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The Real History of Srilanka – Part 3

As we saw in Part-1, the earliest Srilankan Tamils moved out of India 2,200 years back.  Why is India  entangled in their affairs now? I was struggling to come up with a germane reason. Tell me, how much longer should we consider these people Indian?

It is amazing that not a single politician or rabble-rousing movie star has asked this pertinent question: Who are the Sinhalas? They couldn’t have spontaneously sprung from ether, right?

Please hop into a time-machine with me, as we travel to the Indian subcontinent, after the early Iron Age. Around 1000 BC, iron age settlements appeared suddenly in Srilanka – roughly 200 years after the Aryans inhabited the Gangetic plains in India. It seems reasonable to assume that people from nearby India introduced it to the island.

I’m about to plunge you into the ice-cold, murky depths of history. But first, let me regale you with a story.

Back to Mahavamsa

I briefly mentioned the Pali chronicle “Mahavamsa” in Part-1. The narrative starts at 6th Century BC with a bang with Prince Vijaya landing near Mannar in Srilanka with 700 followers.

Prince Vijaya’s birth is steeped in legend. The King of Vanga (Bengal) married the Queen of Kalinga (Orissa). In due course of time, the queen gave birth to a daughter, Suppa Devi. When the young princess became a lovely maiden, she was raped by a lion. If that seems outlandish, a more likely explanation could be – she was abducted & raped by a man named Sinha (which means “Lion” in Sanskrit).

The unlikely pair begot a son, Sinha Bahu & a daughter, Sinha Sivali. The 3 of them lived unhappily with the lion, in a cave. The lion kept the mouth of the cave closed, with a huge boulder. One fine day, Sinha Bahu killed his father, the lion & liberated his mother & sister. After their escape, Sinha Bahu married his sister. Pause your protracted groaning, there’s more. Prince Vijaya is the product of their, ah, union.

Vijaya hung out with a rather unsavory coterie. His gang indulged in such evil & violent deeds, that the citizens started clamoring for his head. His father, the King, was forced to exile him to a distant land – but only after shaving half of his head to humiliate him. And thus, Vijaya landed in Srilanka with his band of mischief makers.

His arrival is dated around Gautama Buddha’s death, but that is probably an insertion by the monks, to add divine significance to the arrival of a wayward prince. Srilanka was already populated by terrible Yakkas (Yakshas in Sanskrit, loosely translated, Demons in English). They sent their representative Yakkini Kuveni, a scary female, to finish off the interlopers. Big mistake. Young Kuveni fell head over heels in love with the dashing prince & betrayed her people.

With her help, Vijaya & his followers victoriously slew as many Yakkas as they could find. And the prince became the King of Srilanka. But now, the uncivilized Yakkini Kuveni wasn’t good enough for him. He had his heart set on marrying a fair damsel of royal descent – the comely Pandya princess from Madurai, to be precise. So, he promptly dumped Kuveni – she was simply beneath his station in life.

Vijaya lived happily ever after with his blue-blooded wife. As for the heart-broken Kuveni, she threw herself off a cliff & died. Rape, Incest, Patricide, Exile, Violence, Abandoning, Traitors – not a Moral Science lesson,  but the stuff that legends are made of. And as with all legends, it isn’t entirely a figment of imagination.

Linguistic Evidence

Before we get any further, we should understand this: Sinhala is an Indo-Aryan language, which means it is an Indic language based on Sanskrit. Ancient Buddhist canons are written in Pali, an archaic language that is not spoken. Spoken Sinhala is a watered down version of Pali, with many loan words from Tamil & Portuguese.

What is the origin of Pali then? Let’s weave through the tangled web of centuries & arrive at the dawn of Buddhism & Jainism. Sanskrit was the language of the Priests & its purity was guarded jealously. Most of the people spoke a vernacular based on Sanskrit – they called it “Prakrit”. Such a lowly language was deemed unfit for Kings & Priests, of course.

India being a large country, there were 3 main regional dialects of Prakrit – Maharashtri (South West), Sauraseni (West) & Magadhi (East). And beyond the confines of India, in Afghanistan, a 4th dialect, Gandhari, was spoken. If there were 4 main dialects, what is “Standard Prakrit”? Scholars opine that it was Ardha Magadhi, the language used by Emperor Ashoka in all his edicts & the language used by many Jain & Buddhist canons.

Modern Indic languages trace their ancestry to 1 of these Prakrits. Thus, Bengali & Oriya to name a few, rose from Magadhi. Hindi, Gujarati & Punjabi evolved from Sauraseni. Why do we need to know all this? Because, Pali is very similar to Ardha Magadhi. Similar or same. This is not surprising, since Ardha Magadhi was the language of choice for Buddhist monks in India.

If the legend of Vijaya is true, the ancestors of modern Sinhalas came from Bengal & Orissa. So, we can expect Sinhala to be a daughter of Magadhi. Interestingly enough, this is only partly correct. A close analysis of Sinhala is disconcerting: For it has 2 substratum Prakrits: Eastern. And Western.

Interpreting the Evidence

The received wisdom in Srilanka is that, the Sinhalas are the descendants of settlers from North India, notably Orissa & Bengal. In that sense, their conflict with the Srilankan Tamils mirrors the 20th century tussle between  North Indians &  South Indians.

According to Mahavamsa, Sinha Bahu – the father of Prince Vijaya – established a city called “Sinhapura” in Kalinga. There is a strong likelihood that this city was in fact located – not in Orissa – but in North West Punjab, near Upper Indus, plumb in the middle of the ancient Gandhara territory. Yet another Sinhapura is in Kathiawar in Gujarat.

Historic proofs show that Indo-Aryan speaking Kambojas moved from their lands in the Upper Indus to modern Gujarat. They then migrated to Srilanka by sea. Prince Vijaya’s legend may be true, but only if we assume he moved from  Western India. As if to muddy the water some more, scholars think that Sinhapura may be a city in Kalinga.

Nevertheless, Indo-Aryans from Gujarat moved to Srilanka in a wave. Since the Sinhala royalty married the scions of the Kalinga kingdom on a regular basis, people migrated aplenty from Orissa. This accounts for the the Eastern & Western substrates in Sinhala.

Incidentally, Sinhala is written in the Brahmi script. The influence of the Kadamba script, from which Kannada & Telugu scripts were derived, is also discernible. Oriya, on the other hand, is based on the closely related Kalinga script.

But, is that the complete picture? How accurate is the received wisdom of the Sinhalas? Is the ethnic strife in Srilanka, a rehash of the age-old Aryan – Dravidian conflict? That is the subject of another post.

Summing Up

While Mahavamsa may include legends, it seems fairly certain that Indo-Aryans migrated to Srilanka during the Iron Age. Srilanka was already inhabited by – shall we say aborigines, to keep things simple? The migrants mixed with the locals. Mannar & Anuradhapura were part of a busy trade route, so many waves of immigrants, primarily from India, would have made Srilanka their home.

The Sinhala royal family preferred to marry the scions of the Kalingas & the Pandyas. This would have bolstered bi-lateral trade. People move en masse for trade & religion, not necessarily during invasions. Such movement of people is usually in both directions – as in, Srilankans would have moved to India in waves too, over the centuries.

Sinhalas are an Indo-Aryan speaking people, that use an Indian script, follow Buddhism – an Indian religion, embrace the insidious caste system & live in a land that is 15 miles from India’s Eastern seaboard. Their ancestors moved from India in waves over several centuries, to colonize Srilanka. And I haven’t even started talking about their art forms, food & attire. If Srilankan Tamils are “People of Indian Origin” – What do you call Sinhalas then, chopped liver?

My aim is not to spread Pan-Indian Nationalism & erase Srilanka’s national pride. For, it is an unusual culture. An Indo-Aryan speaking country, right next to the threatening bulk of Dravidian speaking South India. A Buddhist country, situated right next to a vast & vociferous Hindu country. Amidst it all, they’ve developed & fostered a unique identity all their own.

I’m merely asking Indians to shed their paranoia & think about our neighbors the Sinhalas, with whom we share our heritage. Perhaps then, we’ll start seeing them for what they are – a nation ravaged by civil war & terrorism, whose citizens simply want to lead a normal life.

Check out my next post on the Real History of Srilanka – I’ll post it after a few days.

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The ‘Sorting Hat’ of Life: Children and their Career Choices

We are pleased to add another writer, Sultana Fakhri, to this group Blog. She has written this post to more or less coincide with “Children’s Day”, celebrated on November 14th in India. Please welcome her warmly by commenting on her maiden post. – Priya Raju.

`Who are you?’ said the Caterpillar.  `I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, sir’ said Alice, `because I’m not myself, you see.’ (from Lewis Caroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”)

I have felt the truth of these lines several times …the most I must admit in my professional life.

If I had consciously known as a child what my inner sub-conscious leanings were, (for the Child is Father of the Man!) then life would have led me on a path less traveled indeed. But what I did was only to fall into line with the many bustling passengers on the path most traveled : The Rat Race.

It so happens that I was not destined to be a Rat. Maybe I was destined to participate in the graceful royal walk that is a jungle cat’s birthright !  Instead of scurrying fast through the undergrowth of life as if afraid that something or someone would get me if I’m not fast enough!!

Now that the moment of truth knocks, I never wanted to be a rat, what do I do?  Does it mean that I wasted my life all along?

That brings me to the moot point of this post: childhood counseling and its importance in shaping the child’s future professional calling :

• I recall the counselors of my early age:  very sober dames, multiple-degree holders in psychology, pointing out better ways of behavior to awkward teenagers who just now realized that they are no longer children; or those strict, spectacle-clad ‘Aunt Polly’ of Tom Sawyer kind of ladies with strong notions that children about ten are best treated sternly; I benefited from neither kind.

• Who knows a child best? No, not his father and mother; not even his teachers who’ve heard him blab his alphabets; it’s the child himself. He knows what tugs at his tender heart-strings, he subconsciously knows what he is meant to be when he grows up. In true childlike fantasy when a three-year old says he wants to go up to the moon when he grows up, his frustrated father cuts him short and jokingly tells him that he better remain and learn to build things on Earth. A lot less jokingly when the son is entering college and wants to be an artist or a musician and the father says none of this nonsense, please can he fill up that engineering application form? And the innate vision is lost in the shadow of a mundane so-called reality.

There seem to be cropping up various kinds of questions on the subject of helping children decide the path of their professions at an early age based on what their innate capabilities are … and here I ask some of them…

• Who is to take the responsibility of probing these capabilities in a child without influencing the tender mind too much on the virtues of one profession over another?

• How to make sure that the child himself / herself is not misled by the glamorous ‘outside’ of a particular profession (like the Media/ Film /Aviation Industry for example) without knowing the hard inside story?

• What is the ‘fitment’ ratio of the child’s capacities / soul urge to his or her choice of profession? Who could possibly be a fair judge if it will not be a case of a ‘square peg in a round hole?’

• Who is it who will take the time to observe the child so well so as to observe the particular ‘flair’ that the child may have got : for those of us who have watched these films ‘Monsoon Wedding ‘, Lakshya or  ‘Taare Zameen Par’. regarding the temperament of children/youth in relation to choice of pursuits and capability.

Now what is needed for our future generations, friends is a Sorting Hat. Yes, I mean the very same Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat of Harry Potter fame. And for all the great reasons!

• The Sorting Hat is not the child’s parents or Teacher; so it does not matter to it whether the child grows up to be an Engineer, scientist or Carpenter! Impartiality therefore enables it to make a fair decision from a detached vantage point

• The Sorting Hat groups children based on their innate capabilities and leanings : the ‘core’ of personality

• The Sorting Hat LISTENS to the child’s inner voice : In the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, the Hat almost sorts Harry Potter into the Slytherin House but it also gives ear to Harry’s mental protest that he wants to be in Gryffindor and there he is sent. It does not overrule the leanings of the child though it holds its own judgement very superior.

Psychometric analysis at an early age definitely comes close at identifying the strong and not so strong areas of a personality which, along with the child’s own intuition can nudge in the right direction of a future vocation / profession. And no cowing the child down please in the name of all those good intentions that we are capable of!

The key essence here being ‘uniqueness.’ If a Sachin or a Sania are to shine on the sports field, what good would it have been to push them into an IIM? Imagine the agonies that an Einstein would have gone through trying to be a ‘good student’ at college?

And so to unleash this unique color is to add to the Rainbow of Life on this Earth! We need to reflect all this as we celebrate the Nehru-chacha inspired “Childrens Day” on the 14th of every November. Lets give a new deal to our children!

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The Real History of Srilanka – Part 2

In my previous post, I had touched upon the origin of Srilankan Tamils. In this serving, I’ll outline some of the reasons behind the simmering ethnic strife. But, first I’d like to lay some lies & disinformation to rest.

Srilankan Presidency and Disinformation

Any armed struggle uses a variety of tools to incite the masses & hi-jack them emotionally. Circulating malicious rumors is their stock in trade to get rabid supporters. Disinformation that denigrates the government would be propagated, to decrease hope & increase paranoia. Recently, this lie was stuffed down the throats of the gullible by LTTE supporters:

According to the constitution of Srilanka, only a Sinhala Buddhist can assume office as the President.

I was appalled by the number of intelligent people that bought this, hook, line & sinker. The best way to slay a rumor is to go directly to the source. I reviewed Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Srilanka, which lays down the laws governing the President of the country. There are NO clauses that mention Buddhism or Sinhala as a prerequisite for assuming office. Neither religion nor ethnicity is mentioned in any of the relevant clauses.

Buddhism is the State Religion of Srilanka & all the presidents thus far have been adherents of that faith. That’s not the same as claiming non-Buddhists cannot aspire to be presidents. I’ll be glad to eat my hat if someone can direct me to an article in the Constitution of Srilanka that contradicts my understanding.

Now, let’s go back to a point in history where all the rancor started.

Divide & Rule Policy

While we must agree that the British did not initiate cruel inquisitions like the Portuguese, they still caused Srilanka irreparable harm with their handiwork – the “Divide & Rule” policy. They created a subaltern elite, comprised of Burghers, Srilankan Tamils and the upper caste Sinhalas. Yes Virginia, there’s a caste system in Srilanka 🙂

Burghers are Srilankans with European blood. The British were especially partial to Burghers that professed loyalty to the Anglican Church. The land-owning Sinhala Govigama community & its Tamil equivalent – the Vellalas – were amongst the anointed. The British meted out preferential treatment to these 3 communities. They occupied most of the Civil Service jobs, received an excellent English language education & in general, enjoyed a position of power & privilege.

Divide & Rule is a very useful policy. It promoted people that were willing to kowtow to the British. It ensured that very little power was vested in the locals – and even then, it was concentrated to a handful of “elite”. In the end, it fostered resentment & animosity in the locals towards the chosen few. In any case, it ensured that the Srilankans were fragmented & couldn’t band together against the rulers. Slam Dunk for the British.

Setting the Stage

Srilanka became independent via non-violent means in 1948. For the 1st few years, both Sinhala & Tamil languages were treated equally. But this uneasy peace was short-lived. Tamils were a mere 15% of the population, but they were economically & socially far ahead than most of the Sinhalas. A disproportionate number of Tamils enrolled in medical and engineering schools, practically guaranteeing them lucrative careers.

Consider this. In 1948, Tamils occupied 31% of the university seats. In 1956, 60% of Technical & Professional jobs – Doctors, Engineers and University Professors – were held by Srilankan Tamils. In the same year, they also occupied 30% of the top bureaucratic positions & 50% of clerical jobs in Civil Services.

This caused resentment among the majority Sinhalas & resulted in soaring Sinhala Nationalism. There was a strong feeling that the balance of power & position had to shift in favor of the Sinhalas. Many good English language schools were in the Tamil dominated Jaffna peninsula. English language fluency was seen as a ticket for growth for the Srilankan Tamils & the Sinhala elite – and a stumbling block for progress for the non-English speaking Sinhala majority, most of whom were poor.

Sinhala Only Bill

Unemployment among the Sinhala youth & their hankering for prosperity exerted tremendous political pressure in post-independent Srilanka. As a crowning event, in 1956, the “Sinhala Only” Bill was passed. This made Sinhala, the language spoken by 74% of the population, the National language.

The horrified Tamil community was jolted into action. Tamil leader Chelvanayagam & his Federal Party colleagues staged a Satyagraha protest in the Galle Face Green in Colombo, demanding parity status for Tamil. Their protest was broken up brutally & violently by hooligans. While the peaceful agitators lay bruised, writhing in agony,  the Srilankan government watched, a mute spectator to the deplorable event. This provided the spark that ignited an inferno 2 years later, in 1958, as a gory communal riot between Sinhalas and Tamils, with each side marauding & retaliating. The Black July attack in 1983 was the pinnacle of this pissing contest.

Once Srilanka’s official language became Sinhala, the bottom fell out of the English Language. In one fell swoop, Tamils lost their head-start on Sinhalas. And for the 1st time, they faced stiff competition in the job market. In the meantime, many Sinhala Medium schools were started through-out the country to educate the masses. English was relegated to 2nd language status in schools.

Due to a groundswell of pressure from the still influential Srilankan Tamil community, the “Sinhala Only” Bill was amended in 1958 to “Sinhala Only, Tamil Also”. But, for the next 10 years, most of the government forms and services were only in Sinhala. This made life exceedingly difficult for the Tamils.

Once Sinhala became the defacto official language, Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike ordered the Tamils in Civil Service jobs to prove their proficiency in that language. They better clear the stage-wise test over a period of 3 years, or else! What else – the Damocles sword of dismissal hung over the heads of Srilankan Tamils. Unable to clear the tests, many had their increments suspended. Some were forced to quit their jobs & make way for Sinhalas.

So in reality, the battle for the “Official Language” status was a battle for economic prosperity, for gainful employment. The law’s resounding impact was very visible by the 70s: Most of the Civil Service employees were Sinhalas by then. The Tamils had either quit or were not hired.

The law was repealed in 1987. Now, Chapter IV of the Srilankan Constitution gives parity to both Sinhala and Tamil. Both are official and national languages.

Summing Up

It is inconceivable to me that a minority living in a country half the size of Tamil Nadu will not take the effort to learn the language of the over-whelming majority. With all due respect, it seems parochial & idiotic.

I find the narrow-mindedness of the Srilankan Tamil leaders deplorable. Srilanka was their nation! Why didn’t they take the unemployment problem of the Sinhala youth to their hearts? They did not try to improve the lot of their Sinhala brethren. They could have been the leaders of Srilanka. Instead, they were content to lead a mere 15% of the population, the Tamils.

I’ve realized over the years that we cannot be happier than those around us. Sooner or later, they’ll pull us down.  The Tamils were pleased when they were well placed – granted, through their hard-work; And started whimpering when they were no longer the top dogs, when they were relatively worse off than before. I find their callousness unpardonable. If the Tamils had played their cards right, if they had attempted to help the Sinhalas, if they had been empathetic, things wouldn’t have come to such a sorry pass.

As for the bungling Srilankan government, their objective may be laudable, but their execution stunk. They could not resist playing into the hands of the zealots who painted the program in ugly communal colors. Nor could they control the sordid ethnic clashes that erupted.

Even though English is a 2nd language, English language proficiency is very low in Srilanka – around 10% of its population, mostly the urban elite that enroll in International Schools. Painful awareness that most Srilankans are ill-prepared to compete with India in IT, BPO & KPO sectors, primarily because of their inadequate English skills – is sinking in.

Many Sinhalas are threatened by the mere presence of 60 million Tamils, a spitting distance across the pond in India.  This insecurity will only deepen if our politicians scream for an end to Srilanka’s “unjust” war against LTTE. Indian politicians will do well to remember that.

What are the other fundamental problems that exacerbated the ethnic strife & converted it to a crisis? All that & more in my next post.

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The Real History of Srilanka – Part 1

Updates: This post has been featured in the History Carnival at Varnam.org & in Desi Pundit. Thanks, JK.

I promised to write a follow-up to my previous post. But the situation in Srilanka got my goat, so I’m taking a detour this week.

If you are not hiding under a rock, you would be grimacing at the goings-on in Srilanka – and the attendant clown acts in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, with politicians and movie actors falling over each other in their zeal to support the LTTE. If all they wanted to do was to solve the humanitarian crisis in Srilanka, hats off to them. But, that’s not their goal. Most of them want a separate Eelam for Tamils.

Holy Canoli, I thought. If Pakistani actors staged a hunger strike for the cause of Kashmir – How would that make us feel? We may choose to carve out a piece of Kashmir & throw it out for the separatist dogs, but that’s our decision & nobody else’s. We may grin & bear mediation efforts from United Nations or from neutral countries like Norway. But, we would not tolerate random foreigners poking their ugly noses in our internal affairs.

So, what makes these politicos & film actors think they can dictate terms to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Srilanka, a sovereign nation? I hope that discerning people all over India are able to see beyond the race card.

The timing of these hunger strikes is what is galling to me. Srilanka is a nose-hair away from squashing LTTE, a terror organization. LTTE cadres are holed up like rats in the dense jungles of Wanni – where the tropical canopy limits visibility for air-raids by the Lankan Airforce. Many ethnic Tamils are held against their will in Kilinochi by the LTTE, so that they can act as a human shield when the Srilankan forces break the barriers. LTTE, the protectors of Tamils? They don’t give a rat’s ass to Tamils. All they want is a separate Eelam to rule.

LTTE = Face of Srilankan Tamils?

First of all – Who made LTTE the sole torch-bearers of Srilankan Tamils? Moderate parties like TULF (currently led by Ananda Sangaree) want an autonomous Tamil state, but they don’t believe in an armed struggle. TELO and EPRLF (parts of which have now merged with LTTE) are the other groups that focus on guerrilla warfare or militancy.

LTTE does not bear rivals kindly. Their snipers brutally assassinated TULF leader Appapillai Amirthalingam, who wanted a negotiated settlement instead of a civil war.  The cold-blooded murder of respected academic, TULF leader & peacemaker Neelan Thiruchelvan is sadder still. He was working on a relief package with the then Srilankan President Ms Kumaratunga when he was assassinated by LTTE.

As for TELO & EPRLF – LTTE hit-men killed TELO leader Sri Sabarathinam in 1986, over a squabble. EPRLF leader Padmanabha and his deputies were killed in a gruesome manner, in broad daylight in Chennai by LTTE in 1990 – because his party contested in the Srilankan general elections for the North Eastern province. LTTE has admitted that it doesn’t believe in democracy. It never will. Anarchy & Oppression are their Gods.

LTTE & Friends

You are judged by the friends you keep. LTTE has close ties with ULFA, a much-feared and banned terror outfit in Assam, that targets Hindi-speaking Indians from Bihar. Mass graves have been discovered in old ULFA camp sites. They don’t mind killing children if that will get their voices “heard”.  Such lovely people are friends with LTTE. Hell, LTTE organizes training camps for ULFA. What’s a little cooperation between friends?

The above news nugget is credited to the Director General of Police from Tripura (an Indian state). The DGP of Tripura – Not an Average Joe from the streets, who may have an ax to grind against LTTE’s “Tamil Cause”. It gets even better.  LTTE & ULFA supply arms to Naxalites/Maoists, who have consolidated their presence in 22 Indian states.

Who are these Srilankan Tamils?

Human beings have lived in Srilanka for 34,000 years. Condensing the rich history of such an ancient land is fraught with the dangers of over-simplification, so I’ll tread cautiously. There are 2 kinds of Tamils in Sri Lanka – The Jaffna (Yazhpanam) Tamils & the Indian Tamils.

Tamils moved to Srilanka in one of the numerous, tiresome battles waged between the Cholas/Pandyas & Sinhalas. The very 1st recorded battle was in 205 BC between the Pandya (Chola in some sources) king Elara & the Sinhala king Dutta Gamanu, where he soundly whupped the Tamil king’s ass. In the course of the next 14 or 15 centuries, dame fortune sometimes favored the Tamil kings & sometimes the Sinhala Kings. From the 7th Century AD onwards, the Sinhalas got a dance partner – Persian Pallavas that ruled South India gleefully extended their support to Srilanka. Till the reign of Raja Raja Chola & his son Rajendra Chola in the 10th century AD, that is. Fearsome warriors, they kicked the butt of everybody in South East Asia, colonized any territory that they clapped their eyes on.

For the most part, the Tamils that moved to the Jaffna peninsula during these battles are the Srilankan Tamils.

Srilanka, like India, was under the British rule. In their inimitable style, the British usurped the lands of the peasants in Kandy and planted coffee, tea & rubber. To work these fields, they imported indentured laborers from South India. These laborers were amongst the poorest of the poor. Their working & living conditions in Kandy were squalid & unbearable. These are the Indian Tamils.

The uppity Srilankan Tamils showed their disdain for the “inferior” Indian Tamils openly. Historically, the 2 groups did not mix with each other. The Black July riots in 1983 changed everything, of course. Because the rioting Sinhala mobs didn’t care if someone was a Srilankan or an Indian Tamil.

Divisive Politics of G.G.Ponnambalam

Much of what we know about the early history of Srilanka is from the Pali chronicle “Mahavamsa”,  created by the Buddhist monk Nagasena in the 5th century AD. It narrates the history of Lanka from the 6th century BC. This early part of the epic, which starts before the reign of King Ashoka, is difficult to substantiate. So, we can make an educated guess that at least a part of it is legend. Needless to say, Srilankans revere the “Mahavamsa” &  are understandably proud of it.

In the 1930s, the leader of the Srilankan Tamils was G.G.Ponnambalam. The very 1st communal riots between Sinhalas & Tamils happened in Navalapitiya in 1939, thanks to his ceaseless efforts: He rejected his Srilankan identity & called himself a proud Dravidian. He then proceeded to attack the “Mahavamsa”. Imagine what Indians would do if some jackass heckled the “Ramayana” or the “Mahabharata”.

Srilanka became independent in 1948. As a fallout of the “Ceylon Citizenship Act” of 1948, the Indian Tamils were disenfranchised. Which means, all of them were stripped off their Srilankan citizenship & they had nowhere to go. Venerable Srilankan Tamil leaders like Chelvanayagam & Thondaman expressed their shock & fought to get this act repealed. So, the “Indian and Pakistani Residents Act” of 1949 came about as an addendum. Accordingly, about 40% of the Indian Tamils got their Srilankan citizenship back. The rest were repatriated to India – packed off to Jawaharlal Nehru, to be precise.

The charming G.G.Ponnambalam voted to pass this act. It is interesting to see the Srilankan Tamils do back-flips to find excuses for this egregious & embarrassing behavior.  Truth be told, many of the Srilankan Tamils disliked the Indian Tamils, thought of them as “mobs” & did not want them to get voting rights. They were not sorry to see them go.

Why would I help the Srilankan Tamils, when they behaved abominably towards the Indian plantation workers? Oh, I see – now that they need India, they want us to forget the past.

Summing Up

What President Rajapakse cannot afford to do now is stop. In this last-ditch fight between the Lion (Srilanka, with its “Lion Flag”) & the Tiger (LTTE), I’m rooting for the Lion. That doesn’t mean I’m insensitive to the plight of the innocent civilians caught in the Wanni forest. Neither am I denying the atrocities committed by the Sinhala majority on the Tamil minority.

In our zeal to upbraid the Sinhalas, none of us should forget how rotten & human excrement-like LTTE is. After all, they killed Rajiv Gandhi, an Indian leader in Indian soil. Imagine what they must be doing to Srilanka. I’ll NEVER forgive LTTE & neither should you. I’m a Tamil. If opposing LTTE makes me a traitor to the Tamil cause, so be it. I simply will not condone terrorism. That will make me a traitor to the human cause.

Since the truth will help us take an informed stance, I’ll publish some more unvarnished nuggets in my next post.

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Eldercare: Wellness = Awareness

I have started writing a series for The Dignity Foundation – an organization focused on senior citizens. Here is the first in the series that got published in the September issue of their magazine.

The best gift that we can give ourselves and our families is to live in good health until we leave this planet. As someone with several senior citizen relatives including some near and dear ones, i want to highlight some observations that i have collected about Elder Care.

To my utter shock and dismay, i find 2 broad patterns of behavior from doctors when it comes to treating senior citizens. And I am talking about doctors from reputed hospitals. One pattern is – doctors don’t seem to order basic diagnostic tests that are necessary, possibly under the pretext of saving money or because they have not kept themselves updated about the latest diagnostic tools and techniques. The other pattern is – doctors order surgical procedures aggressively when other treatment options are available.  Let me explain with some pertinent examples.

One of my senior citizen relatives recently started having blurred vision in one of the eyes. The doctor diagnosed it correctly as a damage to the retina due to high blood pressure  and left it at prescribing some medication for hypertension. Another doctor was consulted for a second opinion and that doctor immediately ordered an angiogram and it showed that there were some blocks in the arteries in the heart.  Armed with this information, consulted another opthalmologist, who decided to order an Eye Angiogram. It showed the areas that are damaged in the retina precisely.  I didn’t know such a test was available and i was impressed by the doctor who ordered it. With the results from both the Eye Angiogram and the Heart Angiogram, sufficient information was available to create a proper treatment plan. Why didn’t the first doctor order these tests?

In another instance, we took a senior citizen relative, who was complaining of a painful inflammation in the anal tract, to a reputed hospital. Several specialists got involved and they recommended an emergency surgery to fix the problem. We then took a second opinion from another doctor who simply gave some medication and the inflammation dissappeared in a few days.  I shudder to think what complications could have arisen if the surgery had been done.

There are many such examples i have noted which led me to the conclusion that there are serious issues with elder care in this country. My advice to elders, please try to understand what health condition you have and ask your doctor to explain the diagnosis and the course of treatment. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t get convincing answers, go to another doctor.  Do some research on the Internet about the illness and be armed with information so that you can have a meaningful dialogue with your doctor.  Your health is too important to be left to the experts.

Although, it is easy to blame the doctors for these problems, i find that many elders have abysmal awareness about health issues. Many even hold outdated views such as:

– “In my family, there is no history of XYZ illness, so i will never get it”.
– “Oh! I am 70 years old, i am expected to have these problems, right?”

Everyone will agree that early detection of illnesses is critically important in effective cures and in the case of elders, this is even more important.  Here are some basic tips I strongly recommend that all elders follow:

1. Be very aware of your body – how much time you sleep, how many times you pass stools, urine – the consistency, color etc of the stools, urine. Frequently monitor these to make sure there are no dramatic changes in either the frequency or the color/consistency etc.

2. Check your weight atleast once a week and note it down to identify any sudden deviations.

3. Check your blood pressure frequently

4. Once a year do a master health check that includes your eyesight. If that is expensive, talk to your doctor about ordering some basic tests that are inexpensive but help you monitor the critical indicators.

Next month, we will cover how to research health issues on the Internet. Stay tuned.