By Sena Thoradeniya

Several decades ago, at school we used Philip’s Modern School Atlas and saw countries of Asia, Africa and South America were given different colours to symbolise which colonialists – British, French, Belgian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch or Italian – had subjugated those countries. On the occasion of the 77 th Independence Day of India on August 16, Sri Lankan newspapers carried a 5-paged Supplement of which two segments (1) Promoting Connectivity, Catalysing Prosperity India -Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision” and (2) For the People Development Cooperation” attracted our attention.  

The first segment deals with the MOUs and declarations exchanged between the two countries when Ranil Wickremasinghe met Modi in mid-July. It gives a detailed account of the so-called (1) Maritime connectivity (2) Air connectivity (3) Energy and power connectivity (4) Trade, Economic and Financial connectivity and (5) People to – people connectivity which are stepping stones in making Sri Lanka a vassal state of India. On the whole Connectivity of Sri Lanka to India.

The most intriguing part in the Supplement was Sri Lanka map in which each province was given a different colour from lemon yellow, vermillion, rose, crimson red, grass green, ultramarine blue, burnt sienna to yellow ochre, as in the aforementioned Philip’s Modern school Atlas, showing different projects undertaken by India in each province.

They are (1) Northern Province: Petroleum pipeline, Kankasanthurai port, fisheries harbour in Point Pedro, Jaffna Cultural Centre, hybrid power project in the Islands, power grid interconnection (2) Eastern Province: Trincomalee oil tank farm, energy and investment hub in Trincomalee, Sampur solar plant, surgical unit in Batticaloa (3) North Western Province: vocational training center in Puttalam (4) North Central Province: multi-ethnic trilingual school in Polonnaruwa (5) Central Province: 5000 unit cold storage project in Dambulla, Kandyan dancing school, Nuwara Eliya University (6) Western Province: West container terminal at Colombo harbour (7) Southern Province: Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium, smart class room. In addition, it mentions about Indian housing projects in North and East, Uva, Southern, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces, all nine provinces of Sri Lanka painted in different colours showing Sri Lanka under Indian hegemony and suzerainty. Who gave permission to Indian High Commission panjandrums or what right they have to paint Sri Lanka in this manner?

Several centuries ago French seized Trincomalee forcing British troops to surrender, without firing a shot and bloodshed. Several centuries later Trincomalee and the entire North and East will be handed over to the Indian proxies at Ranil Wickremasinghe’s behest, Indians providing necessary infrastructure facilities of a future Federal State, the embryo of Tamil Eaalam, with full implementation of 13 A.

Prime Minister of Sikkim appealing to the Indian Parliament in 1975 for Sikkim to become a State of India, Indian Army taking over the city Gangtok, disarming palace guards, abolishing the monarchy, union with India and Sikkim becoming the 22^nd State of India is a harsh lesson to all Sri Lankans. Will Abraham Sumanthiran play Sikkim Prime Minister’s role?   

The fourth lesson of pre-1971 JVP was titled Indiyanu Vyapthawadaya” (Indian Expansionism), in which the JVPers targeted Indian plantation workers: alleging that their allegiance was to India, that in every line room there were calendars depicting pictures of Gandhi, MGR, Jayalalitha, Gemini Ganeshan, Savitri and Sivaji Ganeshan, that they were provided with permanent employment, wages and foodstuffs such as flour, luxuries” other villagers did not enjoy. JVP planned to uproot tea bushes from tea plantations. Wijeweera got the opportunity to grab the anti-Tamil flag from K. M. P. Rajaratna former MP for Welimada, the arch anti-Tamil and his wife Kusuma, MP for Uva-Paranagama, both joining Dudley Senanayake’s Hath Hawula” (seven-party coalition) in 1965.

JVP had no hatred towards Borahs and Sindhis who controlled the wholesale trade and textile industry. India waging a border war against the Peoples’ republic of China was not an issue for them.

Now the present JVP and NPP have no qualm when Indians getting a firm foothold in Sri Lanka painting the town in red”.