A leaked Sri Lankan government letter has revealed a plan to settle 500 Sinhalese families in Tamil majority areas in Mannar, India Today reported yesterday. The Government is preparing to relocate 500 Sinhala families to Mannar as part of its agenda to change the ethnic demographic of the predominantly Tamil North, but has recently shelved the plan likely because it had angered the Muslims in the area, the Colombo Telegraph reported August 17, 2013.
Watch India Today report below;
Related posts;
Northern Sinhalisation: Government To Settle 500 Sinhala Families In Mannar Despite Muslim Anger
LalyKing / September 2, 2013
All these Sinhalese are Sri Lankan Citizens. Any Sri Lankan can live anywhere he/she wish. There are not any Sinhala/Tamil/Muslim areas in the country. if you think there are such areas then you are a racist.
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ken robert / September 2, 2013
if you think there are such areas then you are a racist!
My foot!
I agree any one should be able to settle any where, provided
1. they do not change the demographics of an area.
2. people settling there contribute to the economic activity in association with locality.
3. settlers should have some proficiency in the locality.
I think that settlers are going to come to northeast and change the demography any way. Buddhism reached in zenith first millenium in India and rapidly declined. My sincere hope is that roots of buddhism firmly entrenched to prevent this mass decaying of Srilankan society.
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Navin / September 2, 2013
When the British settled Indian Tamils in up country were they all fluent in Sinhala? was there no demographic change?
Besides why do Tamils care so much about people moving not being fluent in Tamil? Isn’t that their problem? Do people in Colombo care whether Tamils coming to the city are fluent in Sinhala? If when the majority of the country speaks Sinhala, asking the minority to learn that language is so taboo, then why is 50+ years later the minority is trying to enforce the same requirement at the provincial level?
When Tamils move to Colombo, no one has to give them any incentive to do that because Colombo is relatively more developed than other parts of the country. It is not just Tamils who move to Colombo but so do Sinhalese. Most Sinhalese who have settled in suburbs of Colombo have their roots in the South.
However, the opposite does not happen by itself. If you want to settle people in under-developed areas, then the government needs to step in and give people some incentives. Tamils know this and that is why they love so much the idea of people moving by themselves. No Sinhalese (or a Tamil for that matter) is going to relocate to N & E on their own initiative for a long time. Enough time for TNA and other separatists to acquire land powers and block that path too.
Besides what is 500 families compared to the total Tamil population in the North? For Sinhala vote to really matter during election times, the government will have to move many thousands of families to the North. Where are they going to find such numbers of Sinhalese? I would be surprised if this government can find enough Sinhalese to move so that they can vote in at least couple of provincial council members.
I believe the real issue here is not any threat from Sinhalese settled by the government towards making Tamils a powerless minority as claimed by TNA and others. What the affluent upper class/caste Tamils really want is to keep N & E virtually 100% Hindu/Tamil. Not even a non-Hindu/Tamil house fly is allowed in N & E. This is just pure intolerance.
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shiromie / September 2, 2013
Well said Navin
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Rasika / September 3, 2013
Navin is right.
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kalu kumaraya / September 3, 2013
Machan Navin.We cannot go back in history.Acts like these are the root causes for ethnic problem.We should have learnt lessons from thirty years of blood shed.Imagine placing 500 Tamil families in the area you live in Sri Lanka(Or any area where Sinhalese are the majority.)The technicality you pointed out may be correct.But dont you think these short sighted plaster solutions are only fueling ethnic tensions and grueling more disharmony.Put yourself into their boots and see my friend .You will get the answer.
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Navin / September 3, 2013
There are Tamils (some bloggers here) who see the problem from the Sinhala side and are amenable to a compromise: some degree of colonization. When one is amenable to that, the process can be negotiated between Tamil and Sinhala political leadership. The leaders can agree who is to be settled, to what extent, where and when. Further development targets could be attached that the government must commit to when it brings in outsiders to the N & E.
Unfortunately, some Tamils are simply not agreeable to even that. For them its no colonization. Period.
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Rohan / September 3, 2013
For Navin and his fan club…
“When the British settled Indian Tamils in up country were they all fluent in Sinhala? was there no demographic change?”
Nobody said it was right.
“When Tamils move to Colombo, no one has to give them any incentive to do that because Colombo is relatively more developed than other parts of the country.”
Tamil paid money and bought those lands. What does the government do here? Chase the Tamils from their own home and ‘settle’ Sinhalese people.
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Navin / September 3, 2013
Nobody said it was right.
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Please speak to Mr. Senguttuvan and Dr. RN who will kindly explain to you how this act is right and justified.
Chase the Tamils from their own home and ‘settle’ Sinhalese people.
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Seems to me that you have not being following the discussion in this regard under the previous posts.
There is no question over government miss-appropriating land belonging to Tamils to Sinhalese. The position taken by the two gentlemen above who are frequent contributors to this blog is that even otherwise unused lands in the N & E should not be used by the government to settle Sinhalese. To put it simply, even barren land in the N & E, doesn’t belong to anyone, not being used for any useful purpose, no harm to environment if used for human habitation, etc. etc. still cannot be given to Sinhalese under _government sponsored_ programs.
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D.Panabokke / September 2, 2013
Individual citizens can move about and buy land for themselves. If a government does it for a given ethnicity, then it is a racist government.
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sach / September 3, 2013
ok. SL gov should move Tamils from north and settle in south. we like it :D
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Percy Jilmart / September 2, 2013
@ LalyKing
There is nothing wrong in Sinhalese going and settling down in any part of Sri Lanka on their own accord…the problem arises when the government goes and settles Sinhala families in majority Tamil and Muslim areas to change demographics and win elections. The only way the Rajapox family can ever hope to win any elections in the north without massive vote rigging is if they artificially reduce the number of Tamils and increase the Sinhala population who will always vote for the Rajapox government.
India and the world is watching every move the Rajapox family makes…if such things are allowed to happen, this country will continue to be known as a paraya state to the rest of the world.
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NAK / September 2, 2013
What is wrong in the government resttling people who were displaced(actually ethnically cleansed by the LTTE)It was the government that resettled the Tamil IDP’s and there was a big hue and cry that the government was not doing it in an expedicious way.
Is it that there is one rule for the Tamil resttlements and another for the Sinhala and muslims.
On the other hand it is obivous that without governments help it is alomost impossible for them to resettle.
Then,what is wrong in changing the demography,it is happening all over the world.Take certain cities in Canada and England for example where large numbers of SL Tamils reside and have changed the demography of those places.Is it the exclusive right of the Tamils to do that and not the others.
This is a psychosis of a racist and deluded section who can only think in terms of racial enclaves and not living in harmony with others.
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Patriot / September 2, 2013
Settling down on their own anywhere never had happened. All the European colonialists changed demography in this country by force. How many Tamils the Dutch must have brought to work in their tobacco plantations in the North and East of Sri Lanka? How many Tamils British Raj must have brought down to this country to work in their tea, rubber and coconut plantations? Likewise Sinhalas must be settled in the North and East by the government. See how the US is backing Israeli settlements in the West bank. Pillai is blind to that.
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Navin / September 2, 2013
Pillai is blind to that.
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She has to be. Otherwise she would be jobless.
Like the police in Sri Lanka she is only allowed to go after the little rodents in the 3rd world while the big crooks are strictly off limits.
While USA was so keen to see that Sri Lanka provides Pillai full access to anyone she wanted to speak with, the US government did not allow UN investigators to speak to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay camp. Consequently, the UN did not visit the detention center!
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Sun / September 3, 2013
You are wrong here, why should we want to Pillay to respond in this regard ? It is a matter of the nation, if those families lived there before the war (1983), those sinhalese only have every rights to be resettled there, if the govt is settling new sinhalayas in tamil areas – that is an issue of great concerned. All responsible autorties should pay attention respecting the records about these families whether can be proved as they were the ones who lived there.. else, it is more or less like settling tamil families in southern or any other provinces of the country.
I wish if the govt could peacefully settle some tamils also in sinahala areas of the country – but this will not be a peaceful event, because our sinhaalyas become very criminal looking back to the crime rate that are on a sky high levels day to another. And the govt pays only blind eye towards crime investigations. This is proved fact. They the govt are on a saving mission saying that they are their people – party supporters not respecting the danger that they create leaving criminals to live within innocent general public, even if high criminals perpetrating killings multiple killings like the cases reported in Hambantota, Deraniyagala, Hikkaduwa , civil folks have to live with fears today than earlier with war time period. Dogs are given powers, so, civilised people will have to stay silent – being feared, threatened by brutal police and forces instrumentalized by the brutal politicians.
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Sanjay Karuna / September 2, 2013
Patriot, you are forgetting that European Colonialists brought in Tamil speaking people to the North and East, because the Sinhala Speakers were not interested in working in such inhospitable Areas. Do not worry Patriot, it may not happen in your lifetime, but all these Sinhalas settled now in the North and East, will be back in the South, sooner than later.
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sach / September 3, 2013
there is no record that colonialists tried to recruit sinhalese as labour.
One reason apart from labour was changing demography and preventing any chance of an uprising
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Anura / September 2, 2013
Mr Patriot,
About 200 years before when majority of people have no education other than religious beliefs, settling weaker/poorer people were based on power. Now, where huge percentage of people have at least 12 year of basic education, gov or military can’t do this kind of people re-settlements. They may do this with power, but it is not sustainable and create more issues and not advisable.
Just a note: USA, Australia or other western countries have no records of killing their own citizens in the last 60~70 years
..
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sach / September 3, 2013
so you mean we should have killed and cleaned the mess, before 60 -70 years ago? Helloooo we were under the good European powers who ruled us ILLEGALY.
Ever wonder why almost every country that was under colonialist rule became a mess. Because these countries didnt go through that period those european and other western countries went through.
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sarojini / September 2, 2013
Before the Ethnic cleansing of the North / East by the LTTE . (There were approximately 140,000 Sinhala .( 26,000 Sinhala) approximately in Jaffna alone . Their legal documents were all destroyed by the LTTE and Tamil names were inserted to the Land registry documents by the LTTE , This is going to be a Herculean Task by the Government to re-settle the displaced Sinhala and Muslim People as their records have all been destroyed . Happy to know that 500 people have been identified and re-settled in their own homes at last .
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Sun / September 3, 2013
Why not you and Leela join these 500 so that we could be in peace ?
You say, legal documents are burned down by Ltters, so how come the current regime, neverthess be able to 500 now ?
Tamil srilankens can also tell us the same, that their provable documents were burned and want to better live in Sinhala areas, and join settling somewhere down in Cmbo or other places, would you be ready to welcome them ?
This is going to be not easy – so long people^s attitudes would stay as it is now… our people, specially ones supported by current brutal regime are violent by all means. The day that we as Srilankens to settle anywhere within the country – is miles away… that is the truth. Our people^s attitudes would stay stagnated – so long current violent politics are in action. He kisses the earth, he just passes populatistic statments (from today on we are all srilankens, i m president of all srilankens) but he also speaks from the other end, time to time – secretely – encouraging idiots like Wimal Buruwanshe and Mervin. This man MR is a joke – unique hypocrite – (boru chatu, but nothing else – that are in their genetics – whetheer the similar kind of gene regions are common with Sadam, Hitlar, Gadaphi should be carried out to get more about the real nature of the man)
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Chanakyan / September 2, 2013
In the Mahaweli development area colonized with cultivators over a period of 40 years, how many Tamils were so settled?
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Vibhushana / September 2, 2013
This is simply a Lee Kwan policy. Singapore has EIP (Ethnic Integration Policy). This has ensured it does have to deal with civil strife that Sri Lanka had undergone. Sri Lanka should make its own EIP policy in order to prevent future problems.
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sach / September 3, 2013
Tamils too will agree. Lee kuan Yew is their god father
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genny / September 2, 2013
Laly King does not understand the difference between settling down on their free will and FORCED SETTLEMENT by the govt
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Jim softy / September 2, 2013
this is another Propaganda move tamilization of Sri Lankan North and the East.
How about the LTTE settling Tamilnadu Tamils in Wanni ?
How about chelvanayagam’s Gandhian movement settling Estate Tamils in Wanni and the past experience of Tamils who were departing To tamilnadu being settled in Wanni ?
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Rod Atkinds / September 2, 2013
Jim Softly,
No one can live with Sinhalese ( budhist) since there is no god they belive, they belive in like Jungle Law, Suvioral of Fittest. Thy are the most jelous People in the world. See there is a Street name called ” Samagi Mawatha” ( Peace Street) but always fights and killings since these fuckers Drink, Gamble, Rape, and do all sort of things, as there is no one to answer. Tamil ( Hindu) Christians, Muslims belive a creator.. so No one likes these Budhist fuckers to be with. This must be the truth… what you think CT?
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NAK / September 2, 2013
So,why don’t you go some place where there are no Buddhist [Edited out].
You can go to Kalmunai or Sammanthurai and live in peace.
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Abu Mukarram / September 2, 2013
If the sinhalese come there by buying lands from their own money, its ok. but if the government land is given freefor them, then there is some hitch behind it.
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Karunathilaka / September 2, 2013
What the current government is doing is not acceptable as it is immoral to be biased towards one community in sovereign nation where each and every citizen should be treated equally, if government’s plan is not to monopolize any particular area of the country it should be applied equally for all community and the status of government should be revealed publicly without dissident agenda….
By saying this I never agree that India has a moral right to talk about these issues at all, as they have been instrumentally killing the innocent unarmed people and detaining its own citizens discreetly all over the India… and by all the respect they should stop of thinking Sri Lanka as their backyard…
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sarojini / September 2, 2013
karunatilleke please read my comments on CT . I do not want to repeat this .
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sach / September 3, 2013
yes! gov should settle muslims in north as well.
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Thondamanaru / September 2, 2013
Why 500…?????
The numbers should be either 5000 or 500,000 or equal numbers to Tamils living in the South.
It should be no secret.
Hariharan, are you hand in glove with Rayappu as it is his territory & who thinks he owns it.
IPKF Hariharan, licking wounds from the LTTE bashing that you are s.cking up to tamils??
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lal / September 2, 2013
A big part of the problem we have now is due to not enough Singhalese and Muslim presence in the north. When Tamils are encouraged to live among Singhalese and Muslims then there will be less suspicion and better understanding between them. A demographic change is essential and a minimum of 30% Singhalese, 15% Muslim in the north should be the target for the near future.
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sach / September 2, 2013
I am not for changing demography. But i am against the idea of keeping N and E strictly tamil. However unpleasent the task is government is doing that to protect the sovereignity of the country. If tamils gave up seperatist tendencies this would not have happened. Also gov should settle Muslims in north to make sure they do not favor sinhalese.
Also Sinhala settlers should be given training and education on Tamil language and Tamil culture so they could be able to live with the Tamils there amicably.
Also this is just ALLEGED. We dont know the truth!
It is hilarious how indians make an issue of this after what they did in Sikkim and Darlijing.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 2, 2013
From what I have heard, crown land is being alienated to new settlers in Vavuniya South at this very moment. Two villages- Agbopura and Namalpura- have been created anew. This too in a period leading upto the NPC elections. Why have the UNP and the TNA not highlighted this issue. Is this also not a violation of election laws, in addition to being a gross violation of the provisions and spirit of 13th amendment?
A similar scenario is being also being enacted in Kokkilai in the Mullaitivu district, from what I hear.
Are the Governor and the GA of Vavuniya aware of what is taking place?
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Dev / September 2, 2013
Do you honestly expect the Governor to do anything ?
The GA will lose his job or worse lose his life and limb in this day and age !
This is a government that has the audacity to threaten the people who spoke to N. Pillay even while she is in the country !!!
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Ravi Perera / September 2, 2013
Dr Rajasingham,
When the Gandhian movement settled estate Tamils in Mullativu and Vavuniya did you show any such concerns
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 2, 2013
No. Only because these unfortunate Tamils were badly affected in the 1977 and 1983 riots. I knew Dr.Rajasunderam who was murdered while being held in custody at Welikada. He was a live wire in the Gandhian movement and was very touched by the plight of these people. He was passionate about their cause. I had also witnessed the plight of these unfortunate people while being amongst them as a refugee at St. Sylvester’s College in Kandy in the aftermath of the 1977 riots. I was particularly appalled at how the Jaffna Tamils who were also refugees at this camp tried to treat these unfortunates. I remember angrily telling my fellow Jaffna Tamil refugees, this will be the sample of the Eelam you seek, where you have to live with ‘ other’ Tamils. I also felt that these unfortunate dregs of the larger Tamil community had the right to live in safety in a majority Tamil area. I was also convinced in the aftermath of the 1977 riots that a larger Tamil presence in the peripheral areas of the north and east were essential to secure safe havens for Tamils who were being hounded out of the south.
I have no objections to Sinhalese settling in the north or the east on their own volition. However, attempts by the government to re-engineer demographics in an attempt to undermine minority rights and their electoral strength is nauseating in this day and age.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Navin / September 3, 2013
re-engineer demographics in an attempt to undermine minority rights
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Assuming no land belonging to private citizens are allocated to new settlers, if the settlers are good citizens of this country and contribute to the economy of the province, what is the minority right that the government will undermine if it were to say settle Sinhalese to the extent that they become 25% of the Northern population?
How can such demographic change impact undesirably on Tamil culture or civilization or its continuance?
Isn’t the real underlying reason for all this noise is plain greed and selfishness?
Tamils feel N & E is their land based on the maps drawn by the British. You are quite comfortable settling in rest of the country yourself and demographic change in other parts as long as it doesn’t cost you any. In fact you have the audacity complain that forced demographic change in other parts of the country should not be reversed so that island wide Tamil numbers would otherwise go down.
I saw questions being raised why Mahaweli development land is not being appropriated to Tamils. I would welcome any attempt by the government to settle Tamils in those areas. However, I can tell you now itself the complain that will come from TNA: this would be interpreted as further attempt to dilute the population from wherever those Tamils are drawn from be it Colombo or N & E!
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 4, 2013
Navin,
First create the conditions in the north and east for the Tamils to live in safety , security and ample opportunities for reasonable livelihood. Secondly, create equal opportunities, safety and security for Tamils to live as Tamils and Sri Lankans everywhere in Sri Lanka. Therafter, create the employment and economic opportunities for the Sinhalese to move north on their own volition. This is already happening to some extent in Jaffna, where there is a demand for skilled craftsman and technicians.
If state land is to be alienated in any part of the country, including the north and east, do it on the basis of national policy established through discussion, debate and consensus amongst representatives of the different communities, instead of surreptitiously to change the demographics and character of an area, district or province. This should be done through established procedures and institutional arrangements, and not with the backing of the armed forces.
What is happening now in Vavuniya South is a surreptitious , cloak and dagger effort to change demographics. The GA is officially not involved in what is happening, from what I hear. My information is the Governor is aware and the surveyors in the army are used to alienate land at the behest of politicians with vested interests. It is a political game and not something done in the interests of the Sinhalese or Sri Lanka.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Jim softy / September 3, 2013
what do you think about the Sinhala people that were chased away by the LTTE ?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 4, 2013
They have a right to return and reclaim their properties. But they should be the original settlers and progeny. Their extended family who have never lived in the north should not of course not qualify. The Muslims who were chased out of the north and their progeny should also return and reclaim their property. The NPC that is to be elected soon, should facilitate the return of these exiles.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran.
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Senguttuvan / September 3, 2013
The coming into power of the powerful Mrs. B’s 1970 UF-Govt saw her close relative (Cousin?) Hector Kobbekaduwa as Minister of Agriculture. He disliked Thondaman and the CWC thoroughly and despised the influence of the CWC in the Hills. The take-over of Estates during that regime also aimed at throwing several hundreds thousands of those largely Tamil workers to from their Estate homnes to poverty outside. Thousands came to Colombo and begged in the streets – when food was scarce with cooking rice two days a week in any home becoming a punishable offence. In providing them human care the Gandhiyan Movement, in addition to producing employment and a minimal income, also helped the country where this labour went out to change unproductive shrub land into productive land that increased the vegetable and grain supplies of the country. Dr. Rajasunderam was paid back for this accused of being a terrorist and brutally massacred at Welikade Prison 7/83.
Senguttuvan
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aratai / September 2, 2013
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Mr. Ravi Perera,
It was Sinhalese Mobs who chased Tamils from south, “Go back to Jaffna”.
Also, Sinhalese Governments sent Tamil refugees back to Jaffna by ship.
Why even recently, GoRa sent bus loads of Tamils back to Vanni! remember?
:-)
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Vichara / September 4, 2013
“It was Sinhalese Mobs who chased Tamils from south, “Go back to Jaffna”.
Mobs cried go back to your HOMELAND as the Tamils were demanding a homeland.
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Fathima Fukushima / September 3, 2013
250,000 Tamilians have colonized Colombo. Why don’t you send them back to where they came from?
In 1981 only 50,000 Tamils were living in Colombo. After bombing and killing Muslims and SInhalese in Colombo from 1983 to 2009, Tamilian colonization increased to 250,000!
What should be the solution to this menacing Tamil colonization of Colombo? What does the history say?
If Sinhalese can’t live in the north, Tamils can’t live in the south.
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sach / September 3, 2013
Tamils have every right to live in south and especially Colombo. Dont be racist!
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Rohan / September 3, 2013
‘250,000 Tamilians have colonized Colombo. Why don’t you send them back to where they came from?’
BUY the houses and properties back from them, can you? Don’t send your thugs from Bodu Bala and Ravana movements.
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Ajith / September 3, 2013
Did your government pay a single penny to those Tamils who moved to Colombo for various reasons? Billions of Tamil money was paid to Sinhalese to buy those properties and businesses. It is the Tamils who invested in Colombo, not Sinhala. Colombo was the Capital of Sri Lanka and businesses and government institutions, and international centre. Did Tamil army occupied Colombo to protect Tamils in Colombo as you did in Tamil majority areas of North East? If Sri Lanka is one country why there is only Sinhala only military throughout the country. Can you let us know the ethnic proportion of your military structure?
“If Sinhalese can have a government in the South, Tamils can have their government in the North”
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Alan / September 3, 2013
Fathima Fukushima,
Why don’t you go and live in Jaffna or NP? Let Tamils come and live in South.
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R. Varathan / September 3, 2013
Fathima Fuku opens up again. 50,000 Tamils in Colombo in 1981??. You are ignorant of history and poorer in arithmetic. “Killing Muslims by
bombs” is another lie calculated to harm Tamils. You are another useless worm in these pages trying to be a deadly virus.
Like many others I doubt if you are Muslim at all that you pretend to be.
Varathan
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Native Vedda / September 3, 2013
Fathima Fukushima
“If Sinhalese can’t live in the north, Tamils can’t live in the south.”
You got it wrong.
I don’t want any of you descendants of kallathonies in this island.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 3, 2013
A riot like in 1977 or 1983 will do the trick and send back the Colombo ‘ colonising Tamils’ back to the north and east in droves. The government will organise the ships, buses and the security to do this. . Why not plan and engineer one, as was done before? I am sure the modus operandi has been refined since. Please learn the meaning of the word ‘ colonise ‘ in the context of internal demographic dynamics in Sri Lanka, before making tongue in the cheek comments.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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sach / September 3, 2013
1. how is settling 500 people be changing the demographics? These numbers will not make a big influence.
2. There won’t be another progrom. Tamils will live in south and I as a sinhalese like it. We like the Tamil culture. We enjoy the celebrations and the decorations Tamils have in their shops and houses during Thai pongal and the colorful hindu culture that has mixed with the urban culture in Colombo. So no, we do NOT want Tamils out of south.
3. As i stated before we like the Tamil culture and would like to see Tamil culture native to SL rise again in the N &E. We will even support it. How do Sinhalese living among you harm that?
4. I dont think Sinhalising of North is possible. Gov wouldnt do that and they wont even try that. Settling sinhalese here and there in north is to prevent any ethnic enclaves. As I understand these may have resulted as among Tamils (especially) abroad seperatist tendencies havent still died down.
5. Every one is talking about what gov should do, how accomodative the sinhalese should be. So I ask you what do you think Tamils should do to build trust? And what HAS tamils done to build trust and help reconciliation?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 3, 2013
The above was a response to Fathima’s offensive and mean comment. Yes, settling 500 families, each with an average of four members in each location, over several locations would make a significant difference in the sparesely populated areas of the Vanni. Further, even if they are settled in predominantly Tamil areas, why should these settlements have Sinhala names? We have had enough Welioyas and Janakapuras. Every time I drive through the Chilaw and Puttalam areas, I am angry seeing historical Tamil names being Sinhalized. Paalavi has become Paalawiya. Munthal has become Mundalama. There are many more instances like this. These deliberate acts to destroy history and erase the history of Tamil presence and dominance in some areas outside the north and east in the island.
I love the Sinhalese too, because I find them among the best inhabiting this world, despite being lead by despicable politicians.
There is a context to every reaction. A dog that is constantly stoned will yelp, at the mere lifting of the hand! The Tamils have been sadly reduced to this state in his country. In fact the are yet being stoned and they have a right to at least yelp.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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sach / September 3, 2013
I know some of the Sinhala commentators here can be offensive. Same way you can find Tamils with many offensive remarks. I too might have made some but do not mean it. Actually CT is very silent when it comes to racism against Sinhalese. It is sad that Colombo Telegraph doesn’t have a proper policy of moderating comments in a manner that will help reconciliation and progressing of SL. Deleting comments which carry words like f**k and b***h is not responsible moderation. It is sometimes sad that important and learned articles will follow very boring and useless arguments by idiots saying the same thing.
I do NOT find anything wrong in settling Sinhala people in north because that is important to sovereignty and unity of this country. I might have a different idea 4 years back but now I see the necessity.
I do NOT agree with the settling of Sinhalese making villages with Sinhala names. The Tamil names should be retained. I am with you on that.
Of course SL gov, media should do more to identify SL tamil heritage. Actually I myself have argued with Sinhalese about native Tamil heritage in SL. I think it can only be done if Tamil are identified more as a part of Lankan heritage and not as a continuation of TN. Sinhalese and SLG can’t do that alone. Tamils in SL need to acknowledge their unique heritage in SL other than being a tool at the hands of foreigners.
I personally don’t see Tamils reduced to such a state as you say.
I know many Tamils who are doing well in South. May be my knowledge is limited. But the fact is Tamils are recovering after war and MR has done many good for them. I haven’t been to North so do not have first-hand experience.
And you didn’t answer my 4th question. :)
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sach / September 3, 2013
actually Qn 5
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 3, 2013
Sachs,
Thanks for your moderate and reasonable response. You should visit the north and east to see ground facts relating to the destruction, recovery , suffering , pain and the signs of a new beginning. It will take a century or more for the Tamils to recover from scars of war and its preludes. In fact you should have visited the north soon after the war was over, to comprehend the price the Tamils paid in pursuit of the right to live in this land that is their’s too, with dignity, self respect and security. The LTTE stupidity made the price the Tamils ultimately paid much higher.
However, when we talk about ‘ Trust’, two facets have to be considered. Who started betraying the trust the Tamils placed in the newly independent Ceylon? Was the Tamil reaction, which was unfortunately and tragically hijacked by the LTTE, unreasonable? It is definitely the Sinhala polity that sowed the seeds of Tamil distrust and betrayed Tamil trust. The Tamil reaction which resulted in the demand for a separate state and LTTE terrorism were consequences. State terrorism against the Tamils over several decades was only on occasions surpassed by that of the LTTE. I have been a victim of both state and LTTE terrorism.
In conclusion, every Tamil has reason to be wary of the Sinhala polity, given it seeded the conflict which almost destroyed our country and destroyed them as a community. It is the Sinhala polity that has to win the trust of the Tamils. Unfortunately, this government, despite the many good things it has done post-war in the north and east, has failed to trust the Tamils and act on the basis of this trust.
The Tamils are yet wary to trust the Sinhala polity, because of several foolish steps this government took on the political and reconciliation fronts, post-war. Since the Tamils have been bitten not once, but a multiple times, it is natural they are not twice but a millions times shy now. Trust the Tamils and treat them as equals and not as a minority at the Sinhala majority’s mercy, whim or fancy. The Tamils will trust the Sinhala polity in return, much more than you can imagine. There are very few Tamils living in Sri Lanka now who want Eelam or the likes of the LTTE back. They also definitely do not want their lives to be at the mercy of brutish, self aggrandising Sinhala majority rule. The defeat of the LTTE has not made the Tamils a subject people!
Dr, Rajasingham Narendran
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manisekaran / September 6, 2013
1000 likes to Dr RN response. Very Apt.
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Navin / September 3, 2013
Tamil presence and dominance…
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You have finally stated the most important Tamil aspiration of all which is rarely stated clearly.
Dominance is fine. However you should give up your desire to totally dominate N & E in return for devolution of power.
If you have no intention of absolute dominance, there is no reason to oppose limited colonization.
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micheal / September 4, 2013
Dr.R.Narendran, The villagers in North and East call by various ethnic groups the way they can pronounce easily according to their mother tongue. Before tamils came to Srilanka villagers you mentioned here call by the same way as Mundalama or Paalawiya. Because tamils call these villagers in tamil accent, and added “kulam”,”ai”,”vi”,”ima”,”gamam”or “kamam” at the end of the names, don’t believe that those were tamil villagers.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 4, 2013
Come on! Do not try to hide to hide a whole rotten pumpkin in a plate of rice. How did Manal Aru become Welioya? How did Padvikulam become Padaviya? How did Kalaru become Gal Oya? How has Manthai, recently become Omanthaya I recently in Sinhala? How did a village in Mullaitivu get named Janakapura after a senior army officer?
‘Kulam’ is the the Tamil name for a small water reservoir or tank. The Sinhala equivalent is ‘ Wewa’. Please do not justify the unacceptable. I admonish the Tamils who pronounce ‘ Wellawatte’ as ‘ Vellawathai’. An area in Sinhala means ‘ Land by the sea’ and means ‘ flooding land’ as pronounced by many in Tamil.
I yet remember that many Tamils were murdered, maimed and beaten during then 1958 riots were pronouncing the word ‘ Baldiya’ ( metal bucket) as ‘ Vaaliya’.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran.
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micheal / September 4, 2013
Dr. Narendran, We have nothing to hide. The names you mentioned in your comment change according to tamil dialect after Sinhalese vacate this areas for many reasons and tamil inhabited or systematically colonise by various groups. As Vichara said in here it’s done by mostly tamil surveyors as well as other tamil administrative officers in that areas. The surveyor’s change the village names to tamil by adding “ai”,”gamam or kamam” “vi”,”kulam”[only few examples] and the Birth Registrar’s change the name of sinhala infant’s born in that areas to tamil because there were no sinhala officer’s in that areas especially Vavuniya,Ampara and Batticalo districts.
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Vichara / September 4, 2013
Are these terms widely used in Tamil Nadu. Name changing was done by Tamil surveyors more than the ordinary Tamils.
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Vichara / September 4, 2013
Are these settlers new comers or people who have been displaced?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 5, 2013
Now the Tamil surveyors are being blamed for Tamilizing Sinhala village names! What perversity and utter disregard for truth. How can this country go forward, if it cannot deal with truth? Everything is false and a trickery, except those uttered and perpetrated by this government and its predecessors! What a shame for a country that is predominantly Buddhist and is constitutionally committed to protect Buddhism! What is Buddhism, without truth! Please leave at least our history intact, without destroying it as were everything else that valuable in this country.
Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
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Jim softy / September 3, 2013
When Tamils are settling in the south, that is democracy, when chased out Sinhala are settled back in the north that demography change.
I can not understand this ?
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / September 3, 2013
When your hypothesis is absolutely inane, can you make any sense out of it?
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Alan / September 3, 2013
Jim softy,
Why don’t you go and live in the North? Do you have the backbone? instead of barking. Without the protection of Army you can do nothing!!!!!!! Now to get money Buddhist will go and live there, but after sometime they will come back to south. Tamils are hard working people and they can live anywhere in the world. But you Buddhist never could do that, because you are useless beggars.
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micheal / September 4, 2013
If tamils can live anywhere in the world why not you take your brethren to this “anywhere in the world” and leave us alone. On the other hand they live around the world because they don’t have a country. India never allow TN to be independent. So the word “Beggars” more suitable to tamils, and it’s better to accept the reality and behave as beggars.
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Larry / September 4, 2013
Time is the Answer.
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Ravi Samaranayake / September 5, 2013
If trying to mix people, in the long run, is seen bad by a person, then that person is a racist!
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