Stories of the Wind

Tamil Nationalist struggle has brought only pain, agony and losses. There is general agreement among different actors that local Tamils were far better off when the struggle began than now.

I recently asked a prominent Tamil activist, and academic, Kumaravadivel Guruparan via twitter, ‘Can you name a single (long-term) good thing that Tamils have achieved so far in their nationalist struggle?’ His response was, ‘ok. If not for the struggle what should have we done? Assimilate with the Sinhalese?’ The response speaks for itself. The plain reality is that Tamils have achieved nothing through their nationalist struggle.

The Lack of Strategic Parity and Its Implications

For a sobering appraisal of the present plight of Tamils, I quote DBS Jeyaraj (January, 2011):

“Hard as it may be for some Tamils to admit the Tamil people today are entirely at the mercy of the Sri Lankan state. Despite lip service paid by some to the contrary the reality today is that there is no effective support internationally for the Tamil cause. There is a powerful Sinhala dominated government in Colombo and the disempowered Tamils have no means to influence it.”

I reproduce below a short article that appeared on arthashastra.tumblr.com, titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict: Re-gaining Strategic Parity’:

“Destroying the enemy’s military assets and his/her will to fight is the defining aim of all wars. Victory in war therefore is best described in terms of the degree to which one has destroyed these assets and will.” Dharmalingam Sivaram, June 2004

“There have been only two instances in which the GOSL actually implemented ‘solutions’ - one was the District Development Councils, the other was the Provincial Councils. The former is an instance of the watering down the Tamil negotiating position to fit perfectly into the unitary state structure and the latter is an instance of responding to unavoidable military pressure.” Dharmalingam Sivaram, January 2004

Sivaram was right. Except under conditions of strategic parity, the South never implemented solutions to Tamil grievances - reforms only materialised when Tamil military power matched the Sri Lankan government’s power. With the LTTE’s demise, the burning issue that affects Tamils is regaining strategic parity.  The process is surprisingly simple: military engagement is now unviable and hopes of international intervention are naïve. Therefore destroying the South’s military assets is impossible. Only one course of action remains –crushing the South’s will to fight against Tamil political aspirations. This fits well with the Tamil’s only remaining sources of potential strategic advantage, the Diaspora’s immense economic power and Tamil Nadu’s consistent concern for the fate of Sri Lankan Tamils.”

The much-hyped Geneva resolutions, if anything, proved that the international community – especially India – is unwilling to take any severe, indeed meaningful, measure to ensure immediate justice and protection for Tamil people, let alone help achieve political aspirations. India’s contribution in watering down the latest resolution, despite growing pro-Tamil sentiments in Tamil Nadu and the DMK pulling out of the Central Govt. is a very discouraging sign. The Diaspora, it seems to me, is too divided, and embroiled in all sorts of petty fights, to add any meaningful contribution. 

Is Tamil nationalism a viable political agenda?

What does Ponnamma want?

Despite incessant claims to the contrary, the everyday Ponnamma does not care for Tamil nationalism. It matters little to Ponnamma whether it is Rajapaksa or Sampanthan who rules over her.  She cares for her livelihood, her children’s future, her family’s security, her land and so on. For long, the Sri Lankan state has consistently deprived these liberties of Ponnamma. It continues to do so. Since Tamil nationalism is about Ponnamma and her liberties – if not then there is no point talking about it, those spearheading the nationalist movement are bound to ask ‘how best can we meet the needs of Ponnamma?’

Tamil nationalism must serve Ponnamma’s needs. So far it has not served the primary concerns of Ponnamma. It has, in fact, jeopordized  them multiple times. Will it, at least, in the future?