for it will come back to bite France. It did in the French Revolution which came after the American revolution. after the “age of terror” or the time of the “national razor” (Guillotine”) France did away with her monarchy and cut the strangle hold of the Catholic church.

    Around that time both the American “Declaration of Independence” and the French ” Rights of Man” were written. the British Empire was not yet born.

  16. Fran Diaz Says:

    BW,

    In a sense, America suffered the worst from British rule. Black Slavery and the slave trade came to America from Britain. America went to war with Britain to gain Independence. India & Lanka did not go to war with Britain to gain Independence though both latter countries suffer enormously due to British rule. All three countries suffered due to British rule.
    Let’s keep to the important points only.

  17. Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha Says:

    Fran Diaz
    You say: “In a sense, America suffered the worst from British rule. Black Slavery and the slave trade came to America from Britain.”
    During slavery the British earned more from that than any other enterprise. I believe it was about more than half the earnings came from the Caribbean plantations run by slaves.

    When the constitution was written Slavery was common from the New England states to the southern states. America prospered partly due to the slave trade.

    Unlike Indians or Sri Lankans the upper class of the United States hob nobs with the royalty of Europe. Many marry into them. the best a Sri Lankan or an Indian would have in those royal houses today is to sweep the kitchen floor.
    I know there are some lords who are of Indian origin but extremely few.

    when it comes to the upper crust of the US they socialize with the upper crust of England and that of the Continental Europe. You cannot even think these people will be “brothers in arms” with Sri Lankans against their “friends and relatives” across the Atlantic in those European Royal houses. These Americans will laugh in your face.

  18. Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha Says:

    Fran Diaz:’

    The upper crust of America CAN NAME THE MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILIES IN ENGLAND AND EUROPE. THEY CANNOT EVEN REMEMBER OR CARE TO KNOW THE NAME OF THE HEAD OF SRI LANKA OR EVEN INDIA. THEY STILL CALL “BOMBAY”

    “BOMBAY”

    I had plenty of time in my life in the US to associate with the upper middle class (diplomats, attorneys, Doctors, Anesthesiologists. Mayors, politicians.) been to the best social affairs from Washington D.C. to San Francisco to New Orleans and they were not even the upper crust. they did not even care to know about India or Sri Lanka while I went to Operas in San Francisco to see Pavarotti to the Berkeley hills to Marine County to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to parties thrown by Mayor Morial to St. Charles ave. those mucky mucks did not even give a hoot about Sri Lanka or India, and they were NOT the upper crust of the US. they however were part of the elite.

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