{"id":222240,"date":"2021-09-04T02:06:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T20:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=222240"},"modified":"2021-09-08T04:15:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T22:45:12","slug":"rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Rajapaksa’s Deep State & Tamil Nadu State"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>

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

Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u2018s assumption of office as President almost coincided with the <\/span>outbreak of coronavirus in Sri Lanka. Projecting a warrior image as the alter ego <\/i>of <\/span>Dutugemunu who defeated the Tamils and asserted Sinhala supremacy and exhibiting <\/span>aggressive postures as a no-nonsense tough guy \u2013 an Adolf Hitler wannabe at that – from <\/span>day one Gotabaya proceeded to mobilize his musclemen from the military to run his <\/span>administration. He has since incrementally deployed the infantry, cavalry and artillery men <\/span>to take charge of different state agencies in the public sector. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rajapaksas cabal \u2013 An anachronism<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

When COVID-19 surfaced and the pandemic was poised to spread across the globe, the <\/span>WHO and the nations around the world mobilized commando teams of medical <\/span>specialists, healthcare professionals and researchers to deal with the emerging situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Sri Lanka, ministers and monks bragged about Rajapaksas\u2019 punching power and <\/span>complacently contended that they would defeat the deadly coronavirus in the same way <\/span>as they defeated the deadly LTTE \u2018terrorists\u2019. Na\u00efve nationalists swallowed the grandiose <\/span>claim hook, line, and sinker. Replicating\u00a0 <\/span>government leaders\u2019 gullibility, sections of the <\/span>innocent citizenry drank a \u2018miracle\u2019 COVID potion concocted by self-styled holy man who <\/span>claimed to have received its recipe from Hindu goddess Kali.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rajapaksas are an anachronism in the contemporary political realm. Gotabaya set up a <\/span>military task force to deal with the pandemic and appointed Shavendra Silva, the <\/span>Commander of the Army, at its helm. The military-led response to coronavirus has been <\/span>an anomaly and a disaster. \u201cWhen the enemy is a biological virus \u2013 which cannot be <\/i><\/span>abducted, killed or tortured into silence and is entirely impervious to propaganda <\/i><\/span>campaigns \u2013 the President is at a loss. Of course, this did not stop Gotabaya Rajapaksa <\/i><\/span>from reverting to type, embracing militarisation and racism with equal vigour<\/i>.\u201d <\/span>(Groundviews, 2 Feb.2021 -\u201cThe Defence Secretary and the President<\/i>\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Disgruntled Medical fraternity<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Predictably, marginalization of healthcare professionals had caused much consternation <\/span>among the medical fraternity: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision taken by the Government to allow the three armed Forces personnel to <\/i><\/span>carry out the vaccination drive at their hospitals has created a lot of confusion, the\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Government Medical Officers Association claimed\u2026..(T)he Epidemiology Unit handed <\/i><\/span>over the vaccination programme to armed Forces personnel to be carried out at their <\/i><\/span>hospitals without giving the critical responsibility to the Health Ministry hospital network. <\/i><\/span>This has created great confusion,” he (Dr. Senal Fernando, GMOA Secretary) pointed <\/i><\/span>out.<\/i>\u00a0\u201cThis is an emergency situation related to the Health sector and not a war with any <\/i><\/span>terrorist organization,\u201d he added\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>(Daily Mirror, 7 July 2021- \u201cGMOA lambasts Govt.\u2019s <\/i><\/span>move to allow armed Forces to vaccinate people<\/i>\u201d).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Media \u2013 muffled voices<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Rajapaksa\u2019 acolytes from the mainstream media may have opted to complain in muffled <\/span>voices. The docile \u201cDaily Mirror<\/i>\u201d, perhaps fearing reprisals, meekly mumbled editorially: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps it would be better if professionals are given a hand in seeking solutions to<\/i> <\/span>economic and medical problems<\/i>\u201d (Daily Mirror, 12 July 2021). <\/span><\/p>\n

Noted columnist Ms. Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene<\/i> has,\u00a0 <\/span>recently, in her weekly Column <\/span>identified the foul-ups and fault-lines which have undermined COVID management in Sri <\/span>Lanka: (Excerpts<\/i>)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs much this millennium\u2019s devastating global pandemic has brought deaths, destruction <\/i><\/span>of livelihoods and mindless misery to millions across borders, there is a harsh mirror that <\/i><\/span>it holds up to us. Political braggadocio and military might do not stop this virus; sensible <\/i><\/span>public health leadership does. It is as simple as that\u2026\u2026.Does it really need an Army <\/i><\/span>Commander with his uniform emblazoned with medals<\/i> to solemnly inform us that a country <\/i><\/span>wide ( \u2018purported\u2019) \u2018lockdown\u2019 will continue for another week?<\/i> \u201d(Sunday Times, 29 Aug. <\/span>2021 \u2013 \u201cHow Sri Lanka\u2019s militarised covid policy led to a dreadful humpty-dumpty fall<\/i>\u201d )<\/span><\/p>\n

Tamil Nadu (TN) <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s shift the focus to the Indian State of Tamil Nadu, the land of the \u201cclowns\u201d <\/span>(Courtesy<\/i>, Gotabaya Rajapaksa). While Gotabaya called the Tamil Nadu leaders <\/span>\u201cclowns<\/i>\u201d, ex-Army Chief Sarath Fonseka had maligned them as \u201cjokers<\/i>\u201d. It\u2019s another <\/span>matter altogether that Gotabaya had, in the days of yore, chosen to undergo part of his <\/span>advanced defence studies\/training at coveted academies in the land of the \u2018clowns\u2019 – at <\/span>the University of Madras and at the Wellington Defence Staff College in Nilgiris, in Tamil <\/span>Nadu (1981-83).<\/span><\/p>\n

TN Task Force on COVID Management<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Presently, the DMK party with its\u00a0 <\/span>Chief Minister M.K. Stalin ( the late Mr. M. Karunanidhi\u2019s <\/span>son) is in power in TN \u2013 since early May, 2021. TN government has constituted a 14-<\/span>member Task Force under a retired IAS (Indian Administrative\u00a0 <\/span>Service) officer\u2026\u2026that <\/span>will assist the expert committee headed by the Chief Minister for COVID-19 management <\/span>activities. According to media reports:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe committee will have an advisory role and it will conduct meetings periodically and <\/i><\/span>monitor the action taken on suggestions,\u2026\u2026 Non-official members in the task force are\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Dr. P. Kuganantham (Public Health Consultant, Indian Public Health Forum, and ex-<\/i><\/span>Director, Communicable Diseases Hospital, Chennai ; Dr. K. Kolandaswamy (Retired <\/i><\/span>Director of Public Health Department, Tamil Nadu); Manoj Murhekar, Director of the <\/i><\/span>National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, and Jayaprakash Muliyil, Epidemiologist at <\/i><\/span>the Christian Medical College, Vellore<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHealth Secretary, Officer on Special Duty to the Health and Family Welfare Department, <\/i><\/span>Director of Medical and Rural Health Services, Director of Medical Education, Director of <\/i><\/span>Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Mission Director of the National Health Mission, <\/i><\/span>Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Limited and Chairman <\/i><\/span>of the Medical Services Recruitment Board will be the other members. Joint Secretary of <\/i><\/span>the Health and Family Welfare Department will be the member-secretary of the panel. <\/i><\/span>\u2026\u2026.(T)he committee can co-opt additional members as per need<\/i>.\u201d (The Hindu, 5 June <\/span>2021 \u2013 \u201cTask force set up to assist expert panel for COVID-19 management<\/i>\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

Incentives to Medicos, etc.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Rajapaksas may be at their wit\u2019s end wondering how the TN government could fight the <\/span>pandemic without involving the brawny musclemen from the military! In the meantime, in <\/span>appreciation of the extraordinary service rendered by medical professionals and <\/span>healthcare workers during the second wave peak of the pandemic in April, May and June <\/span>2021, the TN government had offered cash incentives to them for three months. Also, <\/span>Chief Minister Stalin has awarded a solatium payment to the families of doctors who have <\/span>lost their lives while engaged in treating COVID-19 patients and related work. (New <\/span>Indian Express, 12 May 2021- \u201cTN CM announces Rs 25 lakh each as solatium to kin of <\/i><\/span>43 doctors\u2026\u2026<\/i>\u201d )<\/span><\/p>\n

BTW: Supreme Court of India in New Delhi, in an obiter dictum<\/i> in the course of an Appeal <\/span>hearing, has recently commended the Tamil Nadu health infrastructure system: \u201cTamil <\/i><\/span>Nadu has one of the better health infrastructure in the country<\/i>,\u201d Justice D.Y. Chandrachud\u00a0<\/span>orally remarked at a virtual hearing and added \u201cIt was on show during second wave of <\/i><\/span>COVID-19<\/i>\u201d( The Hindu, 8 July 2021 \u2013\u201cTN\u2019s health infrastructure comes in for praise <\/i><\/span>from SC<\/i>\u201d ). <\/span><\/p>\n

Medicare at doorstep<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week, TN government has launched an ambitious medicare scheme, \u2018Makkalai <\/i><\/span>Thedi Maruthuvam<\/i>\u2019, (literally meaning, \u201cMedicare in search of (sick) people<\/i>\u201d). Explaining <\/span>the program, Chief Minister Stalin said the scheme was also part of the 7-point vision of <\/span>his government that envisioned an \u201cenhanced quality of life for all<\/i>.\u201d \u201cMakkalai Thedi\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Maruthuvam<\/i> will ring in an era of healthcare delivery, where people need not come to the hospitals but have access to medicine and screening at their doorstep,\u201d he said. The <\/span>scheme was initially launched in seven districts, including Chennai. By end of the year, <\/span>the government is hoping to extend the scheme to the entire state. (Hindu, 05 Aug. 2021 \u2013 \u201cTN CM launches Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme\u201d <\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Gota\u2019s ad hoc<\/i> Task Forces<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

President Gotabaya proceeded to establish a dozen or so ad hoc<\/i> Task Forces charged <\/span>with different tasks.\u00a0 <\/span>On 2<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span> June 2020 he established a 13-member \u201cPresidential Task <\/i><\/span>Force to build a Secure Country, Disciplined, Virtuous and Lawful Society<\/i>.\u201d (\u201cA loud-<\/i><\/span>sounding nothing<\/i>\u201d! – per<\/i> Austrian statesman Metternich, 1773-1859,\u00a0 <\/span>made in a different <\/span>context). This Task Force, composed entirely of military, intelligence and police officials <\/span>was to be\u00a0 <\/span>headed by Defence Secretary, Major General Kamal Gunaratne. Civil <\/span>society activists had raised concern about its composition, while the\u00a0 <\/span>International <\/i><\/span>Commission of Jurists<\/i> (ICJ) had condemned it outright : \u201cThis Presidential Task Force <\/i><\/span>constitutes another act of over-reach by a government \u2026.\u201d <\/i>said Frederick Rawski, ICJ\u2019s <\/span>Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. \u201cIts mandate is overbroad, and it empowers <\/i><\/span>its military and police membership \u2013 including alleged war criminals \u2013 at a time when <\/i><\/span>strong, independent, civilian-led policy-making is what is needed.<\/i>\u201d (ICJ, 5 June 2020 \u2013 <\/span>\u201cSri Lanka: Newly constituted Presidential Task Force threatens rule of law<\/i> \u201d) <\/span><\/p>\n

Archeology in EP – Evil designs<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Presidential<\/i> Task Force for<\/i> Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern <\/i><\/span>Province \u2019<\/i>established by Gotabaya on 2<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span> June 2020 was intended for an egregious <\/span>purpose, motivated by downright evil designs. Eastern Province (EP) has been a <\/span>Tamil-speaking territory traditionally inhabited by Tamil and Muslim people. Despite <\/span>successive state-sponsored \u2018colonization\u2019 schemes (read \u2018Sinhalization\u2019<\/i>, commencing <\/span>with Gal Oya Project in 1948) EP still remains a predominantly Tamil-speaking area. The <\/span>Task Force comprising 11 members, including two chauvinistic Buddhist monks, Defence <\/span>Secretary, Senior DIG (WP), \u2018Derana<\/i>\u2019 Media chief Dilith Jayaweera and 6 other officials <\/span>of Sinhala-Buddhist mould, is exclusively a Sinhala Buddhist team sans<\/i> any Tamil or <\/span>Muslim member. <\/span><\/p>\n

Entreaties by Tamil leaders to include qualified Tamil\/Muslim professional(s) on the team <\/span>were of no avail. Gotabaya\u2019s macabre message is that the Tamils\/Muslims have no <\/span>stakes or share in the heritage<\/i> to be discovered and dug out in the EP.Task Force <\/span>member Ellawala Medhananda Thero had already, years ago, aggressively asserted\u00a0<\/span>Sinhala-Buddhist claims over the Tamil habitats (Vide<\/i>-Thero\u2019s\u00a0 <\/span>book on “Sinhala-Buddhist <\/i><\/span>Heritage in Northern and Eastern Provinces-2003).<\/i>Thus, the Task Force is in effect <\/span>mandated to accelerate the process of Sinhala-Buddhistization<\/i> of EP. <\/span><\/p>\n

Aggression in the North<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The North is not immune from the iniquitous excavation missions led by rabid Buddhist <\/span>monks, backed by the military\/police personnel, rummaging for relics of Sinhala-Buddhist heritage. Vanni region bear the brunt of extensive land-grab and spurious heritage <\/span>claims. Recently, a new Buddha statue was installed and foundation was laid for a <\/span>Buddhist temple at Athi Aiyanar<\/i> Hindu temple site at Kurunthurmalai on a hilltop in\u00a0<\/span>Kumulamunai area, Mullaitivu, with the participation of Sri Lanka’s state minister for <\/span>‘national heritage’, monks, army men,police personnel and archaeology department <\/span>officers – everything done in defiance of an earlier Court Order against disturbing the <\/span>status quo<\/i>. Resistance from the local Tamil residents was crushed by jackboot tactics. <\/span>Often, original Hindu idols found on such sites are destroyed or vandalized. <\/span><\/p>\n

Land-grab aggression<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Oddly enough, \u2018The Island\u2019 <\/i>newspaper, the mouthpiece of the SB ultra-nationalist camp <\/span>has, perhaps during a lucid interval of neurological normality, published a matter-of-fact <\/span>article by an anonymous writer (claiming to be \u2018a Free-thinking Sinhala Buddhist<\/i>\u2019) which <\/span>captures glimpses of the land-grab aggression in the North-East:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe role of the Army along with the Buddhist priests in establishing new places of worship <\/i><\/span>or reviving temples that have remained dormant for many decades in areas with hardly <\/i><\/span>any Buddhist residents is being treated with suspicion. Buddhist monks from elsewhere <\/i><\/span>are being \u201cplanted\u201d in these temples. As there are hardly any Buddhists in the vicinity, <\/i><\/span>they are being serviced and provided with security by the Army. It appears that the local <\/i><\/span>non-Buddhist population is coerced by the forces into participating in various religious <\/i><\/span>functions. These activities may give the impression that there could be a sinister long-<\/i><\/span>term plan to colonise the area with Sinhala Buddhists<\/i>.\u201d\u2026\u2026\u201c(T)he fact that Tamil Hindus <\/i><\/span>were the vast majority in the North for hundreds of years should be accepted and <\/i><\/span>respected. Any seemingly state-sponsored attempts to upset that demography will <\/i><\/span>undoubtedly arouse much hostility. It is disappointing that the committee appointed <\/i><\/span>recently to preserve the cultural heritage in the North and East has no representation of <\/i><\/span>the minorities<\/i>.\u201d (The Island, 10 April 2021 \u2013 \u201cMonumental blunders paralysing Sri <\/i><\/span>Lanka<\/i>\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

While Gotabaya has established a \u2018Sinhala\u2019<\/i> Task Force to bolster the archeological <\/span>heritage claims of Sinhala-Buddhists and structurally destroy or dispute\/deny the claims <\/span>of Tamil\/Muslim inhabitants of the NE region, let\u2019s see later, how the Tamil Nadu <\/span>government has chosen to address the issues\/concerns of the religious and linguistic <\/span>minorities in the State.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":215006,"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-222240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nRajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - 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\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-03T20:36:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-07T22:45:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Karikalan S. Navaratnam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Karikalan S. Navaratnam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/\",\"name\":\"Rajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-03T20:36:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-07T22:45:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f7040ea3920b945f4bdcb7fa1864a95\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":620,\"caption\":\"Gotabaya Rajapaksa\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rajapaksa’s Deep State & Tamil Nadu State\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f7040ea3920b945f4bdcb7fa1864a95\",\"name\":\"Karikalan S. Navaratnam\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/60bb8762ed862a09871844cb1c6fa75eaca2cf6e0bdb2a6d53be6551d81fd2f2?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/60bb8762ed862a09871844cb1c6fa75eaca2cf6e0bdb2a6d53be6551d81fd2f2?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Karikalan S. Navaratnam\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/karikalansnava\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2021-09-03T20:36:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-07T22:45:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":620,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Karikalan S. Navaratnam","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Karikalan S. Navaratnam","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/","name":"Rajapaksa's Deep State & Tamil Nadu State - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-03T20:36:42+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-07T22:45:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f7040ea3920b945f4bdcb7fa1864a95"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg","width":900,"height":620,"caption":"Gotabaya Rajapaksa"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/rajapaksas-deep-state-tamil-nadu-state\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rajapaksa’s Deep State & Tamil Nadu State"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1f7040ea3920b945f4bdcb7fa1864a95","name":"Karikalan S. Navaratnam","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/60bb8762ed862a09871844cb1c6fa75eaca2cf6e0bdb2a6d53be6551d81fd2f2?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/60bb8762ed862a09871844cb1c6fa75eaca2cf6e0bdb2a6d53be6551d81fd2f2?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Karikalan S. Navaratnam"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/karikalansnava\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Gotabaya-Rajapaksa-Pic-Sri-Lanka-Embassy-Jakarta.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222240"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222244,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222240\/revisions\/222244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}