{"id":58897,"date":"2016-09-18T23:20:38","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T05:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=58897"},"modified":"2016-09-18T15:47:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-18T22:47:09","slug":"when-sinhalese-gave-equal-rights-to-tamils-in-1957-the-high-caste-tamils-objected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/09\/18\/when-sinhalese-gave-equal-rights-to-tamils-in-1957-the-high-caste-tamils-objected\/","title":{"rendered":"When Sinhalese gave equal rights to Tamils in 1957 \u2013 The high caste Tamils objected."},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

There is no ethnic problem in Sri Lanka.<\/strong> There is however a problem wherein a handful of high caste\/class Tamils find it convenient to flag the Sinhala discrimination banner to hide the real issue. That issue is how these high castes\/class wish to reign supreme over their own people in a separate state called their own. They would do anything to achieve this purpose. The lies and fabrications are part and parcel of this long-unfulfilled endeavor which started in 1923 by Sir Ponnambalam Arunchalam with the 50:50 demand when the Tamils against Sinhalese was hardly 70:30 as they were more Indian Tamils living in Sri Lanka than those referred to as Ceylon Tamils after 1911. Can anyone also explain why the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (Lanka Tamil Kingdom Party) formed in 1949 months after independence was given, had as their objective the demand for a separate Tamil state? The only discrimination suffered under British rule was to the majority Sinhala Buddhists whose rights were all confiscated by false promises since 1815.<\/p>\n

How many of those peddling the \u2018Tamils are being discriminated\u2019 sing-a-long are aware that Tamils denied Tamils the right to attend school, the right to participate in religious rites in kovils, the right to go inside a kovil and refused to allow low caste Tamil children to study sitting on benches? How many are aware that some of these restrictions prevail still? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a Sinhalese who brought legislative changes so that low caste Tamils would not get discriminated by high caste Tamils but high caste\u00a0Tamil leaders opposed it.<\/strong> That is the truth and nothing but the truth.<\/p>\n

Now comes the best part.<\/p>\n

The Official Language Act was introduced in 1956 making Sinhala the Only official language yet allowing reasonable use of the Tamil language.<\/p>\n

It has become a ruse to use the 1956 Sinhala Only Act as a reason d\u2019etre for the so called ethnic problem. However, when the Act was passed there were no violent acts by Tamils, no satyagrahas, no large demonstrations not even mass protests except for a wafer thin crowd outside parliament. <\/strong><\/p>\n

If the Sinhala Only act was as profound and discriminate as is being projected currently why did all Tamils not oppose it in 1956?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact Tamils began learning Sinhalese. What both Tamils and Sinhalese shared post-independence was that apart from a handful of elite Sinhalese & Tamils most of whom had converted to Christianity and had obtained missionary English education and foreign qualifications, the majority of the Sinhalese and majority of the Tamils were not conversant in English.<\/strong> It was impossible to run a country when the majority populace did not know English while the minority populace of elite Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims knew virtually only English! It was practically impossible to administer a country using English spoken\/written by only a handful of people.<\/p>\n

Today the Tamil politicians boast about \u2018looking after our people\u2019 but it was SWRD Bandaranaike who had to pass a Parliamentary Bill to legally afford Tamil equal rights because Tamils were denying their own low caste Tamil people the\u00a0basic human rights<\/strong>. That Act called the Social Disabilities Act 21 passed on 12 April 1957.<\/p>\n

The Act gave Tamil low castes who had been previously denied by their own Tamil high caste leaders, the right to equal status. Though equal rights was now made\u00a0legal, Tamils continued to deny low caste Tamils equal status.<\/p>\n

Therefore all those human rights activists and media personalities carrying on a sham show about Tamil rights being denied by the Sinhalese are reminded that it was a Sinhalese who gave Tamils their rights and not Tamils and it was the Tamils who refused to abide by the Act passed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tamil caste factor is well hidden by Tamils but it holds the key to many of the problems and issues that exist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best thing about the two acts was that the 1956 Sinhala Only Act had little opposition by the Tamils\u00a0but the 1957 Social Disabilities Act saw a very agitated lot of high caste Tamils who feared that the dismantling of the caste system would affect their political careers. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The elite high caste\/class Tamils soon labored their educated minds and came up with the solution \u2013 lets campaign against the government. The \u2018racial discrimination\u2019 card became the opted slogan. Of course they needed to show examples for their false flag so Ministers were mobbed, instructions were given to tar Sinhala letters to incite racial discord and various other stunts commenced.<\/p>\n

The racial slogan quickly hid from the low caste Tamils the reality that the 1957 Act was to protect their interests which the high caste Tamils were vehemently opposing.<\/p>\n

Now you should wonder why the Tamil leaders did not organize mass protests, demonstrations for the 1956 Sinhala Only Act but did so within 24 hours following the 1957 Social Disabilities Act against caste discrimination implementation<\/strong>.<\/strong> You must probe into this and demand answers.<\/p>\n

Where was the racial discrimination in bringing an Act granting the following rights to all especially to low caste Tamils who were being denied these rights by their own people? Chief\u00a0Minister Wigneswaran please take note.<\/p>\n

The Act considered the following as an offence<\/strong><\/p>\n