{"id":106659,"date":"2020-09-15T16:09:52","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T23:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=106659"},"modified":"2020-09-15T16:09:52","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T23:09:52","slug":"wigneswaran-up-against-a-wall-of-scholarly-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/09\/15\/wigneswaran-up-against-a-wall-of-scholarly-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Wigneswaran up against a wall of scholarly opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

It seems to me\nthat the former NPC CM and present Jaffna District MP octagenarian C.V.\nWigneswaran has taken to dispensing racist hatred in order to wipe out the\nSinhalese race as a pest. It is funny, but regrettable that he indulges himself\nin this sort of thing. But since the Sinhalese are not what he pretends them to\nbe, his blasts of unprovoked hate will only irk them a bit, but will certainly\nfail to cause them any harm if sense and sanity prevail. All his anti-Sinhalese\nBuddhist assertions that are made without any basis in fact are so silly and\nchildish that I, a fellow Sri Lankan of his belonging to the Sinhalese\nmajority, think that he should be causing much embarrassment to the sensible\nmembers of his own Tamil community. But we cannot ignore the fact that there\ncertainly is method in Wigneswaran\u2019s madness. Fraudulent and frivolous though\nhis claims are,  in the interest of natural justice as well as\nauthentic  knowledge about our true history, they should not be allowed to\ngo unchallenged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why a\nprominent, internationally recognized Sri Lankan archaeologist, who has been\nconducting excavations for delving into our buried history and prehistory, over\nthe past thirty years, promised, in the latest (September 7) episode of a\nseries of NethFM Radio interviews (also subsequently broadcast on the You Tube)\ncalled \u2018Unlimited History\u2019 to disabuse Wigneswaran of his misconceptions in a\nproper scientific manner in the near future, despite the extreme pressure of\nwork due to the project which the archaeology professor is currently engaged\nin. The scholar meant is Professor Raj Somadeva, who deems it his\nresponsibility to give Wigneswaran an adequate answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran told\na Sunday Observer interviewer (September 6): \u2018The genuine grievance of our\npeople is the non-settlement of their political issues. Not the denial of\neconomic sops! Economic sops would not solve the long term problems of our\npeople. When we speak of the needs and aspirations of our people why do you\nSoutherners view it as communal politics? When the Government wants to give\npriority to Sinhala and Buddhism why did you not identify that as communal or\nparochial politics?\u2019 The pot calling the kettle black! I think Wigneswaran must be\ninvited to confront his young co-ethnic Arun Siddharthan on a TV discussion for\nan answer. But he will not dare do that, not only because the young man who is\nthe grandson of a toddy tapper by profession, as he proudly claims, but because\nhe will have a hard time explaining to him why, he, as NPC Chief Minister he\nreturned all the development funds the government sent for his province\nunutilized each year during the five years he held  that post, while the\npoor voters who elected him suffered without even the barest essential\ninfrastructure and other needs after the devastation caused by the war.  I\nam not sure whether Wigneswaran deserves the honour of being challenged by a\nreputed archaeologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nfollowing argument of the MP is from the same source: \u2018If we do not have the\nright of which we are entitled to under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political\nRights, Tamil speaking people of the North and the East would become Sinhalese\nwithin 15 or 20 years. Already the people from Negombo to Puttalam who were\nTamil speaking when I was a child, have now become Sinhalese. The Tamils of\nAnuradhapura in the Old Town where I lived as a boy have become Sinhalese. Many\npeople of recent Indian origin have become Sinhalese. The only way to preserve\nour individuality is to become entitled to the right of self-determination so\nthat the people of the North and the East would look after themselves while\nbeing part of the Sri Lankan polity\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could\nall the Tamil speaking people of the North and the East become Sinhalese within\nthat short period if the few thousands of war-displaced Sinhalese are resettled\nin those areas (but there is still no talk of the issue being addressed)?\nThroughout history many Tamils who came from South India to Sri Lanka as\ntraders, guests, invaders or mercenaries merged into the Sinhalese community;\nso did many Muslim men who arrived in Sri Lanka to do business. Many of the\nTamils in Jaffna today are degraded descendants of the original Sinhalese who\nwere living there when the first permanent Tamil settlements appeared in the\nnorth only in the 13th century, after the expulsion (in 1236) of the invaders\nled by Magha of Kalinga (not a Tamil), who, with his 24,000 strong army of\nKerala and Tamil  mercenaries devastated (1215 CE) Polonnaruwa, the seat\nof the Sinhalas\u2019 flourishing hydraulic civilization and ruled there for 21\nyears. Some of the fleeing soldiers settled down in the north without returning\nto India. What became of Magha is not known. There was no Tamil north before\nthe Magha invasion which, though it was repulsed, permanently destabilized the\nisland kingdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nduring the recent thirty year separatist war there were Tamils who changed\ntheir identity to Sinhalese, while living among the Sinhalese in the South for\nwork as well as for protection from Prabhakaran or equally likely for avoiding\ndetection by security forces for involvement in terrorist activities.  If\nthe reverse of this happened, it would be natural too. But Tamil supremacist\nWigneswaran\u2019s fears of immediate bastardization of Tamils through admixture\nwith the Sinhalese are not well founded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, the\nSinhalese account for nearly 75 % of the Lankan population. It is a historical\nfact that Sri Lanka is the unique homeland of the Sinhalese who gave the island\nits name \u2018Sinhale\u2019, just like Tamil Nadu is the homeland of the Tamils. The\nSinhalese do not demand or enjoy any special rights that the minorities do not\nenjoy because they are non-Sinhalese. Well over 70% of Sri Lankans are\nBuddhists. It is the practice in secular democratic countries around the world\nincluding the USA, UK, Norway etc to give special recognition to the religion\nof the majority, while ensuring the same freedom of belief and worship for\npeople of other religions without any discrimination. It is globally\nappreciated that no other religion is more tolerant towards other faiths than\nBuddhism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran\nfalsely claims that Tamil is the oldest living language in the world. A glance\nat the Web is enough  for anyone to dispute this claim, because there are\ndozens of other candidates (than Tamil) for the title of \u2018the oldest living\nlanguage\u2019 among the world\u2019s over 7000 different languages. Whether Tamil is the\nworld\u2019s oldest language or not, it has no bearing on the fact the Sinhalese are\ndescendants of the oldest humans who lived on this island. We have overwhelming\nwritten, epigraphical and archaeological evidence scattered across the length\nand breadth of the island to prove that Tamil speakers were definitely not the\nearliest inhabitants of the island. The first homo sapiens who lived there so\nmany millennia ago were the ancestors of the Sinhalese. However, they could\nhave been conquered by a north Indian prince as claimed by the Vijaya legend.\nBut the main body of people were the indigenous tribes who in the course of\ntime came to collectively constitute the Sivhela nation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh\narchaeological evidence, unearthed, for example, at the Pahiyan Rock near\nKalutara in the Western province, shows that the caves there provided shelter\nto humans who used bows and arrows tipped with polished bones to kill small\narboreal mammals like monkeys for food some 48,000 years ago. The tribal people\nwho lived there and in other parts of the island then and in the following\nmillennia had to have communicated in their own indigenous language\/s. These\nearly forms of verbal communication, in the long course of unrecorded history,\nmust have gradually evolved into Sinhala, \u2018the language of \u2018dipe danan\u2019 \u2018the\nislanders\u2019 that the missionary Mahinda Thera used to address the courtiers and\nthe commoners of Sinhaladweepa when he arrived from modern Sanchi in India in\n236 BCE. This evolution had taken place only within the island, completely\nindependent of Tamil or other foreign language. The system of vocal sounds in\nSinhala is the most distinctive feature that separates it from Tamil and other\nDravidian languages. For the Tripitaka of Theravada Buddhism to have been\ncommitted to writing on ola leaves in the 1st century BCE at Alu Vihara, Matale\nin central Sri Lanka, the Sinhala writing system had to have been advanced\nenough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran\nstated,a month or two ago, in a different context from the Sunday Observer\ninterview referred to above, that there had existed a historical Tamil state in\nthe north; he also stated that the Sinhalese language originated in the sixth\nor seventh century CE. That is, his opinion is that the Sinhalese language came\ninto existence only after the birth of Christ. This only betrayed abysmal\nignorance. Wigneswaran was immediately contradicted by archaeology professor\nRaj Somadeva alluded to at the beginning, an alumnus of Sweden\u2019s top ranked\nUppsala University (for research and education). Professor Raj Somadeva is the\nhead of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology of the University of\nKelaniya, Sri Lanka. He is a scholar who is engaged in archaeological\nexcavation and exploration, devoting himself to efforts that even go beyond the\ndemands of his profession, in order to divulge Sri Lanka\u2019s ancient history. He\nhas made many findings based on his own absolutely independent excavations and\nstudies using his expert knowledge. Particularly, as a result of his research\ninto a history that goes back far beyond the two thousand five hundred years of\nwritten history, the Ravana legend is being revealed to have an element of\ntruth; it can no longer  be dismissed as mere fiction. Professor Somadeva\nwho found the Sinhala antiquity of Sri Lanka has proved with evidence that the\ncountry was known as Sinhaladveepa in the past and that Tamils and other races\narrived there for trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how\nProfessor Somadeva responded to Wigneswaran then, drawing upon his\narchaeological  explorations: Firstly, it must be said that his statement\nis a completely baseless fabrication. I say so based on my academic background.\nAccording to the oldest available literary sources with which we can interact,\nthe language known as Sinhala or Sihala was in circulation in Sri Lanka even at\nthe time of the arrival of Mahinda Thera. It is recorded in the sources that\nMahinda Thera preached the Dhamma in the language of the \u2018dipe danan\u2019 (people\nof the island). We can understand what this language was from taking into\naccount the fact that erudite monks compiled a series of books or atthakatas\n(commentaries) to elucidate abstruse points in the Dhamma. These commentaries\nwere called \u2018Sihalatthakata\u2019s. In some instances, the Sihalatthakata tradition\nhas been referred to as \u2018porana atthakatas\u2019 (ancient commentaries). These\ncommentaries were called Sihalatthakata because they were written in Sinhala.\nIt is easy to understand that books written to explain difficult matters in the\nDhamma to the male and female lay Buddhists (upasaka upasikas) were composed in\nSinhala, because it was the language of the islanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wigneswaran has\nstated that Tamils have lived in this country from pre-Buddhist times. Here we\nmust be clear about what is meant by the term \u2018Dravida\u2019. It is the same as what\nis meant by the term \u2018Dravidian\u2019 in English. It denotes a language family, not any\nracial identity. The Dravidian language family is an extensive one. It includes\nmany languages. Tamil is only one of them. Professor Somadeva describes a gold\nfoil document found in the Jaffna peninsula: What is shown here is the oldest\nmetal foil with writing (found in Sri Lanka). It is a gold foil. It was\ndiscovered at Vallipuram in the Jaffna peninsula. This gold sheet record in\nBrahmi script was written during the reign of king Vasabha (69-111 CE). It was\nmade to record (for posterity) that the minister Irshigiri who was in charge of\nNagadeepa built a vihara named Piyagunkatissa there.\u201d  Professor Somadeva\nauthoritatively establishes with archaeological evidence that the history of\nancient Sinhalese goes back to the era of Ravana. A social media comment about\nhim runs as follows: Many who fought for Kuragala were inspired by a sense of\nnationalism. But it may be stated confidently that the most crucial attacker in\nthe Kuragala controversy was Professor Somadeva. His Kuragala report is an\nacademic contribution that no person or group could reject. It is not a figment\nof his imagination. It is a document written after deep study.  Savants of\nour time like Professor Raj Somadeva provide proper guidance for  the\nSinhalese who strive to protect the country and the nation out of mere\nemotional impulse to launch into an intelligent and comprehensive struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor\nSomadeva made this remark about Wigneswaran\u2019s \u2018federal\u2019 idea: Although any\nother matter may be changed or interpreted to suit (the whims of) an individual\nor group, subjecting history to the influence (of such distortions ) could\ngenerate unexpected long-term complications. Very recently, I read in a\nnewspaper a statement made by a certain politician. I understand that the\nstatements relevant to your questions to me are parts of the same agenda.\nEveryone has a right to hold and defend personal opinions. This applies in\nrespect of the federal idea, as well. However, it is my view that intelligent\npoliticians must understand that  history cannot be federalized\u201d. (I found\nmuch of this information from internet sources.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postscript <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor\nSomadeva answered Wigneswaran from a program recorded at a rock surface in the\nwilderness close to Wattegama Viharaya about 20 km from the main Monaragala\ntown in what was the ancient Ruhuna. The program was broadcast on NethFM Radio\nand on You Tube today (September 15). Some students from the Postgraduate\nInstitute of Archaeology (University of Kelaniya) taking part in excavations in\nprogress under the supervision of the professor in the area and some local\nvillagers were among the audience. They were in the process of identifying and\ncopying some ancient rock inscriptions in the place. The scenic rocky place is\noverlooking a vast plain covered with jungle surrounded by mountains. There are\na large number of ancient ruins and inscriptions scattered in the locality,\naccording to Dr Somadeva. In the vicinity of the place where they were sitting,\nthere were ruins of what they thought was an ancient Buddhist monastery\ncomplex. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nWigneswaran\u2019s assertion that Tamils were the earliest inhabitants of the\nisland, Dr Somadeva refuted this claim by referring to the use in archaeology\nand anthropology of information found through modern genetic methods to analyse\nfossilized specimens such as human bones for tracing the routes along which\nhuman populations spread radiating from Africa. It has been established that\nTamils had reached the region today known as Pakistan in prehistoric times,\nonly to be gradually pushed downwards to south India, where they are today.\nThis happened when white skinned peoples from the Caucasus region (including\nTurkey, Iran, etc)  overran northern India and established their power\nthere. As Dr Shiran Deraniyagala has shown through his excavations at\nPahiyangala caves, that place had been inhabited by early humans over 48,000\nyears ago! However, this does not mean that the indigenous population had\nremained pure free from admixture with tribes travelling from India, because\n9000 years ago India and Lanka formed a continuous landmass.  Genetic\nhybridity of races was the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\nsay that one language is older than another, one should be equipped with\nknowledge derived from various related disciplines such as philology and\nlinguistics (which Wigneswaran did not possess). In the case of the relative\nhistories of Sinhala and Tamil in Sri Lanka, although the early Sinhala\nlanguage inscriptions written in the Brahmi script are found, there are no\nTamil words in such inscriptions, which suggests that Sinhala has a longer\nhistory in the island than Tamil. Dr Shiran Deraniyagala developed the the idea\nfor his Harvard University PhD thesis that the indigenous community divided\ninto two branches as Veddah and Yaksha about 10,000 years ago. This means that\nthe Veddas and Sinhalas share a common ancestor, and Tamils were not the\nearliest inhabitants of the island of Sinhale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nhour or so long three-part You Tube video (Unlimited History – Episode 24), is\nworth watching. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rohana R. Wasala It seems to me that the former NPC CM and present Jaffna District MP octagenarian C.V. Wigneswaran has taken to dispensing racist hatred in order to wipe out the Sinhalese race as a pest. It is funny, but regrettable that he indulges himself in this sort of thing. But since the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rohana-r-wasala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106659\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}