- Mani Velupillai -

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- An analysis of the ISGA, which surfaced recently, deals with its implications to India’s security. It’s authorR Hariharan is a Colonel who has retired from the Indian Intelligence Corps after 28 years of service in the Indian Army. He has been a specialist in counter-insurgency intelligence. He has seen active staff and field services in counter-insurgency operations in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Tripura, and lastly in Sri Lanka with the IPKF as Head of Intelligence.  Mani  Velupillai,  a layman,   exchanged  a  series of e-mail messages with  the Colonel. The messages, which speak for themselves, are reproduced below in full: - 

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You have mentioned Sri Lanka’s democracy, Tigers’ fascism and India’s security. Sri Lanka’s democracy deprived one million Tamils of Indian origin of their citizenship (1948), colonized Tamil areas with Sinhalese (since 1948), passed the Sinhala Only Act (1958), revoked the Banda-Chelva Pact (1958), and the Dudley-Chelva Pact (1962), removed the only anti-discrimination provision (Section 29) from the constitution, made Buddhism the State Religion, introduced Standardization (which forced Tamil students to score more marks than their Sinhalese counterparts for admission to the university (1972) etc. India remained indifferent to all these developments in Sri Lanka because such democratic measures never threatened India’s security!  The Tigers are not a source of fascism but a product of Sinhala chauvinism. Now, if you feel an urge to do some reference work on Sri Lanka, please do so. Kindly avoid jumping to conclusions. And review the ISGA and re-write your essay in the light of your research on Sri Lanka.

Mani Velupillai 

From: Colonel
Sent: September 20, 2004 10:34 PM
To: Mani Velupillai

Thank you for your mail. I always welcome different view points. Of course I am aware of Sinhala chauvinism 1st hand as one branch of our own family suffered from it in 1983 in Colombo and never returned to Sri Lanka. So please credit me with some knowledge of Tamil history in Sri Lanka (that includes joining hands with Sinhalas to deprive the citizenship of a million Tamils just because they were not from Jaffna or from Eastern province).

The issue I have discussed is not whether LTTE's fascist or Sri Lanka is a true democracy (sounds like a joke). I have discussed the security implications for India as a military analyst, not as a student of history recording Sinhala chauvinism or origins of Tamil militancy. 

As far as LTTE is concerned, their record is well known. Even you have not said that they are truly democratic. Sinhala chauvinism will go on its last legs if only Tamils produce a model federal state in North East to show they can do better. JVP engineered Sinhala chauvinism will grow and grow as long as LTTE's feeds them with the causes by all the killings that are taking place during 'peace', for settling scores.

It is difficult to understand why you want me to recast my review because you have a different point of view. Please go ahead and write a rebuttal of the points I have raised. As one who welcomes liberal criticism, I would accept it under the licence given by freedom of expression in democracies.

Colonel

Dear Colonel,

Thank you for your mail. You are implying the rest of the Tamils collaborated with the Sinhalese in depriving their brethren of their citizenship. Please don’t attribute this to them as a whole. You may blame GG who was a cabinet minister at that time. But it does not absolve the perpetrators. Interestingly Chelva left GG’s Tamil Congress to form the FP for the same reason! He agitated for the restoration of citizenship to those people. He got along well with Thondaman who was one of the leaders of the TULF. 

Your analysis is based on certain assumptions, one of which is that Sri Lanka is a democracy (in principle). I just pointed out to you that such a democracy (in practice) did injustice to the Tamils as a whole. That’s why I suggested that you review your analysis. Mine is a positive suggestion. Please don’t view this negative. You need not review it if it is not necessary to do so. 

You have referred to the human rights abuses by the LTTE. Please identify a party which has not abused human rights in Sri Lanka. All the parties to the issue including the so-called IPKF have been accused of human rights abuses.  The LTTE is admittedly not a democratic group. It’s a fighting machine. You cannot expect it to democratize itself overnight. Ironically the fighting machine of the LTTE succeeded in forcing the Sri Lankan government to sign a ceasefire with it! 

Mani Velupillai 

From: Colonel
Sent: September 22, 2004 1:02 PM
To: Mani Velupillai

Dear Mr.Velupillai 

Thank you for your interesting mail. I agree that the Tamil leaders in the govt. at the time of depriving citizenship were to blame. Why blame Jaffna Tamils? Even Sastri-Srimavo Pact did not bother about them. So I am not holding the Jaffna Tamils responsible. But you will agree the Indian Tamils have always been treated as an inferior class (if not race) by the Sri Lankan Tamils; I have seen in olden days they being not allowed to sit in the seats in buses (I am an old man, so I remember).

Undoubtedly Sinhala chauvinism made a mockery of democracy; that was the reason for the Tamil struggle. There is no question about it. But that by itself does not mean there is no democracy; it is majoritarian politics in multiethnic societies. Unfortunately Tamils like you and me suffer.

As far as human rights are concerned, Army is no paragon. But Army takes disciplinary action, it does not make a necessity of human rights abuse. Considering this LTTE has miles to go. The same applies to Premadasa's massacre of JVP youth. But is LTTE, the elite Tamil liberators, going to hold Sinhala forces and lumpen element as the benchmark for human rights? The day LTTE allows vocalisation of dissent, without beheading the fellow, I will agree to its democratic approach to human rights. I know a few of the Tigers who agree with me; so let us hope they improve their record. I entirely agree with the evaluation of LTTE as a fighting machine and give full credit to them for their achievement. But they should transform themselves into an effective political instrument to wage peace rather than war for the good of the Tamils.

Colonel

Dear Colonel,

Please avoid generalizing (Jaffna Tamils, Indian Tamils etc. which may, of course, have some relevance to demographic terminology). Such generalizations inevitably lead to politicization of the matter at issue before us (ISGA). You may blame a class of Tamils for regarding the rest of the people (Tamils, Muslims, Sinhalese etc.) inferior. The vast majority of Tamils cannot be blamed for that. I don’t blame the masses of Sinhalese for chauvinism  either. The rulers are the real culprits. They find refuge in chauvinism. They deliberately mislead the poor masses into the gaping abyss of chauvinism. Again, could you identify a class of people who do not regard another class inferior? 

Democracy is not exclusively rule by majority. It involves consent of the minority. I’ve, however, no doubt that (parliamentary) democracy is the best form of government. But (the principle of) democracy as practiced in Sri Lanka has caused enormous injustice to the minorities as a whole, not just ethnic minorities such as Tamils but to religious and other minorities as well. 

Most analysts are of the view that the Sri Lankan government agreed to a ceasefire with the LTTE after coming to the conclusion that the latter could not be militarily defeated. World powers and the regional power have been doing their best to upset the military balance in favor of the Sri Lankan forces.  In other words they have been doing their best to undermine the ceasefire. 

You may be aware of the fact that nuclear balance that existed between the US and the Soviet Union did not lead to a third world war but upheld international peace. (Ironical!) Likewise the current military balance between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan forces may contribute to peace in Sri Lanka. This may sound funny to some analysts. But nothing is predictable in human relationship (Noam Chomsky). 

I don’t accept what you mean by JVP-engineered chauvinism. The JVP rose in 1971. Disenfranchisement, colonization, Sinhala Only Act, massacre of Tamils (1958), repudiation of BC Pact & DC Pact  etc. predate the JVP. I would trace Sinhala chauvinism back to Anagarika Dharmapala who belongs to the 19th century. 

Mani Velupillai

From: Colonel
Sent: September 22, 2004 10:07 PM
To: Mani Velupillai

Dear Mr.Velupillai,

I generally agree with your views. But the fact is that Tamils had never been united even in the days of Chera, Chola, Pandiya kingdoms. They are perhaps too free minded to do so.

As regards historical origin of Sinhala chauvinism, I agree with you. It has historical roots nurtured by modern-day political opportunism. I agree the current military balance only has ushered in peace at least for the time being. I hope its put to good use to make peace permanent recognizing the basic rights of the common man regardless of race and language to lead a normal life. Otherwise peace is meaningless.
Thanks.

Colonel

Dear Colonel,

I would love everybody to be free-minded. That is a positive stuff. We ought not to confuse free-mindedness with disunity. Chera, Chozha, Pandiyan rulers fought dynastic wars. In Europe such wars were called Wars of Succession. Such rivalries or hostilities are not an exclusive character of Tamil people. They have been a recurrent phenomenon throughout history. But those ancient hostilities are not comparable to the present hostilities between the militant groups in Sri Lanka. 

At present the protagonists are the Sri Lankan forces and the LTTE. Almost all the former militant groups including the JVP collaborate with the Sri Lankan forces politically and strategically. Almost all the world powers as well as the regional power overtly and covertly support the Sri Lankan forces and their accomplices. Their sole objective is to maintain, if not reinforce, the Sri Lankan forces and frustrate, if not defeat, the LTTE: undermine the ceasefire by upsetting the military balance with the connivance of the former militant groups and put the blame on the LTTE! This is not a new development. This has always been their policy and in practice ever since fighting broke out between the LTTE and Indian Army in 1987. 

Mani Velupillai

Thank you for the interesting observations.

Colonel

manivel@rogers.com