Rasalingam Appropriate Candidate For Sinhala Knighthood
by Wakeley Paul
Mr. Rasalingam’s assumption that age has blessed him with a superior understanding of Sri Lankan politics should make him an appropriate candidate for a Sinhalese knighthood. He ignores the fact that Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan fought the British to secure the release of Sinhalese leaders who were incarcerated for allegedly generating the riots of that time. It was the same Sir Ponnambalam who urged the Sinhalese to develop fluency in their own language, as did my own grandfather, the leading surgeon Dr. S.C.Paul.
What then caused the conflict between the Tamil and Sinhalese leaders?
It was when the Sinhalese realized that with Universal franchise they could ignore their promise to create a seat for a Colombo Tamil that Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam realized that the Tamils had better fight for their own rights against Sinhalese political domination by creating the Tamil Congress.
Mr. Rasalingam actually has the audacity to justify the Citizenship Act and the Voting Rights Acts which disenfranchised over a million hardworking plantation workers who voted 8 out of 96 candidates in the first election. This insidious scheme by Senanayake [Rasalingam's hero] to increase Sinhalese representation in the Central Province seems to be lost on Mr. Rasalingam. The fact that the Privy Council, which is as vulnerable as any other institution, upheld it, does not give it God given sanctity.
Under Universal Franchise, the ethnic groups voted primarily on ethnic lines. The national unity that Mr. Rasalingam hallucinates about was restricted only to a segment of the population consisting of the English speaking upper classes.
Mr. Rasalingam who regards Mr. Senanayake as a great national leader forgets his crafty system of nationalizing land in the east in the national interest and populating these national ventures with armed Sinhalese thugs to own and make these Sinhalese agricultural havens, while the Tamils and Muslims were pushed away to more confined areas in the region. Does he justify this because it was the creation of Mr. Senanayake who he regards as the national hero whom unified the nation?
He ignores the harsh reality that despite the commitment of every party prior to Independence that Tamil and Sinhalese would be national languages, and despite strong leftist opposition to the Sinhala Only Act, it was passed with a vicious racial riot that shamed every decent Sinhalese. Does he also commend the tearing up of the BC PACT at the instigation of Buddhist monks supported by a woman Cabinet Minister whose lover was a prominent Buddhist monk?
His absurd assertion that the LTTE was the creation of Colombo 7 Tamils reveals an ignorance that is staggering. The LTTE was the product of Tamils mainly from the VVT. The Vaddukottai resolution (1976) was spearheaded by Tamil students in the North and East who were denied their right to equal access to the Universities. It was not the inner spark of Mr. Chelvanayakam, who unlike Mr. Rasalingam, donated most of his wealth and time despite an extensive private practice to safeguard Tamil rights.
Mr. Rasalingam concludes his diatribe with the question: “What is there to negotiate”? Has he read the Tamil propositions which the Sinhalese government which ousted the UNP rejected under Mr. Banadaranaike’s daughter?
Mr. Rasalingam should use his age to keep up with the times and recognize the realities that continue to cripple this nation both politically and economically. He should read Lee Kwan Yew’s brilliant analysis of Sri Lanka’s being drowned by ethnic disregard of all communities other than themselves by the Sinhalese. For his information, Lee Kwan Yew was one of the most brilliant products of Cambridge University who as Prime Minister, made Singapore a rich multi racial society, which the Sinhalese leaders lacked from the day they were freed by the British, to dominate everyone by the creation of the Unitary Constitution. Does he understand the inequity of the Unitary Constitution when he asks the arcane question “What is there to negotiate”?
(Wakeley Paul, B.A (Cantab). Law Cambridge University, England. L.L.M. Stanford Law School, California, Barrister at Law, Middle Temple, London, Attorney at Law, New Jersey, USA, Former Crown Counsel, Ceylon)
Related: Present Tamil Plight Mainly Due to Ultra-Nationalism of SJV
Estavez said,
March 5, 2008 @ 3:48 pm
The First and Foremost Constitutional blunder by Sinhala Leadership that has brought this nation to this parlous state.
Whoever, was in power at that time and did nothing to nip it in its bud , must take responsibility.
Any redress to Indian Tamil Community today as there’s nothing much to speak of(They still live in Colonial line quarters and in squalors of British Empire) speaks volumes of Sinhala Leadership Motives to make Ceylon a Monolithic Sinhala Only Country. Well, They failed and have A “Failed State” to rule upon.
The “What If” of today is not going to do any good. The solutions are:
First, the umbilical chord of Indian Tamils to Estates must be severed.
Second, State Land and housing must be given to IT Community
Third, their freedom to choose their employment must be enshrined in constitution. This makes Sinhalese also gaining employment in estates as labourers.
Fourth, Education and Employment in State Sector must be guaranteed.
Fifth, the sinhala leaders can GO one step further and make laws to enable all communities gain employment and leadership roles in all state sectors in proportion to their population contribution+ make private sector have workers from all communities. (The South African Rugby Teams must comprise of five Black Players in their national/provincial teams!!!)
UNTIL THESE REDRESS ARE IMPLEMENTED, INDIAN TAMIL COMMUNITY WILL LANGUISH AS THE ONLY COMMUNITY IN THE WORLD TO CONTRIBUTE TO A NATIONS ECONOMY AND STILL NOT REAP ANY BENEFITS FROM IT!
Chales Ryan said,
March 5, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
I dont think a Rasalingam exists. The venomously racial letter written under his name is the work of a Sinhalese Buddhist extremist. It is also evident in the attack on Christians without any provocation. It is a micheivous rabble rousing letter. It is not worth fretting about it.
ilaya seran senguttuvan said,
March 5, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
Time Rasalingam responded to the many letters critical of his
article – some questioning his ethnicity. Tamils clearly reject
all the falsehood he tries to spread to please the Sinhala electorate.
selva said,
March 5, 2008 @ 11:41 pm
Mr.G.G.Ponnambalam the leader of the Tamil Congress while participating in the 2nd reading of the Ceylon Citizenship bill called Mr. D.S. senanayake a racist but later after negtiating when D.S. offered him the ministry of Industries he supported the bill. Just a ministry post was the the fate of one million Tamils. He was luckey to live during that period when there were no freedom fighters. After he supported the bill against the will of the rest of the members of the party Mr.S.J.V.Chelvanayagam and others broke away from the party and formed the Federal Party.When the Britishers were about to give independence they wanted to build a dam for irrigation and presented it to the country. They expected that D.S.Senanayake might ask to do somewhere in the North Central but he suggested the galoya dam in the East.After building the dam when the Sinhalese were reluctant to migrate he said ‘ if you don’t come to settle only the Indians will occupy it’. Later he provided each family a buffalo enacorage and settled them. In thearea where the dam was built, Tamil people lived and they were evacuvated. In that area the river was called Pattipllai Aru. Only one of the branch near Kalmunai it is called Kallaru (means Gal oya). In a Tamil lyric of the third Century B.C. ‘Pattinappalai’, refers to large amount of rice grown in this region were taken to Tamilnadu.
From Vijaya to Mahinda, ruling the whole country and dominating the others is in the mind of all Sinhalese rulers. Until this changes there won’t be any peace in this country.
harshana somapriya said,
March 7, 2008 @ 7:14 am
It is ironic that while the SLTamils claim that their land is colonized by Sinhalese & fight against it, they want Sinhalese to gracefully accept millions of South Indians being settled in Sinhala lands by the British.
It is not challanged that Tamils lived in SL from the early days due to it’s close proximity to Tamilnadu. It is also a fact that the Dutch also brought some Tamils down to the North & East to cultivate Tobacco.
Since the living standards of pre’83 Ceylon was far better than that of India many Tamils crossed the palk straight insearch of better lives. These people were settled in the east & the Vanni districts. Not only in North-East but even in south the Sinhalese birth rights are violated due to the fascist stance of some Tamil politicians. Best example is that those Sinhalese villagers who were displaced by the 2006 landslides in Nuwara-Eliya, still suffer in refugee camps, because the Indian Tamil leaders oppose to whatever land selected for their relocation.
Under these circumstances it is not right to blame Sinhalese for their sense of insecurity and acting with that fear.
Selva, It is true that there was a Tamil kingdom in north during the medieval periods. But you should also recognise that the Sinhalese have built a unique & prosperous civilization in the dry zones of Sri Lanka, whose remains are still found in abandance scattered all over the north eastern parts of SL. Saying that I do not mean that the Sinhalese are the owners of SL. But to say that whole Sri Lankan island is the historical home land of all communities living in this country. While it is important to understand one’s true history, it is a backward act to make the present life of someone misarable due to historical reasons.
Past is past. What we have to do is to think of the present & the future, and try to solve our problems without complicating them further because of our history.
We should keep in mind that when humanity was born there was only one race – human race. In thousand of years from now their will be new races. So there’s no point in worrying too much about it and sacrificing the lives of innocent youth for something non-existant.
Ratnam Ganesh said,
March 7, 2008 @ 9:17 pm
It is very bad to distort history by people like Mr.Raslingam. It is the worst crime . The Bullers Road politics of those days was always to the benefit of the elites. The Jaffna population just followed them because the poor mass was only taught of ethnicity. Eventhough the left parties of those days tried to work with the grass root with both communitithes, they could not penetrate into the mass as they were portrayed as people against religion, caste Etc .Etc. Eg.Tharmakulasingam.
The Tamil Congress and FP. did not work with the CP and LSSP those days .Just like DS went out of Ceylon Congress when DR.NM and Dr.Wickramasinghe entered the congress.However the FP and Congress accepted ministrial portfolios in the Sri Lankan Government.
lankan said,
March 9, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
`Tamil students in the North and East who were denied their right to equal access to the Universities`
Were these students representing the privileged schools in the North and East?What was happening to the tamil students from Mulathivu,Vavuniya ,Killinochchi Districts and some districts of eastern Province and Tamil students from
the Nuwara Eliya district (Central Province).Did these tamil students have any chance to go to univesity in Sri lanka before the standardisation(so called discriminative method)
I appreciate if this writer will write an atricle about the university admiissions of sri lanka ,before and after the standardisation with the facts and figures taken from the university grant commisson.
lankan said,
March 9, 2008 @ 1:03 pm
`Tamil students in the North and East who were denied their right to equal access to the Universities`
Were these students representing the privileged schools in the North and East?What was happening to the tamil students from Mulathivu,Vavuniya ,Killinochchi Districts and some districts of eastern Province and Tamil students from
the Nuwara Eliya district (Central Province).Did these tamil students have any chance to go to univesity in Sri lanka before the standardisation(so called discriminative method)
I appreciate if this writer will write an atricle about the university admiissions of sri lanka ,before and after the standardisation with the facts and figures taken from the university grant commisson.
selva said,
March 12, 2008 @ 5:46 pm
Attn: Harshana Somapiria
Hi, I agree as you said Sinhalese lived in northeast too in the ancent time but like that Tamils too lived in every corner in the ancent time. If you go through the names of the places in Sinhalese areas you will agree with me. This country had never been ruled as one country throughout the history until the Britishers time. Just because the constitution they left behind made the Sinhalese the sole owners of the country they thought each and every corner of the country is belonged to them. They wanted to colonize the North and East with Sinhalese and they wanted to become majority there too. Northeast is the driest part of the country but all the wettest part of east and southern half of Vavuniya is already given to the Sinhalese. North of Vavuniya there are no rivers(only seasional streams) that is why the Sinhalese didn’t show much interest in that. Otherwise North also would have been like East. So if Sinhalese want to rule it as one country you have to go back how it was in the ancent and find a solution similar to that. In adition to colonization the government finding the bhudist ruins and claiming as theirs and accuiring land (like Digamadulla) can the Tamils too claim Polanaruwa. After the Sinhalese moved from North Central to the Southwest before 900 years because of Maleria epedamic the Sinhalese population grew very fast. But the Tamils were still living in the Northeast and continue to die and that is what created the problem (majority minority problem). The British majority rule policy automatically handed over the fate of the Tamils in the Sinhaleses hand and we are further unfortune now our fate is in another dictator Pirabaharan’s hand. The god has made us to savive for the 2500 years and he will definitely help us to savive.
ilaya seran senguttuvan said,
March 13, 2008 @ 5:49 am
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Coming from an Indo-Lankan lineage, in the 50’s – as a school boy – I remember several known people shuttled between Ceylon and India via the Fort Railway Station at very short notice – sans any mandatory papers. The trek by foot, I believe, was prior to the arrival of the railway here (1905?)…. In talking of historians, I do not suggest we go by history written by your men of your own race only – that will narrow your source of knowledge to a very narrow field indeed. Sinhala historians Sir Paul Peiris, Dr. S. Paranavithana, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva did not seek to distort history and remain neutral historians who command respect. Look at what Indrapala/n has done to himself in his latest about- turn. Your analogy of evidence-Court procedure is interesting – and, in most instances, true. But, Sir, in a court of law the presiding judges are not willing to allow time eternal to debunk the other side. Whereas, in a historical work, there is unlimited time to engage discrepencies…… Re. Nalin de Silva – see his comments last week in Island’s Midweek Review. The man has done a somersault about his claim of the time of arrival of Tamils to Jaffna, Lankan royalty etc. Nalin’s claim – which you strangely seem to agree with – that Tamils came to Jaffna only 400 years ago – is preposterous. Nalin is now changing gears on this….. My comments about the presence of Tamils here over 3,000 years ago is supported by not only Sir Paul Peiris – but by the very presence of the holy Tiruketheeswaram, Koneswaram and, across the sea, Rameshwaram temples that have stood perhaps longer. Your man Roberts contests this elsewhere in his rush to become a Sinhala champion. Re. Lankan Citizenship, the 7 year period, I think, was subject to applicant not having remitted any money in recent times to relatives in India, Sir, (Mr. Thondaman) senior himself, my close and good friend, told me that Lankan officials sabotaged the easy acquisition of Lankan citizenship by various bureaucratic obstacles…. As I mentioned earlier, SJV originally was opposed to the Separate State idea but fell in line in the face of Sinhala obstinacy to consider Reasonable Tamil demands…. Please forgive me for some strong words I used in my previous rejoinders to your comments. Let me conclude by saying, in spite of all the deep wounds in the Tamil pysche – like you and DBSJ, I want to still see a united, peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka of tomorrow where any one wishing to live any where in the island should be enabled by the State to do so unambiguously. I think this is still possible and there is space in the hearts of millions of decent Sinhala folks TODAY to realise this – notwithstanding the JVP, JHU, Nalin de Silva, Champika Ranawaka, Udaya Gammanpila, Dinesh Gunawardena and those Buddhist priests of the Sinhala chauvinistic fringe…. …… I extend to you my good wishes for many more years of pleasant retirement…I hope to continue to read your useful and well structured comments.