{"id":190096,"date":"2018-04-26T23:34:44","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T18:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=190096"},"modified":"2018-04-30T23:39:29","modified_gmt":"2018-04-30T18:09:29","slug":"chelva-patriarch-of-tamil-nation-betrayal-of-his-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chelva-patriarch-of-tamil-nation-betrayal-of-his-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelva – Patriarch Of Tamil Nation: Betrayal Of His Legacy\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Karikalan\u00a0<\/span>S. Navaratnam<\/a> \u2013<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Karikalan S. Navaratnam<\/p><\/div>\n

S.J.V. Chelvanayakam\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>41<\/b>st<\/sup><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Death Anniversary falls on 26 April 2018<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. S.J.V. Chelvanayakam<\/a> (Chelva) was born in Ipoh, Malaya (now, Malaysia) on\u00a031st<\/sup> March 1898. He passed away on 26th<\/sup> April 1977. He has been adored as the\u00a0father-figure of the Tamil nationalist struggle\u00a0 <\/span>and endearingly referred to\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThanthai\u00a0 <\/span>Chelva<\/i>\u201d. The antics and adventurism of the Tamil National Alliance<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>(TNA) notwithstanding, Chelva\u2019s political ideology remains the bedrock of Tamil\u00a0<\/span>aspirations and agenda. From his eternal abode, he continues to inspire his\u00a0<\/span>faithful\u00a0 <\/span>flock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chelva entered Parliament in 1947 as a member of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>(ACTC), led by Mr. G.G. Ponnambalam. The ethnocentric Sinhala political leadership has been adept at practising trickery and treachery, vis-\u00e0-vis Tamil\u00a0<\/span>people. Thus, through solemn promises and sweet-talks, they had beguiled Tamil\u00a0<\/span>leaders and enlisted their support to gain Independence. Shortly after attaining\u00a0<\/span>independence, UNP government\u2019s maiden legislative enterprise was to\u00a0<\/span>de-citizenize and render stateless almost 1 million upcountry Tamils and, further,\u00a0<\/span>to disenfranchise them. <\/i>It was an atrocious double whammy. \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chelvanayakam<\/p><\/div>\n

Double Whammy!<\/b><\/p>\n

Both, the Ceylon Citizenship Act<\/i> of 1948 and Ceylon Parliamentary Elections\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(Amendment) Act<\/i> of 1949 had eminently accomplished D.S. Senanayake\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>malevolent mission. Indeed, it was only the first step in the process of blotting\u00a0out the Tamil element from the body politic of the country.\u00a0<\/span>As a result, seven\u00a0Tamil M.P.s representing the upcountry Tamils lost their seats overnight.\u00a0<\/span>ACTC became an appendage of the\u00a0 <\/span>UNP. When its leader accepted a ministry,\u00a0joined the D.S. Senanayake government and voted for the pernicious legislation,\u00a0<\/span>Chelva together with his colleagues Mr. C.Vanniasingam (Kopay M.P.) and\u00a0<\/span>Dr. E.M.V. Naganathan (then, a Senator) took a principled stand, voted against the\u00a0<\/span>legislation and quit the ACTC. Denouncing the treachery, Chelva admonished the\u00a0<\/span>Tamils: “Those of you who have a clear vision may foresee. If we do not resist and\u00a0<\/span>defeat this attack on the plantation Tamils, the next attack will be on the Tamils of\u00a0<\/span>the North-East provinces\u201d.\u00a0<\/span>Prophetic words, indeed!<\/p>\n

Federal\u00a0<\/span>Party – ITAK<\/b><\/p>\n

On 18 Dec. 1949, the ACTC dissidents led by Chelva formed the Illankai Tamil\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Arasu Kadchi<\/i> (ITAK). The dominant feature of ITAK agenda was the establishment\u00a0<\/span>of a linguistic Tamil State, comprising the North-East Provinces within a Federal\u00a0<\/span>Union of Ceylon. Hence, the ITAK was a.k.a. the Federal Party <\/i>(FP).\u00a0Sinhala leadership had, ab initio<\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>ensured that riddance of the British Raj was in\u00a0<\/span>effect synonymous with the establishment of Sinhala-Buddhist hegemony. Ultra-nationalist measures were introduced to synchronize with the dawn of the so-called independence. \u201cNational\u201d anthem was adopted arbitrarily without\u00a0<\/span>consulting the minorities. An Advisory Committee was appointed to form\u00a0ulate a National Flag for Independent Ceylon. Even before the Committee could\u00a0<\/span>reach any finality on the Flag by 4th<\/sup> Feb. 1948 for the 1st<\/sup> \u2018Independence\u2019 Day\u00a0<\/span>celebrations,\u00a0<\/span>Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake hoisted the Kandyan king\u2019s Lion\u00a0<\/span>Flag at the Independence\u00a0 <\/span>celebration held in Kandy on 12th<\/sup> Feb. 1948.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lion\u00a0 <\/span>Flag<\/b><\/p>\n

Chelva criticised the\u00a0<\/span>“medieval conception of nationality<\/i>” prevalent among\u00a0<\/span>Sinhalese, who “propose to have the Lion Flag unaltered, as the main portion of\u00a0<\/span><\/i>the flag. Outside its pale, there are certain markings to indicate the tolerated<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>presence in this country of Tamil and Muslim people<\/i>“. Dr N M Perera, M.P.\u00a0<\/span>denounced the flag as a “fraud…perpetrated on the minorities. They [Sinhalese]\u00a0<\/span><\/i>are going to have the Lion Flag and these stripes are purely for the outcasts<\/i>”\u00a0(Hansard, Vol 9, 1951:1565-1684<\/i><\/b>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Servile solidarity<\/b><\/p>\n

Lion flag was adopted as the national flag in 1951 in the face of series of protest\u00a0<\/span>meetings in North-East Provinces. Far from inspiring the young Tamils, fluttering\u00a0<\/span>Lion Flag has been an aggravating provocation like waving a red flag at a bull. The\u00a0<\/span>martyrdom of a young man, Nadarajan, of Trincomalee many moons ago\u00a0 <\/span>would\u00a0epitomize the emotional reaction of the Tamils. On an \u201cIndependence\u201d Day\u00a0– observed by the Tamils as a \u201cBlack Day<\/i>\u201d- Nadarajan climbed the clock tower and\u00a0tried to replace the Lion Flag flying from atop with a black flag. He was shot and\u00a0<\/span>fatally wounded by the police. Nadarajan crashed to the ground dead.<\/p>\n

Let me juxtapose another scenario\u00a0 <\/span>presenting perfidious\u00a0 <\/span>TNA theatrics –\u00a0contrasting sharply with Chelva\u2019s\u00a0 <\/span>avowed articles of faith. On 1st<\/sup> May 2012, at\u00a0<\/span>the UNP May Day rally in Jaffna,\u00a0 <\/span>Trincomalee M.P. and TNA supremo Mr.\u00a0<\/span>Sampanthan was seen gleefully waving the Lion Flag<\/i> jointly with Ranil\u00a0<\/span>Wicremesinghe, in a show of servile solidarity. His exculpatory explanation was\u00a0<\/span>that FP (ITAK) never opposed the Lion Flag.\u00a0 <\/span>Perhaps, Sampanthan had not yet\u00a0<\/span>read the first chapter of\u00a0 <\/span>FP history !<\/p>\n

1952 Elections \u2013 Chelva got defeated<\/b><\/p>\n

In its first electoral encounter with the ACTC\/UNP combine, the FP (ITAK) suffered\u00a0<\/span>severe losses. Even Chelva himself lost his KKS seat. Dr.Naganathan was defeated\u00a0<\/span>by G.G.Ponnambalam in Jaffna. It was as though the FP was completely wiped\u00a0out. Thinakaran<\/i> (Tamil daily from Lake House)\u00a0 <\/span>which had campaigned for the\u00a0<\/span>ACTC\/UNP, carried a screaming banner headline: \u201cSamashdikku Saavumani <\/i>!\u201d\u00a0<\/span>(\u201cDeath knell for Federalism<\/i>\u201d) . \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even in the midst of defeat and despair, it was not all doom and gloom for the FP.\u00a0<\/span>There were two sparks – one in Northern Province and another in the Eastern\u00a0<\/span>Province. In Kopay\u00a0 <\/span>Mr.C. Vanniasingam (FP) won by 215\u00a0 <\/span>votes and inTrincomalee Mr.N.R.Rajavarothayam (FP) won by 584 votes.<\/p>\n

1956 General Elections<\/b><\/p>\n

At the 1956 General Elections, even as the MEP coalition led by S.W.R.D.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Bandaranaike swept the polls in the Sinhala heartland, the FP under Chelva\u00a0emerged as the dominant political force in the North-East provinces. The FP won\u00a0<\/span>10 seats while the UNP managed to win only 8. Thenceforth, the FP progressively\u00a0expanded its electoral landscape and Chelva emerged as the sole acknowledged\u00a0<\/span>leader of the Tamils.\u00a0<\/span>During his stewardship, Chelva and his team had striven to break down the\u00a0regional, religious and caste barriers which had created divisions and dissension\u00a0<\/span>among the Tamils and welded them into a unified political force to fight\u00a0<\/span>majoritarian oppression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Secular credentials<\/b><\/p>\n

Chelva symbolizes the secular credentials of the Tamil people. Incidentally, he was\u00a0<\/span>a Christian by birth and by practice. Tamils in Sri Lanka can legitimately feel proud\u00a0<\/span>that they have had a noble leader worthy of their adoration and reverent\u00a0<\/span>homage. As a practising Hindu, I notice that the Hindutva\u00a0 <\/span>fundamentalists and\u00a0<\/span>fanatics among the\u00a0 <\/span>Tamils in Sri Lanka are only a lunatic fringe. Nonetheless,\u00a0there are nuts like TNA M.P. Yogeswaran who has often claimed in his public\u00a0statements that only Hindus are Tamils and others are not. That is an outrageous\u00a0<\/span>discovery !. Going by his definition, even Chelva could not have called himself a\u00a0Tamil It is a pity that revisionists and reactionaries have come to rule the\u00a0roost in the TNA.<\/p>\n

Extra-parliamentary\u00a0<\/span>agitations<\/b><\/p>\n

Taking a cue from Gandhian Satyagraha campaigns,\u00a0<\/span>Chelva introduced a new\u00a0culture of non-violent agitations into the Tamil struggle for justice and equality.\u00a0Thus, on 5th<\/sup> June 1956, when\u00a0 <\/span>SWRD\u00a0 <\/span>introduced the \u201cSinhala Only<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Act in\u00a0<\/span>parliament,\u00a0<\/span>FP\/ITAK\u00a0 <\/span>M.P.s and hundreds of volunteers performed a protest\u00a0<\/span>Satyagraha on the Galle Face Green outside the parliament. Scores of hoodums\u00a0and goondas – organized and orchestrated by Sinhala politicians- set upon the\u00a0satyagrahis<\/i> and severely beat them up, in the full view of the Police who\u00a0remained as idle spectators. While his son was being beaten up, Chelva gestured\u00a0to the restive volunteers to remain calm. Dr.E.M.V.Naganathan was kicked about\u00a0and stripped to his undies. Even as Amirthalingam M.P. entered the House with a\u00a0bandage for his head injuries, he was mockingly greeted by SWRD, the Prime\u00a0<\/span>Minister, quipping a sarcastic remark: \u201c Wounds of war!<\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Civil\u00a0<\/span>Disobedience\u00a0<\/span>campaign – Chelva detained<\/b><\/p>\n

In early 1961 Chelva launched a Civil Disobedience<\/i> campaign performing dharna<\/i>\u00a0<\/span>outside the several district secretariats\/ kachcheris in North-East Provinces. Police\u00a0brutality and baton charge could not subdue the Satyagrahis<\/i>. Thousands of\u00a0<\/span>volunteers, taking turns, participated in the campaign. The civil administration\u00a0<\/span>was paralyzed in the two provinces for well over hundred days. Eventually, the\u00a0<\/span>Srimavo government declared a State of Emergency and deployed the armed\u00a0<\/span>forces to break up the campaign using brutal force.\u00a0<\/span>Chelva and other leaders together with many activists were arrested and detained\u00a0<\/span>at Panagoda Army cantonment. I was a student at that time and have had the\u2018honour\u2019 of being a detainee for six months. It was my 2nd<\/sup> stint- previously, held\u00a0only for a day in police cell ! .\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr.Chelvanayakam Q.C., had been an inmate in jail even before the Panagoda\u00a0episode. He took part in the anti-Sri Campaign in 1958\u00a0 <\/span>and served two weeks\u00a0imprisonment in Batticaloa jail.Following the 1958 anti-Tamil riots, he was held in\u00a0<\/span>house arrest for six months.<\/p>\n

Legacy of pain and pride<\/b><\/p>\n

Unlike the careerists who have infested the TNA, Chelva and his\u00a0<\/span>comrades-in-arms were illustrious leaders of integrity and\u00a0 <\/span>sagacity. During the\u00a0initial phase of over three decades of non-violent struggle to liberate our people,\u00a0they had rendered selfless service and made enormous sacrifices. The solid\u00a0edifice of Tamil nationalism was erected, not by using mortar and masonry, but\u00a0<\/span>by the blood, toil, tears and sweat of hundreds of faceless foot-soldiers \u2013 the\u00a0<\/span>party cadres, volunteers and supporters. They had carried to their graves the\u00a0<\/span>physical\/emotional scars of the sore wounds sustained during the struggles and\u00a0<\/span>strife. They have left behind a legacy of pain and pride.\u00a0 <\/span>Today, almost all the\u00a0leaders and the cadres are dead and gone. None of them is around to bear\u00a0<\/span>testimony to the seminal moments in the hallowed history of Tamil liberation\u00a0<\/span>struggle .\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

*To be continued …<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":183743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-190096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nChelva - Patriarch Of Tamil Nation: Betrayal Of His Legacy\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chelva-patriarch-of-tamil-nation-betrayal-of-his-legacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chelva - Patriarch Of Tamil Nation: Betrayal Of His Legacy\u00a0 - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chelva-patriarch-of-tamil-nation-betrayal-of-his-legacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-26T18:04:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-30T18:09:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Karikalan-S.-Navaratnam.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Karikalan S. 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