Sinhalese don't object to Tamils leaving Lanka

A Ganesh Nadar visits a camp for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in southern Tamil Nadu to find out what the people there think of recent events on the island nation.

Last fortnight in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli in south Tamil Nadu, Christians came out on the streets to express solidarity with the Tamils suffering in Sri Lanka.

While they staged a rally in Nagercoil, the district headquarters of Kanyakumari, in Tirunelveli they sat on a day-long fast.

The Palayamcottai bus stand is opposite the venue where the fasting Christians sat. Both Protestants and Catholics were present though the organising was done by the former. Most local political parties sent their speakers to express support.

And what do the Lankan Tamils, in whose support this was being held, think about the solidarity? They were not present at the rally or at the fasting venue. Inquiries at camps for Sri Lankan refugees revealed that there was a blanket ban on leaving the camp for three days.

"We cannot go anywhere without informing the 'Q' branch (A special branch of the Tamil Nadu police that deals with extremist activities). How can we tell them that we are going for a political rally? We are happily working here, enjoying freedom that even our brethren in our own county don't have. We are not going to jeopardise that by attending any rally or fast. We know it is for us and appreciate it. But we won't participate," a middle-aged man, who has been in India for 21 years, tells rediff.com

Sherry, a young girl, adds, "You know what filthy language the Sinhalese soldiers use when they see young Tamil girls. That is why refugees are still coming here. The sea route is not safe anymore and so they come by air."

For those who have a passport and the money getting to India is not a problem at all. In the villages, they inform the army that they are going to Colombo to see their relatives. Once they reach Colombo they just leave for India. The Sinhalese do not object to any Tamil leaving for India. In fact they don't object to any Tamil leaving for any country, Tamils, who have come over from Sri Lanka, told rediff.com

Once they land in India (Chennai or Thiruvanathapuram) they are told to go to the Mandpam camp to register themselves. After registration the 'Q' branch questions them for at least three days till what they say corroborates with what refugees who are already here are telling them.

They can live in the camps or outside if they have the money to do so. About life in Sri Lanka, Sherry says, "The Sri Lankan government says it gives free rations in the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. It is true that they are giving food grains, but it is enough for only one meal a day."

Outside the camps, life is controlled by the Lankan army. "There is no civil administration anywhere where the Tamils live. If the army says 'Sit!' we have to sit and if they say 'Stand!' we have to stand. We were better off under the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). At least they allowed us to work and move around freely. We did not have to take any pass from them to go anywhere. Now the army insists on a pass to go from one village to another and we have to inform them on when we will come back."

Young Tamil boys are always under threat from the white vans that still operate in spite of the LTTE being defunct. These vans were famous during the fight against the LTTE. They used to appear without number plates, pick up young men and women who vanished after that.

The LTTE is gone, but not the white vans.

"The vans do not enter the camps as there are three lakh (300,000) Tamils there," says an elderly man. "They cannot kidnap anyone without a revolt. So young people should stay here. They are not safe outside."

The Mannar area, which has always been under army control, has seen no violence recently. "I have relatives there. Their lives are safe, but not their freedom," he adds. "They are very scared of the army and move around in fear all the time."

Sources: Rediff.com

History of Tamil Persecution

Tamils, belonging to the Dravidian Race are the original inhabitants of India. They have been persecuted since ages. The first attack on Dravidians are done by the nomadic Aryans who were looking for an ideal country to settle in. This happened couple of thousands of years back.

There is a language called Brahui, which is spoken in parts of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. This language belongs to the Dravidian Family of languages. Some historians consider that Brahui might be a remnant of the language spoken in the Indus Valley Civilisation. This itself proves that Tamils are persecuted since hundreds of years.


As Aryans advanced, Tamils were pushed into what is called as the present day Tamilnadu in Southern part of India. The Britishers took Tamils to Srilanka and Malaysia to work in the Tea Gardens. Even for this day, Tamils in Malaysia are persecuted by the Muslim majority country through its "Bhumiputra" policy.

British policy of Divide and Rule placed the minority Tamils capturing most of the Government jobs in British Srilanka and once Independence was granted to Srilanka in 1948, the majority Sinhalese saw this domination of Tamils in Government jobs as a strategy to keep the majority sinhalese in Control and in 1956, they came out with a "Sinhala Only Language" (Official Language Act) making Sinhala as the only official language of Srilanka.


This enraged the Tamils and they protested through Satyagraha (Non Violence). Sinhalese mobs reacted through violence and killed more than 300 Tamils in what is called as the "58 Riots". Sinhalese gangs attacked Tamil labourers in Polonnaruwa farms. Tamils who tried to hide in sugar-cane fields were surrounded there and the fields set ablaze by the mobs. Those who fled were clubbed down or hit by machetes. In Hinguarkgoda, rioters ripped open the belly of an eight-month-pregnant woman, and left her to bleed to death.

Here is a list of Anti Tamil Riots in Srilanka:

* Gal Oya (1956)
* 1958 riots (1958)
* 1977 riots (1977)
* Jaffna library (1981)
* Black July (1983)
* Welikada (1983)
* Kalutara (1997)
* Bindunuwewa (2000)

All these riots let to the formation of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Background for Black July Riots:

The events dubbed Black July began after members of the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the Tamil Tigers or the LTTE) organization ambushed a military convoy in the North of Sri Lanka on the evening of July 23, 1983 outside the town of Jaffna in the North of Sri Lanka.


In the July 23 massacre of 13 soldiers, initially, a road-side bomb was detonated beneath the jeep that was leading the convoy, injuring at least two soldiers on board. As soldiers traveling in a truck which was following the jeep dismounted to help their colleagues, they were ambushed by a group of Tamil Tiger fighters, who fired at them with automatic weapons and hurled grenades at them. In the ensuing clashes, one officer and 12 soldiers died immediately, while two more were fatally wounded, bringing the total death toll to 15 along with number of terrorists.Kittu, a regional commander of the LTTE later admitted to planning and carrying out the ambush.

This enraged the Sinhalese and in the following days, massacred 3000 Tamils.

Now, with LTTE wiped out of Srilanka, India should ensure that Tamils were given equal powers along with Sinhalese in the Government.